Dumbbell Decline Skullcrusher

How to do it

1. Set the bench to a slight decline and lock your feet under the foot pads.
2. Lie back with a dumbbell in each hand and press them up over your chest with palms facing each other.
3. Tilt your upper arms slightly back toward your head so the dumbbells sit just past vertical.
4. Bend at the elbows to lower the dumbbells slowly toward the sides of your head.
5. Stop when you feel a strong stretch across the back of the upper arms, with the elbows still pointed up.
6. Extend the arms back to the start by driving through the triceps, keeping the upper arms in place.

Common mistakes

• Letting the upper arms swing forward on the way up so the lift turns into a press.
• Flaring the elbows out wide, which trades triceps work for shoulder strain.
• Cutting the range short at the bottom and skipping the deep stretch where the long head loads up.
• Going too heavy and crashing the dumbbells toward the head instead of lowering under control.