EZ-Bar Overhead Triceps Extension

How to do the EZ-Bar Overhead Triceps Extension

1. 1Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the ez barbell with an overhand grip.
2. 2Raise the barbell above your head, fully extending your arms.
3. 3Keeping your upper arms close to your head, slowly lower the barbell behind your head by bending your elbows.
4. 4Pause for a moment, then extend your arms back to the starting position.
5. 5Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Squeeze the bar hard and keep the wrists straight over the elbows through the whole rep.

Muscles worked

Common mistakes

• Elbows flaring wide — on horizontal presses keep the elbows at roughly 45 degrees from the torso; pressing overhead, keep them under the weight instead.
• Losing the shoulder blade position — on bench-style presses set the shoulder blades back and down and keep them there; overhead, let the shoulder blades rotate up naturally with the arms.
• Bouncing or rushing the bottom — control the bar down and pause for a beat before driving up, especially on decline and close grip variations.
• Not committing to a variation — Bradford presses, skull presses and the like are hybrids; pick a fixed range and stick with it for the whole set.

Where it fits in a workout

Presses are the main movement in a push session and should go first or second. Superset them with a row or pulldown for a push and pull pair.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

When to talk to someone

• Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
• Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
• Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

More exercises

• All arms exercises
• All triceps exercises
• All ez bar exercises
• EZ Bar triceps exercises
• Decline Wide Grip Barbell Bench Press
• Barbell Bradford Press
• Seated Barbell Bradford Press
• Decline Barbell Close Grip to Skull Press
• Barbell Floor Press with Leg Twist
• Behind Neck Standing Barbell Shoulder Press

Sources

1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.