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How to do it
- Lie on a bench holding a barbell or EZ bar over your chest.
- Set hands about shoulder-width, arms vertical.
- Bend only at the elbows, lowering the bar toward your forehead.
- Keep the upper arms still, elbows pointing at the ceiling.
- Stop just above the forehead, triceps fully stretched.
- Extend back to lockout, squeezing the triceps hard.
Common mistakes
- Flaring the elbows wide and turning it into a press.
- Lowering the bar fast toward your face without control.
- Moving the upper arms back and forth with every rep.
- Bouncing the bar out of the stretched position.
Muscles worked
- Primary
- Triceps
Same movement, other equipment
Similar exercises
Good to know
- What muscles does the Barbell Skullcrusher work?
- Mainly the triceps.
- What equipment do you need for the Barbell Skullcrusher?
- It uses a barbell. Without it, the Cross-Body Cable Tricep Extension and the Dumbbell Seated Overhead Tricep Extension train the same muscles the same way.
- Is the Barbell Skullcrusher good for beginners?
- GymVim rates it intermediate. For a beginner-rated exercise on the same muscle and movement, see the Band Tricep Kickbacks.