Machine Triceps Extension

Muscles worked by the Machine Triceps Extension

Primary

TricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: tricep, triceps, triceps brachii, horseshoe, tris.

Equipment

Tricep Extension Machine

Also called: tricep machine, seated tricep extension, overhead tricep machine.

How to do the Machine Triceps Extension

1. Sit in the tricep extension machine with your back against the seat pad and your upper arms resting flat on the arm pad in front of your chest.
2. Take a handle in each hand with your elbows bent and your hands up near shoulder height.
3. Keeping your upper arms pressed into the pad, extend your elbows to drive the handles down and away until your arms are straight.
4. Squeeze your triceps at full extension, then bend your elbows to return to the start under control.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Set the seat height so your upper arms lie flat on the pad and your elbows line up with the machine's pivot — that alignment is what keeps the work on the triceps.
• Keep your upper arms glued to the pad; letting them lift turns the movement into a press and takes the triceps out of it.
• Straighten your arms fully without snapping the elbows, and resist on the way back instead of letting the weight stack drop.

At a glance

Machine Triceps Extension in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Cable Tricep Pushdown
• Banded Triceps Stretch
• Bench Dips
• Cable Tricep Kickback
• Close-Grip Bench Press
• Close-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
• Close-Grip EZ-Bar Bench Press
• Close-Grip Incline Bench Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "machine-triceps-extension",
  "name_en": "Machine Triceps Extension",
  "name_de": "Trizepsstrecken an der Maschine",
  "name_es": "Extensión de Tríceps en Máquina",
  "description_en": "A seated machine isolation exercise in which the upper arms stay supported on a pad while the elbows extend against two handles, loading the triceps along a fixed path without help from the shoulders or torso.",
  "description_de": "Eine sitzende Isolationsübung an der Maschine: Die Oberarme liegen auf einem Polster auf, während die Ellbogen gegen zwei Griffe gestreckt werden — der Trizeps arbeitet auf einer fest geführten Bahn, ohne Hilfe aus Schultern oder Rumpf.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de aislamiento sentado en máquina: los brazos quedan apoyados sobre un rodillo mientras los codos se extienden contra dos manijas, de modo que el tríceps trabaja por un recorrido guiado sin ayuda de los hombros ni del torso.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "tricep_extension_machine",
  "body_part": "upper_arms",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "arm_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "tricep-pushdown",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Sit in the tricep extension machine with your back against the seat pad and your upper arms resting flat on the arm pad in front of your chest.",
    "Take a handle in each hand with your elbows bent and your hands up near shoulder height.",
    "Keeping your upper arms pressed into the pad, extend your elbows to drive the handles down and away until your arms are straight.",
    "Squeeze your triceps at full extension, then bend your elbows to return to the start under control.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Setze dich in die Trizeps-Streckmaschine, den Rücken am Sitzpolster, die Oberarme flach auf dem Armpolster vor der Brust.",
    "Nimm in jede Hand einen Griff, die Ellbogen gebeugt und die Hände etwa auf Schulterhöhe.",
    "Drücke die Oberarme ins Polster und strecke die Ellbogen, bis die Griffe nach unten und vorn geführt sind und die Arme gestreckt sind.",
    "Spanne den Trizeps in der vollen Streckung an und beuge die Ellbogen dann kontrolliert zurück in die Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Siéntate en la máquina de extensión de tríceps con la espalda apoyada en el respaldo y los brazos apoyados de plano sobre el rodillo, delante del pecho.",
    "Toma una manija con cada mano, con los codos flexionados y las manos a la altura de los hombros.",
    "Manteniendo los brazos pegados al rodillo, extiende los codos para empujar las manijas hacia abajo y hacia delante hasta estirar los brazos por completo.",
    "Aprieta el tríceps en la extensión completa y flexiona los codos para volver al inicio de forma controlada.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Set the seat height so your upper arms lie flat on the pad and your elbows line up with the machine's pivot — that alignment is what keeps the work on the triceps.",
    "Keep your upper arms glued to the pad; letting them lift turns the movement into a press and takes the triceps out of it.",
    "Straighten your arms fully without snapping the elbows, and resist on the way back instead of letting the weight stack drop."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Stelle die Sitzhöhe so ein, dass die Oberarme flach aufliegen und die Ellbogen auf der Drehachse der Maschine stehen — diese Ausrichtung hält die Arbeit im Trizeps.",
    "Halte die Oberarme fest am Polster; heben sie ab, wird daraus ein Drücken und der Trizeps ist raus.",
    "Strecke die Arme ganz durch, ohne die Ellbogen zu überstrecken, und halte beim Zurückführen dagegen, statt den Gewichtsblock fallen zu lassen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Ajusta la altura del asiento para que los brazos queden planos sobre el rodillo y los codos alineados con el eje de giro de la máquina: esa alineación es lo que mantiene el trabajo en el tríceps.",
    "Mantén los brazos pegados al rodillo; si se despegan, el movimiento se convierte en un press y el tríceps deja de trabajar.",
    "Estira los brazos del todo sin bloquear de golpe los codos, y frena la vuelta en lugar de dejar caer las placas."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/machine-triceps-extension-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/machine-triceps-extension-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "machine-triceps-extension");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.