Skull Crushers (or lying French presses) are probably my favorite triceps exercise (definitely the one with the coolest name, at least) and one of the best ways to pump up your tri’s. You can do these with a straight barbell or the E-Z curl (cambered) bar, but the E-Z curl is definitely easier on your wrists. For me, I seem to “feel” French presses better when I use the E-Z curl bar, but try them both out and see what you think. Try to lift as heavy as you can when performing skull crushers, but (as usual) not so heavy that you go out of form. Perform the movement slowly and smoothly, focusing on feeling the contraction in your triceps. I like to pause a bit at the top and bottom of each rep (at the bottom to feel the stretch in my tri’s, at the top to give the little buggers a firm squeeze). Triceps are great because you can definitely “feel the burn” when they’re worked correctly. Do this one right and fry those babies.
Performance: Lie faceup on a weight bench, holding a barbell or an E-Z Curl bar at arms’ length above you. Keeping your upper arms stable and hinging just at your elbows, slowly bring the bar down in an arc towards your forehead, then return to the starting position. If possible, use a spotter for safety so this exercise doesn’t live up to its skull-crushing nickname.
Muscle Emphasis: primary emphasis is on the inner and medial heads of the tricep
Leave a Reply
|
