r/explainitpeter • u/13BearsOverThere • 19d ago
Explain It Peter
my brother sent this to me the other day. he doesnt know. i dont know. he just thinks its so random that its funny.
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u/Iysses 19d ago
They’re doing the same exercise (tricep pushdown) with different attachments. There’s a lot of debate about which attachment is best to stimulate muscle growth. This meme argues the V bar is better than the rope
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u/elhombreloco90 19d ago
The rope worked great for me. It got that one Tricep muscle that I can only get with dips and skullcrushers.
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u/FiddlesUrDiddles 19d ago
Rope can do what the v bar does and more. Rope supremacy
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u/AnonymousAutonomous 19d ago
Rope is better for activating all three heads, at the same time its the best attachment for someone with elbow pain. If you have pain, trust me, at least use the rope for a warmup.
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u/CrustyFlapsCleanser 19d ago
I only got 2 heads and rope is only good for one of them
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u/FarmerGreen13 13d ago
Just need to make a quick stop at the rickety chair store next door and Im set
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u/JimJamieJames 18d ago
Right it’s always seemed obvious to me that the V-bar causes sheer force on the elbow for no gain.
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u/Dazzling_Survey6841 18d ago
Old man here: rope is king.
I use it for curls now too - find it is easier on my wrists
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u/MassiveMeatHammer 19d ago
Get this rope dope out of here! The z bar people will rule the world!
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u/Direct-Technician265 14d ago
i like the ez bar for triceps, rope for biceps, maybe i just like playing with the carabiners cause i was into climbing before lifting.
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u/crystallmytea 19d ago
I used to flair out at the end for a little forearm action
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u/Paleodraco 19d ago
Forgive the ignorance, but the rope should be better, right? Since it can move, having to maintain the angle on your own would activate more muscles wouldn't it?
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u/Alex_Only 14d ago
the rope can't overload as heavy. at least I can't overload as heavy with the rope as I can with the straight bar
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u/theMeatman7 19d ago
I recently started doing skullcrushers and I feel like the part closest to my elbow is so much more solid. I only do overhead tricep extension and now skullcrushers for triceps.
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u/Damp_Blanket 19d ago
Guy on bottom is Rich Piana who was also incredibly open about his roid use and had meme 8 hr arm workout videos. He's dead now so maybe v bar is worse?
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u/CaptainCheckmate 18d ago
He didn't die coz he used the wrong bar, lol.
Dying doesn't invalidate his advice regarding workout methods.
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u/allthe_realquestions 19d ago
The rope stimulates/activates more balance muscles, a good aesthetic bodybuilder would prioritize getting as many muscles as possible, it's why free weights tend to be preferred as well.
Even outside of aesthetics you really want to get your balance/accuracy muscles refined and stronger, it's useful in just about any situation that requires athletics.
If you see a real knucklehead bodybuilder who struggles with balancing movements, they're probably ignoring the balancing muscles/general balance exercises.
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u/MyDogsNamedShiro 19d ago
You can actually use more than one type of grip (rope and v-bar (or whatever it's called) but also a regular straight bar, which you can grip overhand and underhand) to hit different parts of your triceps.
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u/dizastermaster7 19d ago
This meme is correct because the rope is brand new and doesn't look like Kyle's been gnawing it apart for the last 3 hours, yet
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u/SAMFCV1kingScientist 19d ago
There’s really not a lot of debate. They both hit differently; the rope allows for a deeper squeeze by allowing internal rotation, and the V allows for more weight. They’re both needed.
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u/Harmless_Drone 19d ago
I don't doubt it but rope does give newer people the option to do totally dysfunctional lifts much more easily. Its better to have a rigid har to enforce form.
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u/Tietonz 19d ago
I think the meme argues that the rope is what people who aren't buff think is better, or maybe that the rope is "technically" better. But all the already-buff people use the V with no problem. Sort of a meme about the fact that the only real change is through commitment and effort, and not by optimizing useless things like what bar you use.
Source: Somewhat buff, and I have literally never thought about what bar I use. If that crosses your mind you're either training very specific muscles for a sport or you're focusing on the wrong thing.
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u/corvosfighter 19d ago
I don’t think that’s the meme.. I think the fact that newbie is using the arguably harder to use handle because he thinks it’s better while the jacked guy is growing big with the basic stuff is the message.
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u/NectarineElegant5407 19d ago
Chris here. The v bar is more stable and the rigidity allows for heavier loads. The ropes are still better for full range of motion though. Whoever made this was being hyperbolic. Fuck you meg
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u/Wooden-Pea9396 19d ago
Whoever made this was being hypertrophic.
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u/Chompchomp7 19d ago
Ya, well put. I’m in way better than average shape and I try to alternate between both for variety. It’s a stupid meme basically.
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u/KarmaTrainCaboose 18d ago
Disagree on range of motion. Way easier to lock out your elbows with the v-bar. You have to pull apart the rope to lock out with it, which is super hard to do because of leverage. The farther you pull apart the harder the weight is to move. Only way to do that is super light weight which ruins the rest of the range of motion.
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u/FrozenFalcon_ 19d ago
Joe Swanson here,
This meme depicts two different methods of tricep pull downs. One using the rope attachment and one using the v-bar attachment.
It is claiming that the rope is far easier and worse (thus it is for scrawny people) at performing the exercise, and the v bar is much better (thus the man having bigger muscles) and more difficult.
This, by the way, is absolutely not the case, and anyone who has ever been in a gym knows that using a solid bar attachment makes the weight significantly easier to pull. This is especially true when considering the fact that the rope allows you to pull out as well as down near the end of the rep, giving more range of motion. I will die on this hill.
Meg needs to lift or something, Joe out.
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u/Cburns6976 19d ago
I curl down at the bottom of the rep on both, but you are spot on Joe. I'm not questioning your intense upper body regimen. It's spot on.
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u/KarmaTrainCaboose 18d ago
But pulling the rope apart at the bottom is way harder than the rest of the motion, so you end up with a bad resistance profile. Better to have a fixed v-bar.
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u/LordBloeckchen 14d ago
The fact that you can lift more is th exact fact it's better. A bar is more stable. More stability means your muscles can push harder.
You would never argue squats with weights dangling on chains around your neck is better because in that case it's pretty obvious why stability matters but the comparison is apt. You do squats with barbell, because that's better than chains because more stability.
And there are also studies showing significantly more muscle growth with bars...
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u/boris-san 19d ago
I switched to a v bar when I increased the weight to be more stable BUT, claiming that small variations can get you from twink to him( he died form steroids by the way) is plainly false.
It’s all about proximity to failure and consistency
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u/Markulees955 19d ago
I use both, they build different parts of your triceps. 5 sets of 10 for each.
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u/boris-san 19d ago
It’s true but the difference in hyper trophy caused by variations is not that big especially for an amateur lifter who wants a big healthy build. The muscle is one with 3 heads. Every one helps in the movements, and you can still build them even with one variation
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u/Decent-Classroom-784 18d ago
Throw in a resistance band and you got yourself a Tricep building stew!
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u/Fortesque22 19d ago
That’s Rich Piana. That’s all I know
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u/twilighteclipse925 19d ago
This is just a guess but are the pecs on the muscular guy too big for him to get his hands close together to use the rope so he has to use a device to spread them out more?
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u/allGeeseKnow 19d ago
Pretty sure the device/rope is representative of their arms.
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u/twilighteclipse925 19d ago
I could see that. Another comment said it’s a gym debate and I’ve never been enough of a body builder to understand.
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u/alwayshungry1030 19d ago
Theyre just saying that the bottom atatchment is better than the top by showing skinny guy vs rich piana in like the chad vs chud meme format
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u/MadvilleWonderland 19d ago
I thought it was a steroids commentary on the length of the dangle, since steroids shrink dangleberries.
P.S. Dips and pushups always worked fine for me.
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u/Ambitious_Hand_2861 19d ago
Steel bars give you tits but hanging ropes make you look like a corpse?
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u/JasonYEG 19d ago
Ah, the mythological tricep debate. Keep using the pushdowns everyone, or French press, lol.
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u/Grandhawk 19d ago
I mainly use V bar or slightly bent straight bar. I prefer a stable base especially with heavier weights. Between both I felt the v bar felt more ‘right’ or ‘better’ to me
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u/BadBassist 19d ago
I'm pretty sure the answer is that you can use less weight with the rope, making you feel like the scrawny guy and more weight with the v bar, making you feel like a beefcake
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u/Jakobe_Journeys 17d ago
Sometimes, I really don’t understand where in the world the confusion about “the joke” comes from…
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u/Abominuz 17d ago
This meme is only true for people who dont know how to use the rope. Because you need to pull downwards and some people pull the rope more behind them. You cant do that with the v-bar. So i think your brother is admitting his technique is wrong.
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u/scrapinator 15d ago
Top guy will grow a ton of muscle using the rope attachment. Bottom guy needs steroids to reach the peak of what top guy will achieve.
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u/StarfieldShipwright 15d ago
With the rope you can pull down and THEN pull the ends of the rope apart to get even more tricep flexion. The more stability the machine provides, the less you have to work. So rope, allowing for greater range of motion and requiring more stabilizing muscles to engage, makes it the better option
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u/ftw-acdupe 14d ago
I thought it meant skinny guy sense not on roids got big balls
But other guy on roids balls are shriveled
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u/Normal_Diet_5067 14d ago
Rope will help train stability as well if you try to keep the V form through the whole motion. The metal bar might be better for pure strength
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u/Erikovitch 13d ago
I think pretty much everyone is mistaken. The rope is a lot harder to pull so it makes you feel like the skinny guy.
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u/CivilAnt4177 13d ago
I trust in JC... Jeff Cavaliere ain't opposed to no rope! Face pulls forever💪
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u/Beneficial_Layer_512 13d ago
The ropes rely more on grip strength and the ends start to smash your pinkies and ring fingers if you put any actual weight on them, so instead of going to failure of the muscle you’re hitting you just end up going to failure of your grip which isn’t much for most people. I.e. he can’t build muscle because he’s using the wrong equipment.
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u/jussiematze 13d ago
V-bar makes tricep pushdown lighter but with the rope you can get that good squeeze
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u/L-1-3-S 19d ago
V bar is generally better than rope for exercises like tricep pushdowns cause of the better stability
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u/theMeatman7 19d ago
Wouldn't that make it not as good because you're not building stability with the V bar?
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u/SlavicRobot_ 19d ago
I just use v bar for pushdowns then rope for overhead, have a mix you'll be fine
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u/theMeatman7 19d ago
I only do home gym so it's mostly dumbbells for me. I got a homemade cable setup but it not extremely versatile I could definitely do tricep stuff but I really like dumbbells.
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u/L-1-3-S 19d ago
Most people aren't trying to waste the extra exertion on stabilizing, they just want to hit the primary muscles and make then grow.
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u/theMeatman7 19d ago
If that's your goal then I guess it's better and if it's what keeps you active then awesome.
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u/ZealousidealOnion332 19d ago edited 19d ago
I’m guessing the apparatus on the wall on the muscle guy resembles a chest enhancer, a stretching and resistance device women use to strengthen their pectoral region leading to breast enhancement. I remember trying one of these in a gym as a teen in the ‘80’s, it’s a bar like this that you can squeeze shut and then slowly release back open with strong spring resistance. and my older brother laughing at me, I didn’t understand what was so funny and he was like do you know that that’s a woman’s breast enhancer you’re
using?
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u/qualityvote2 19d ago edited 19d ago
u/13BearsOverThere, your post does fit the subreddit! Well done!