Barbell Lying Triceps Extension Skull Crusher

1. Lie flat on a bench with a barbell held over your chest, hands about shoulder-width apart with a pronated grip.
2. Press the bar up and position it over your forehead or slightly behind it, arms angled a few degrees back toward your head.
3. Keep your elbows tucked at shoulder width and pointed at the ceiling throughout.
4. Inhale and bend only at the elbows, lowering the bar under control toward your forehead or just above the crown of your head.
5. Stop when your forearms touch your biceps or just before the bar reaches your head.
6. Exhale and extend your elbows to drive the bar back to the start, keeping the upper arms still.
7. Finish just short of a hard lockout to keep tension on the triceps, then repeat.

Common Mistakes

• Flaring the elbows: letting the elbows drift wide shifts load to the chest and shoulders and puts the elbows in a weaker position.
• Turning it into a press: dropping the upper arms toward the torso and pressing the bar up recruits the chest and defeats the isolation.
• Lowering too fast: the bar travels toward your face, so a controlled eccentric is a safety requirement, not just a training cue.
• Going too heavy too soon: skull crushers stress the elbow tendons; build load gradually and stay 2 to 3 reps shy of failure on most sets.

Programming Tips

Skull crushers are effective for triceps size but are harder on the elbows than most other triceps work, so program them conservatively: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, and stay 2 to 3 reps shy of failure on most sets rather than grinding out max-effort reps regularly. Place them after your main pressing movement, not as your first exercise, so your elbows are already warmed up.

If a straight barbell causes wrist or elbow discomfort, switch to an EZ bar, which angles the grip and is noticeably easier on the joints while training the same muscle. Build load gradually over weeks rather than jumping weight quickly, since tendon adaptation lags behind muscle strength gains and rushing the load is the most common way lifters develop elbow tendinitis from this movement.

Common Questions

Is the EZ bar or straight bar version safer?

The EZ bar is generally easier on the wrists and elbows because of its angled grip, and most lifters can use it without discomfort. The straight bar allows a slightly more natural bar path for some people, but if you feel any wrist strain, switch to the EZ bar without hesitation.

What should I do if I feel elbow pain during this exercise?

Stop the set, reduce the load significantly next session, and make sure you are finishing just short of full lockout rather than snapping the elbows straight. If pain persists across multiple sessions even at lighter loads, drop the movement and rely on cable pushdowns until the elbows recover.

Should the bar come down toward my forehead or behind my head?

Lowering toward the forehead is the standard and safer path for most lifters. Taking the bar behind the head increases the stretch on the long head of the triceps but also increases shoulder strain, so only attempt it with light weight and full control.