EZ Bar California Skullcrusher

Description

How to Do EZ Bar California Skullcrusher

1. 1
   Setup

   Lie supine on a flat bench with your feet firmly planted on the floor, ensuring your lower back maintains a slight natural arch.

2. 2
   Setup

   Grasp an EZ bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart, and extend it directly over your chest with your elbows slightly bent.

3. 3

   Keeping your upper arms stationary and elbows tucked, slowly lower the bar by bending your elbows, allowing the bar to travel towards your forehead or slightly behind your head.

4. 4

   Continue lowering until your forearms are close to touching your biceps, feeling a deep stretch in your triceps.

5. 5

   Contract your triceps to extend your elbows, pushing the bar back up to the starting position directly over your chest.

6. 6

   Fully extend your arms at the top, squeezing your triceps, but avoid locking your elbows completely to maintain tension.

Tips

• Maintain constant tension on your triceps by avoiding full elbow lockout at the top of the movement; keep a slight bend to maximize muscle engagement.
• Control the descent of the bar, performing the eccentric phase slowly to increase time under tension and enhance muscle activation.
• Keep your elbows relatively tucked in and pointed forward throughout the movement, preventing them from flaring out to the sides to isolate the triceps effectively.
• Breathe correctly: exhale as you extend the bar back to the starting position and inhale as you lower the bar towards your head.

Common Mistakes

• ×Flaring your elbows out to the sides reduces triceps isolation and can strain your shoulders; keep them tucked to direct tension to the triceps.
• ×Using excessive weight often leads to momentum and recruitment of other muscles; reduce the weight to maintain strict form and optimize triceps engagement.
• ×Performing a short range of motion by not fully extending or lowering the bar limits muscle activation; ensure a full range of motion to maximize triceps development.