30 Seconds SummaryAre overhead triceps extensions better than pushdowns for hypertrophy?
- Training at longer muscle lengths generally results in better muscle hypertrophy compared to shorter lengths, supporting full range of motion in exercises.
- A study comparing overhead triceps extensions to pushdowns found that overhead extensions led to more significant hypertrophy in all triceps heads, not just the long head which is trained at a greater length.
- Overhead triceps extensions increased muscle volume more for both the long head (+28.5%) and the lateral and middle heads (+14.6%) compared to pushdowns.
- The unexpected superior results of overhead extensions for lateral and middle heads might be due to increased hypoxic stress or mechanical factors adjusted by the way these muscles had to compensate during the exercise.
- Variations in muscle growth effects between different studies can be attributed to different experimental setups, measurement techniques, and exercise protocols.
- Despite assumptions, overhead triceps extensions proved to be more effective overall, including for the monoarticular heads (lateral and middle), suggesting multifactorial influences on muscle growth beyond just muscle length changes.
Stronger By Science
Greg Nuckols
