Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension

Also known as: EZ-Bar Skull Crusher, Z-Bar Lying Triceps Extension

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Body Part: Triceps

Description

Lie on a flat bench and lower an EZ bar from over your forehead to just behind your head, then straighten your elbows to build bigger triceps. All three heads of the triceps share the work, and the bottom position behind your head puts the long head on a deep stretch. The angled handles let your hands turn in a little, which most wrists and elbows like better than a straight bar. It usually comes after bench or overhead presses. If that deep stretch bothers your elbows, the cable or dumbbell version is the better pick.

How to Perform

Sit at the end of a flat bench with the loaded EZ bar on your thighs, then lie back so your head rests at the very end of the pad.
Bend your knees to about 90 degrees and plant your feet flat. Glutes, upper back and head stay on the bench for the whole set.
Hold the outer angled handles, right next to the plates, overhand and about shoulder width apart. Thumbs around the bar, knuckles up, wrists straight.
Press the bar to straight arms and let it settle over your forehead, upper arms tilted slightly back toward your head rather than straight up over your chest.
Bend only at the elbows and lower the bar in an arc past your forehead to just behind the top of your head, taking 2 to 3 seconds.
When your forearms nearly touch your biceps, reverse without a bounce and straighten along the same arc until your elbows lock out over your forehead.
To end the set, bring the bar down to your chest and sit up with it, or hand it to your spotter.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Tips

Two to four sets of 8 to 15 reps work well, often 10 to 12. For heavier work, 6 to 10 is plenty; fewer reps are rarely worth the stress on your elbows. Stay at one weight until all your sets reach the top of the range with the bar behind your head and a full lockout, then add 2.5 kg in total (1.25 kg per side) and build back up from the low end. If your smallest plates are 2.5 kg, that 5 kg jump is big, so add a set first.
At the bottom you should feel a long stretch up the back of your upper arm toward the armpit, and a hard squeeze at lockout. Pain in the elbow joint means less weight, stopping at your forehead for a while, or the cable version. To make it harder without more weight, pause for a second behind your head and take 3 seconds to lower.
The bar passes over your face. Do 1 or 2 light warm-up sets and keep a rep or two in reserve. If a rep stalls, don't force it with your shoulders: bend your elbows, bring the bar down to your chest by moving your upper arms toward your hips, and sit up with it.
Substitutes: Lying Barbell Triceps Extension when there's no EZ bar, Dumbbell Lying Triceps Extension for a neutral grip, Lying Cable Skull Crusher for steady tension with no bar over your face, and Incline Barbell Triceps Extension for an even bigger stretch.

Common Mistakes

Elbows flaring out as the bar comes down. Point them at the ceiling, about as wide as your hands, and take some weight off until you can.
Upper arms drifting forward until the bar finishes over your chest and the rep turns into a press. Keep that slight backward tilt; only your forearms move.
Stopping with the bar above your forehead even though your elbows feel fine. Lower it until it's just behind the top of your head and your forearms almost touch your biceps, and go lighter until you own that range.
Lying too far down the bench, so the bar hits the pad or your head at the bottom. Slide up until your head is at the end of the bench before the first rep.
Dropping the bar fast and bouncing out of the bottom, or lifting your hips to finish a hard rep. Lower in 2 to 3 seconds, keep your glutes down, and end the set once you need your hips.