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Also known as: Dumbbell skull crusher.

Technique

  1. Lie on a bench, holding a Dumbbell in each hand directly above your shoulders, arms fully extended.
  2. Bend your elbows, lowering the weights above your head while keeping the upper arms stationary.
  3. Extend your arms back to the starting position.

Form tips

  • To get more Triceps activation, angle your arms so that your upper arms are slightly pointing backward, instead of keeping them fully vertical.
  • Engage your core muscles to maintain stability and avoid arching your back.
  • Avoid flaring your elbows out during the movement.
Logging: Total weight used.
Risks
  • Be careful not to drop the weight on your head.

Muscles

Strength

Primary

  • Triceps

Secondary

  • Forearms
  • Chest
  • Back
  • Triceps brachii (long head)
  • Triceps brachii (medial head)
  • Triceps brachii (lateral head)
  • Pectoralis major (clavicular head)
  • Pectoralis major (sternal head)
  • Latissimus dorsi
  • Teres major

Equipment

Appears in

Other disciplines
Joint movements
trains stretches

Variations

e13k

Kettlebell lying triceps extension

Novice
e13l

Plate lying triceps extension

Novice
e13m

Barbell lying triceps extension

Novice
e143

Dumbbell overhead triceps extension

Novice
e142

Plate overhead triceps extension

Novice
e10i

Dumbbell pullover

Beginner
e144

Single dumbbell overhead triceps extension

Novice
e159

Dumbbell seated overhead press

Beginner
Want to log this exercise? Open it in Calistree. Text and images are used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; the video plays from the original source.