An excellent bodyweight triceps exercise to get those horseshoe-shaped arms right from your own living room.
For gym enthusiasts, there’s no end to the array of machines available to supercharge our workouts and muscle gains. With a diverse range of equipment targeting various muscle groups, achieving a good pump is hardly a concern. However, for those of us working out from home, the challenge lies in identifying the optimal exercises to specifically hit certain often-neglected or tough-to-engage muscle groups. Your triceps are one such group, and discovering effective exercises to work them can be tricky.
The bodyweight skull crusher is an excellent triceps move that engages this muscle group without requiring any apparatus. We all understand the need, or at least the desire, for prominent arms, and this exercise is bound to ignite that muscle burn. Your triceps are made up of three heads that contribute to its shape: the long head, lateral head, and medial head. Targeting each effectively helps to achieve that coveted horseshoe appearance. The bodyweight skull crusher aims at all three heads, making it a highly effective and valuable exercise.
This move has the capacity to take your muscle gains to a new level. Let’s explore the bodyweight skull crusher and discover its potential for us. From the fundamentals, to muscles targeted, and the significant benefits for triceps growth and overall training objectives, this exercise is a remarkable addition to your fitness regimen.
Skull Crusher Fundamentals
Skull crushers are outstanding for focusing on your triceps and building substantial strength. Typically, when people consider skull crushers, they think of the weighted variant involving a barbell or dumbbells. Yet, the bodyweight skull crusher is equally premier for triceps engagement, utilizing a different method. Instead of weights, this exercise leverages gravity as your resistance while facing downward, facilitating a proficient pushing motion.
Muscles Engaged During The Bodyweight Skull Crusher
Bodyweight skull crushers are primarily an isolation exercise targeting your triceps, particularly the long head. However, other muscle groups, such as the core and lats, are also worked to stabilize and balance your body, ensuring a robust workout.
Advantages Of The Bodyweight Skull Crusher
Promotes Triceps Growth
This exercise aims directly at the triceps, providing an intense burn that enhances both strength and size, crucial for performance and physique. Complementing big biceps with equally sturdy triceps makes your arms look impressive, especially in a sleeveless shirt. This strong pushing movement helps you focus on the mind-muscle connection, fostering better strength gains (1).
Enhances Core Stability & Balance
Although the primary challenge is on the triceps, the core muscles also get involved to maintain balance and stabilization. This elevates the overall efficacy of the exercise, fortifying your ability to stay grounded and effectively work your triceps.
Accessible & Easy To Master
This exercise is straightforward to learn yet has immense benefits for muscle growth. With no equipment needed, it’s a great addition to your home workout routine, increasing convenience and simplicity.
How To Perform This Exercise
To execute this exercise, you can use a bench or a barbell placed on a rack.
Position your hands on the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width. Keep your elbows close to your body to prevent them from flaring out while firmly grounding your legs. The movement should only originate from the elbows.
Engage your core and slowly lower your body, bending at the elbows until your body moves under the bar. Once you achieve a 90-degree angle, push back to the start position using only your triceps. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Weighted Skull Crusher Exercise
For those interested in the weighted skull crusher, this exercise introduces more resistance using dumbbells or an EZ-bar.
Lie on a bench with your feet either firmly against a wall or flat on the floor. Hold the weight overhead with your elbows extended upwards. Similar to the bodyweight variation, the movement focuses on the elbows to engage the triceps fully.
Gradually lower the weight towards your head, feeling the triceps working intensely. Maintaining core engagement is vital for this version as well. Upon reaching the bottom, push the weight back overhead, extending your elbows. Repeat for the specified number of repetitions.
Conclusion
Identifying an effective triceps exercise is critical to achieve the growth you strive for. The bodyweight skull crusher is a powerful workout that intensely targets the triceps, encouraging that horseshoe shape to develop. With proper form and dedication, this exercise is simple to learn and integrates seamlessly into your routine, driving excellent triceps development for the impressive arm size we all desire.
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*Images courtesy of Envato
References
- Calatayud, Joaquin; Vinstrup, Jonas; Jakobsen, Markus D.; Sundstrup, Emil; et al. (2017). “Mind-muscle connection training principle: influence of muscle strength and training experience during a pushing movement”. (source)
- Willardson, Jeffrey M. (2007). “Core stability training: applications to sports conditioning programs”. (source)