Many exercises are named in a literal way. A single-arm overhead dumbbell extend describes the movement quite well. Some exercises are named after the area of your body that they will break if you lose command. We have skullcrushers in this class.
Skullcrushers can be described as a group of single-joint exercises for triceps. There are many ways to do them. You can use almost any kind of implement–dumbbells, barbell, EZ-bar, or cables–as well as a variety of angled benches. Every variation has a different feel and effect so I will show you the most popular.
All skullcrusher variants have one thing in common: elbow extension. The elbow extension is a common feature of all skullcrusher variations. This means that both the long and the lateral triceps head–the largest–are used. The angle of the bench will affect the position of your upper arms. If the bench is inclined, the elbows will be closer to the overhead position. This means that more work will fall on your long triceps. A decline bench makes it easier to move, but the focus is more on the lateral triceps.
Tips to Crush the Skullcrusher
These are the key ingredients to making this movement work:
1. Your upper arms should be perpendicular with the floor. This will ensure that you are working against gravity. When you are on a flat bench, your arms should be parallel to your body. However, this is not always true when you move on an incline bench or decline bench.
2. Do not extend your elbows. As you lift and lower the weight, don’t allow your elbows to move. You can put some weight on your shoulders if you move your arms.
3. You should lower your weight as much as you can. You should be very deliberate about how fast you rep the negative. You should know why. (If you don’t know why, refer to the exercise name again.
4. You should not lift the weight higher than you can handle. This will keep tension on your muscles throughout the entire range of motion.
5. A spotter is a good option for training to failure. Spotters can help you do a few more forced reps, give you weight to start, or grab it when you’re done.
6. To ensure that the triceps do most of the work, keep your elbows as tight as possible. Your elbows should not be allowed to flake out. This reduces the triceps’ workload.
Variations of the Common Skullcrusher
An EZ-Bar
A barbell should not be held in a tight grip. Instead, use a grip that is about shoulder-width. The EZ-bar is more comfortable than a barbell for your wrists. A wider grip makes it easier to balance your hands and reduces elbow flare.
Dumbbells
Each arm must work independently when using dumbbells. Although dumbbells can be more difficult to control than other weights, this is not necessarily a disadvantage. These can be done with different grips which will affect how your triceps are recruited.
Dumbbell skullcrusher equipped with pronated grip
Incline bench
This variation places a little more emphasis on the long hair. The angle should not be too steep.
Incline EZ-bar skullcrusher
Decline bench
These crushers place more emphasis on the triceps and lateral head.
Decline ez-bar skullcrusher
Version cable with bar/EZbar
This variation has the line of pull coming from the side, so there is no resting place at the top.
Version with rope and cable
To exaggerate peak contraction, you can hold the rope neutrally.
Cable skullcrusher laying with rope attachment
45-Degree
This variation requires that your upper arms are bent at 45 degrees toward your head and kept in this position. This allows the bar’s top to reach your head and leaves no place for it to rest. This will also highlight the long head and triceps.
Smith machine
Although it is rare, the Smith machine can perform a variety of skulls. The bar cannot move in an arc because it is constrained to a vertical path. You will need to adjust the position and height of your arms. However, you can still move the weight primarily using your triceps. These crushers can be thought of as a bench version with a close grip.
Smith machine skullcrusher
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Did You Know?
The same movement is called skullcrushers or nose breakers, but they also have other names. Sometimes they’re referred to as French presses or lying triceps extension.
Multi-joint exercises such as the triceps dip, weighted bench dips or close-grip benches presses should be done before the skullcrushers. This is because the maximum weight you can use to overload your triceps will allow you to do them first. Skullcrushers can be quite heavy so they are a great second exercise for triceps. To avoid stagnation, choose a weight that you can do 3 sets of 8-10. You may also want to vary the rep target from time to time.
Skullcrushing Superset
This superset will give you a boost in your triceps exercises. Start with skullcrushers and then move on to close-grip bench press. You don’t even have to change your weight or bars!
This first move targets your triceps. Do it until you fail. Instead of trying to lose weight, you can go straight into the multijoint exercise. This will allow your pecs to support more reps until failure. To fully extend your arms, lower the bar towards your chest.
Cheat Crushers
One last tip: While you might think cheating on skullcrushers will send you to the doctor’s office, there is a way to keep your set going even if you are near muscle failure. You can let your upper arms move a little during the exercise execution, instead of performing the movement strictly (that is, only bending at the elbows). This will make a single-joint movement a multijoint, which you should avoid. However, it can be done to fatigue your triceps by adding a few more reps at the end.
