EZ Bar Skullcrusher

How to Perform the EZ Bar Skullcrusher

Lie flat on a bench holding an EZ bar with a narrow grip on the inner angled portion, arms extended straight above your chest.
Position your feet flat on the floor and press your upper back firmly into the bench.
Keep your upper arms stationary and perpendicular to the floor throughout the entire movement.
Slowly bend your elbows to lower the bar toward your forehead or just past the top of your head.
Continue lowering until your forearms are just past parallel to the floor, feeling a deep stretch in the triceps.
Reverse the movement by forcefully extending your elbows, pressing the bar back to the starting position.
Squeeze the triceps hard at the top of each rep before beginning the next descent.

Flaring the elbows wide during the movement

Keep your elbows pointed toward the ceiling and relatively narrow throughout to maximise tricep activation.

Moving the upper arms back and forth during the lift

Lock your upper arms in position. Only your forearms should move at the elbow joint.

Lowering the bar directly to the forehead instead of behind

Angle the bar slightly behind the crown of your head for a greater stretch on the tricep long head and less elbow stress.

✓Effectively targets all three tricep heads with heavy loading potential.
✓The EZ bar reduces wrist and elbow strain compared to the straight bar version.
✓Provides a deep stretch on the tricep long head for maximum hypertrophy stimulus.

●Lower the bar slightly behind your head rather than directly to your forehead to increase long head activation.
●Use a controlled 2-3 second eccentric to protect the elbow joints and increase time under tension.
●The EZ bar angle is much easier on the wrists than a straight barbell for this exercise.

Strength

4-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

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