Skull Crusher

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

Because the long head of the triceps also crosses the shoulder, angling the arms back over your head is what loads it — a pushdown never gets there.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Humerus angled overhead): Setting the upper arms back past vertical lengthens the long head before the elbow bends at all.
During the set (Loaded at long length): The long head is worked near full stretch, which is what a pushdown with arms at the sides cannot do.
Immediately after (Eccentric damage signal): Loading at long lengths produces more soreness than the working weight would suggest.
Weeks later (Long-head thickness): The inner, rear portion of the upper arm fills out with consistent controlled loading.

Muscles trained

Primary: triceps
Secondary: abs, shoulders

Intensity

3.5 METs (Resistance (weight) training, multiple exercises, 8-15 repetitions at varied resistance).

Time to effect

Weeks: The loaded stretch at the bottom is unfamiliar to most lifters, so early sessions often bring more soreness than the working weight would suggest.
Months: Thickness through the long head, the inner and back portion of the upper arm, becomes more visible with consistent, controlled loading.

Related supplements

Creatine Monohydrate

Common myth

"Skull crushers are dangerous and should be avoided." In reality: The name is dramatic slang, not a warning label. The movement is safe when the bar path is controlled and lowered toward the forehead with light-to-moderate loads and steady tempo; injuries come from swinging heavy weight or losing control near the face, not from the exercise pattern itself. Keeping the elbows pointed toward the ceiling rather than flared out is what actually keeps it safe.