Skull Crushers vs Overhead Extensions

[jpm101]

I must thank funk51 for his excellent gallery of old time photos. A recorded picture history of BB'ing at it's best. That Draper shot is unreal. Thanks again.

[tbombz]

im tellin yall.. if u havent tried this and have hit a platue give this a shot..

i like doing pushdowns using the pulley. single handed. or dual handed. palm down. or palm up. squeeze real hard at the bottom, flex as hard as you can, control the negative for a 3-4 second count, the explode the weight back down to the bottom while keeping good form and only using the tricep. repeat. stay away from failure. just a few good sets is all you need.

[YoungBlood]

I tried them,but the positioning is hard to get........gotta` be just right for the best stretch.

At first it was awkward for me to find the right position but quickly got it right.

The most difficult part, for me, is the weight. Even putting it last I'm doing 20+ reps with my body weight. Even if I superset with them. So all I can really do is just put my feet as far back as I can without falling on my face (making the exercise hard as possible) and then make the negative is slow and the tendons feel as if they're about to rip off the insertion points.

[Montague]

...all I can really do is just put my feet as far back as I can without falling on my face (making the exercise hard as possible) and then make the negative is slow and the tendons feel as if they're about to rip off the insertion points.

You can also lower the bar so that more of your body (and thus, body weight) is above it during the movement. Now, when you extend, you're pushing your weight through more of a vertical plane as opposed to a horizontal one, dramatically adding to the resistance.
Also, I like to carefully dip my head under the bar all the way to my neck for a full stretch at the bottom position.

There are several minor tweaks you can make to this exercise that yield a profound difference in its difficulty.

[WOOO]

i don't do any variations of this stuff anymore... my elbows are now healthy and I aim to keep them that way...

[YoungBlood]

You can also lower the bar so that more of your body (and thus, body weight) is above it during the movement. Now, when you extend, you're pushing your weight through more of a vertical plane as opposed to a horizontal one, dramatically adding to the resistance.
Also, I like to carefully dip my head under the bar all the way to my neck for a full stretch at the bottom position.

There are several minor tweaks you can make to this exercise that yield a profound difference in its difficulty.

I have done all that. I always lower my head below the bar, have the bar as low as whatever equipment I am using allows and use tension over weight. I would rather use a 10# weight and look like I can bench 500 instead of the other way around.

[Montague]

I would rather use a 10# weight and look like I can bench 500 instead of the other way around.

Yep.
Your joints and tendons also prefer this mantra.
And, unless you're a competitive athlete, how much functional strength do you really need to do typical things like mow the lawn and change the oil in your car?

[wes]

You guys are both right.........as usual,making great points.

[YoungBlood]

I knew an amateur-level competitor who liked doing overhead extensions on a Smith machine. The grip was odd: he'd close both hands into fists, use about a shoulder-width hammer grip (palms facing each other), resting the bar on the blade of the hand (ulnar/pinky side), and go into the extension.
He kept the ROM real short and tight.

He was nice enough to work with me a little bit until I got it down.
It was an interesting feel; actually different from using a triceps bar with the parallel handles.
I just thought of it now...may have to add these to a sporadic arm day every now and then.

I remembered and tried doing the exercise today and I'm reporting back that it was a good one. I still have to tweak it as I was letting my alignment be off (one elbow drifted in more than the other). But the feel of the exercise and the feel of it, where it hit the belly of my triceps, it was a keeper!

[Montague]

I remembered and tried doing the exercise today and I'm reporting back that it was a good one. I still have to tweak it as I was letting my alignment be off (one elbow drifted in more than the other). But the feel of the exercise and the feel of it, where it hit the belly of my triceps, it was a keeper!

They do provide a good intense soreness that lasts for one to several days.
I used to feel it all the way down near my elbow, but in the muscle; not the tendons.
Coincidentally, I also have a tendency for my elbows to roll medially from time to time. For me, I think the likelihood increases as my tri's fatigue.

[YoungBlood]

I could feel it right in the middle of my triceps. When you do a FDB, the lower part of your tri's that hang down, right in the middle right there.

Good suggestion and as long as I remember it.

[tbombz]

you want to hit the outer head of the tricep ...     do pushdowns with your palm facing the floor.  

you want to hit the long head of your tricep, the one you can see in the front double bicep pose..  do pushdowns with your palm facing the ceiling.


simple

[wes]

Pushdowns for the most part are a finishing/final pump/burnout type movement for me........have gone heavy enough where I had to strap weight around my waist to keep me in one spot,but still never got much size out of them.

I still do them usually just to finish off the tris.........just my opinion,I`m sure others have grown veritable tons of muscle using them.

[Donny]

for me tri pushdowns are like wes said a last pumping ex. I canīt believe anyone would use much weight anyway after heavy close benches/dips. I used to see a lot of guys doing the typical tri pushdowns in the gym like it was the "thing to do" all the champs do it...right?.... I think as wrote before in another thread "go for a good Feeling and burn" ..not just about short choppy movements with giant weights. This is important in tri extensions and this i think is why a lot of people get problems with skull crushers/french press in their joints. End of the day we are all big boys and each to his own

[tbombz]

your not doing it correctly if you need to strap your body down. first, one arm at a time. this will help with symetry. second. keep your upper arm perfectly still throughout the entire motion. absolutely no momentum or sway or help from the shoulder. third, SLOW during the negative. nobody does this. 5 second count , steady paced, from fully extended all the way back up to fully stretched. third, POWERFUL during the concentric. fourth , hold and SQUUUUEEEZZZZZEEEE the tricep at the bottom. squeeze as hard as you can for a 3 second count. repeat.  you will not be able to use any where near the amount of weight you normally could, nor near the amount of reps or sets.. but it will dig deeper into the fibers and result in much better gains over time.

[Oly15]

your not doing it correctly if you need to strap your body down. first, one arm at a time. this will help with symetry. second. keep your upper arm perfectly still throughout the entire motion. absolutely no momentum or sway or help from the shoulder. third, SLOW during the negative. nobody does this. 5 second count , steady paced, from fully extended all the way back up to fully stretched. third, POWERFUL during the concentric. fourth , hold and SQUUUUEEEZZZZZEEEE the tricep at the bottom. squeeze as hard as you can for a 3 second count. repeat.  you will not be able to use any where near the amount of weight you normally could, nor near the amount of reps or sets.. but it will dig deeper into the fibers and result in much better gains over time.

Cool I'm gunna try this. Are there any good compound movements that u like doing for the long head (the one seen in fdb)?

[Overload]

I prefer to alternate between the two, but my favorite tricep exercise is Overhead DB Extensions with both hands on one heavy DB. Sometimes it's a pain to get the DB in position but with practice it's a great exercise.

Skull crushers seem to cause elbow soreness for myself and several other guys i have trained with. Going lighter and doing more controlled reps seems to help.

[tbombz]

Cool I'm gunna try this. Are there any good compound movements that u like doing for the long head (the one seen in fdb)?

over head dumbell extensions are great but can be hard on the elbows.

[Oly15]

over head dumbell extensions are great but can be hard on the elbows.

are u talkin about the single handed ones or double handed?

[tbombz]

are u talkin about the single handed ones or double handed?

both work great. double hand lets you use more weight but is harder on the elbows. single arms better for symetry.

[Meso_z]

Yesterday Ive tried the overhead extensions with the ez bar, after a long time and my inner triceps are SORE as hell today. I can feel the soreness directly there when I flex. Im impressed.

[Oly15]

Yesterday Ive tried the overhead extensions with the ez bar, after a long time and my inner triceps are SORE as hell today. I can feel the soreness directly there when I flex. Im impressed.

I did this today and it was fricken amazing. Was doin em seated with the ez bar and I never felt more burn or stress on my triceps before. Inner head was being demolished with em. I think because it lets you get a good stretch behind the head that it works so good.

[Overload]

Good stuff.

I'm going to try them with an ez-curl bar this week for sure.

[tbombz]

ive been meaning to start doing over head extensions but my elbows are fucked and the machine pushdowns work well so i havent.. i probably should though.. my long heads could use some work..

[Meso_z]

Good stuff.

I'm going to try them with an ez-curl bar this week for sure.

INSANE soreness I tell you! 

I did them this way.

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