Band handles and a hard lockout for a portable triceps pump.
Keep your elbows fixed and high, the band peaks at lockout so squeeze there.
Pressing the handles from behind your head to full lockout takes the triceps through their complete range, and the overhead position puts the long head under a deep stretch at the bottom of every rep. Because band tension climbs as it lengthens, resistance peaks right at lockout, exactly where the triceps finish the job, so the squeeze at the top actually means something. It earns its place as a travel-friendly triceps builder and a high-rep finisher when you want a pump without a cable stack in sight.
It loads the rep differently. A cable stays fairly even through the range, while a band is lightest in the stretch and heaviest at lockout, so bands reward a hard finish. Use both across a week if you can, but the band version wins on portability.
Either works. Anchoring overhead lets you press away from the anchor with a steadier line of pull, while standing on it and pressing from behind your head gives a bigger stretch. Pick the setup where you can keep your elbows fixed beside your head.
Your elbows are drifting. If the upper arms swing forward as you press, the shoulders start doing the moving. Lock your elbows in place beside your head and make the forearms the only thing that travels.
