Lying Triceps Press

Also called skull crusher, skullcrusher, lying tricep extension and french press.

Works

Triceps

Equipment

EZ bar

Level

Intermediate

Type

Isolation

How to do it

Setup. Lie on a flat bench with either an e-z bar (my preference) or a straight bar placed on the floor behind your head and your feet on the floor.

1. Grab the bar behind you, using a medium overhand (pronated) grip, and raise the bar in front of you at arms length. Tip: The arms should be perpendicular to the torso and the floor. The elbows should be tucked in. This is the starting position.
2. As you breathe in, slowly lower the weight until the bar lightly touches your forehead while keeping the upper arms and elbows stationary.
3. At that point, use the triceps to bring the weight back up to the starting position as you breathe out.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Arms vertical, elbows tucked.
• Lower the bar to the forehead.
• Only the forearms move.
• Extend fully, squeeze the triceps.

Common mistakes

• Elbows flaring out.
• Upper arms swinging back and forth.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have a sore elbow. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

Harder

Easier

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