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Gironda Power Pushdowns

Howdy all:

Recently T Kervin and black converse asked for a description of the Gironda Power Pushdown:

The movement allows one to use more weight than a conventional tricep pushdown and it emphasizes the lateral head...the showy one that makes the arm appear thick. However, done with my twists, the movement can be tough on the shoulders. Caution is advised, with slow, fully controlled movements being the order of the day. Rotate this movement in and out of your tricep routine to prevent over-use injury.

Stand in front of the tricep bar...using either a short straight bar or the straight portion of a lat bar. Space your hands about 10-14 inches apart, letting your comfort guide you. Slightly bend your knees and forcefully push the bar down to full extension. This is the starting position.

Slightly lean over the bar. Now, open up your hands so that the bar is "cradled" in the web of your hands, pointing your fingers and thumb down. The "loose" grip takes the forearm flexors out of the movement. Keep your elbows out wide, (rather than pinned to your sides) so that they are in line with the bar or nearly so. Let the bar slowly ascend to the lower pec line. (The cable with be very close to your face...careful. You should occasionally alternate sets with the cable being on the left or right side of your face.)

While maintaining the elbows out wide, slowly push the bar to full extension, still leaning just slightly over the bar. If you wish at the end of the movement, finish with a reverse shoulder shrug to push down even further. This will engage the pectorals nicely. Let the bar slowly ascend to the lower pec line and repeat. It won't take long to feel the effects, done in a rep range of 8-12, the triceps start to "burn."

You can make this a pure power move by moving the hands in closer, gripping the bar conventionally and letting the elbows find their "natural" groove. Bertil Fox used enormous weight in this manner. Once again, caution is advised. Along with the ability to use heavy weight comes the increased potential for injury if you allow the form to get sloppy. In a word...don't.

That's it in a nutshell. You should easily be able to use 15-20 lbs. over your normal tricep pressdown weight...which can mean big development potential. The "open grip," reverse shrug and elbows in line with the bar are my twists to an already excellent exercise by Vince Gironda.