Skullcrusher (Laying Triceps Extension)

Directions:

Preperation/body position

1. Load bar with correct weight. Put on safety collars.
2. Lay on flat bench, holding bar above head with a medium overhand width grip.
3. Upper arms should remain perpendicular to the ground throughout the movement.

Excution/Movement

1. Whilst maintaining good body posture, and upper arms remaining stationary, lower bar by bending elbows.
2. Bring bar down to just above the head, with forearms just below parallel to the ground.
3. Contract triceps brachii, bringing bar back to starting position.
4. Repeat for desired amount of repetitions.

Comments

First off, don’t be put off by the name! The skull crusher is a great triceps isolation exercise, stimulating the triceps brachii whilst not requiring a great deal of involvement from other muscle groups. Called so because of the nature of lowering the weight close to the head.

Experiment with the width of the grip used to see which is most comfortable on the wrist. Skull crushers can also be performed with different grips, such as with using an underhand grip instead of the commonly used overhand. This will stress the triceps brachii slightly differently, adding variation to your routine. A neutral grip can also be used by performing the movement with two dumbbells close to each other, with the handles running parallel to each other. This has the added benefit of allowing for isolateral training, thus stimulating each arm independently.

By placing a bench close to a low cable pulley, this opens up the option of performing the skull crusher with a cable. This allows for many different attachments to be used, and also for continuous tension to be placed on the triceps brachii throughout the exercise.

For hypertrophy 6-12 reps will likely yield the best results, providing optimal time under tension. This will provide adequate stimulation for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and acute response to anabolic hormone concentrations, compared to that of lower rep ranges.