This exercise sounds brutal — but it’s one of the best for working your triceps

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This practice sounds brutal — but information technology'south one of the best for working your triceps

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If ane of your 2022 fitness goals is to work on your arm strength, we've found 1 of the best exercises for building your triceps. Along with isolating your triceps, skull crushers are great at helping you lot increment your bench press strength. But what are skull crushers, and how can you lot make sure yous're doing them with the right form? Read on to discover out more than.

Firstly, don't let the proper noun put you lot off here. Instead, call up of information technology as a lesson about course. Skull crushers are named as such considering if you drib the weight, you're in danger of it falling on your head, just this shouldn't happen if you grip the weight properly, and don't start off with annihilation too heavy. If the name does put you off, they're besides referred to as lying tricep extensions. Below, nosotros've summarized how to practise a skull crusher, and how to ensure you're getting your course right throughout the exercise.

Looking for more arm workout inspiration? Nosotros've found this exercise that sculpts your artillery and abs using just your bodyweight, and the all-time resistance band exercises that build your artillery without weights.

How to do a skull crusher

To exercise a skull crusher, prevarication on a bench and ensure that your entire torso is supported by the bench, aside from your lower legs. Keep your lower back pressed into the demote, and extend a weight above your head, keeping a practiced grip on the weight, without locking your elbows.

Flex your elbows and lower the weight down towards the top of your head. Your arms should be perpendicular to your trunk. Go on lowering the weight behind your head, keeping the movement irksome and controlled. Then lift the weight dorsum up to your starting position and repeat.

The exercise can exist done with a dumbbell (we've found the best adjustable dumbbells for weightlifting at home here), a barbell, or kettlebells. You can exercise the exercise belongings 1 dumbbell between both hands, or increasing the weight to a dumbbell in each hand for more of a challenge.

Here's how to do a skull crusher with correct class:

Common mistakes

When it comes to getting your form right during this practise, at that place are a few things to watch out for:

Loose grip: We've already mentioned this above, but exist sure to grip onto the weight during the move to avoid injury. Put your ego aside and start with a lower weight to piece of work on your grip and your course during this do.

Think to lower the weight backside your head: At no point should you be lowering the weight straight towards your forehead or skull. The weight travels behind the head.

Rushing through the exercise: The unabridged do should exist done slowly, and with control, specially when the weight is moving down behind the caput. This forces the triceps to work harder and stops you from rocking dorsum and along during the exercise.

It'south worth noting, this exercise can put pressure on the elbows, and then if y'all're recovering from an elbow injury, it's a practiced idea to check with your md before adding this to your routine.

What are the benefits of skull crushers?

Skull crushers isolate the tricep musculus and put the tricep through a deep range of motion, which is corking for building musculus. Compared to other tricep exercises, they too don't put equally much strain on the elbows.

Compared to exercises like demote presses, when you perform a skull crusher, your shoulders remain withal, which means all iii parts of the tricep — the medial head, the lateral head, and the long head, are engaged.

In addition to stiff arms beingness an artful goal, we use our triceps for pushing and pulling motions, and then they're important even if you're not a bodybuilder. Strong triceps volition make carrying the groceries, or pushing a baby carriage a little fleck easier. They can also sculpt the arm muscles and help target the underarm part of the trunk, oft referred to as 'bingo wings'.

Skull crusher modifications to try

If you don't have a weight bench, yous can alter this exercise by performing information technology on an practice mat on the floor (we've constitute the best yoga mats that double as do mats here).

For more than of a challenge, use a barbell during this exercise, and increase the weight and the number of repetitions. You tin can as well endeavour doing the exercise on a weight bench at an incline to really upwards the dues.

Jane McGuire is Tom's Guide'southward Fettle editor, which means she looks afterwards everything fettle related - from running gear to yoga mats. An gorging runner, Jane has tested and reviewed fitness products for the past four years, and so knows what to look for when finding a practiced running watch or a pair of shorts with pockets big enough for your smartphone. When she'southward not pounding the pavements, y'all'll detect Jane striding round the Surrey Hills, taking far likewise many photos of her puppy.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-do-a-skull-crusher

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