Arms · Cable
Cable Rear Drive
How to do the cable rear drive, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Set a handle on a low pulley and face the machine. Grip the handle with one hand, keep your arm fairly straight, and drive it back behind your hip in an arc against the cable. Squeeze the triceps and rear delt at the back, then control the handle forward.
- 1Triceps and rear delt driving the arm back behind your hip
- 2Arm staying close to your side through the arc
- 3A firm squeeze at the back of the movement
Common mistakes
- Twisting your torso to fling the handle back
- Bending the elbow heavily instead of keeping the arm long
- Shrugging or leaning forward to cheat the weight
Muscles worked
The cable rear drive mainly works the triceps, with the rear delts and lats assisting.
- TricepsPrimary
- Rear DeltsSupport
- LatsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
Kovo programs the cable rear drive for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More triceps exercises
- How to do the bent-over tricep extension
- How to do the crossbody tricep extension
- How to do the cable katana tricep extension
- How to do the cable single arm tricep extension
- How to do the kickback
- How to do the lying tricep extension
Last reviewed June 2026.