EZ-Bar Skull Crusher

Muscles Worked

How to Perform

1. 1

   Lie on a flat bench holding the barbell above your forehead with a narrow grip, arms extended.

2. 2

   Lower the bar toward your forehead by bending only at the elbows. Keep your upper arms vertical.

3. 3

   Extend your arms back to the starting position, squeezing your triceps at lockout.

4. 4

   Use a controlled tempo — the skull crusher is not a movement to rush. Light to moderate loads work best.

Common Mistakes

• Flaring the elbows out wide, which shifts the load off the triceps and onto the shoulders.

• Using momentum or swinging the upper arm. Keep the upper arm fixed and move only from the elbow.

• Not fully locking out the arm, which is where the triceps work hardest. Complete the range of motion.

Pro Tips

• Squeeze at full lockout for a full second. The triceps are strongest at full extension, so that is exactly where you should hold the contraction.

• Experiment with different grips — overhand, underhand, rope, and V-bar all hit slightly different heads of the triceps.

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