Decline EZ-Bar Skull Crusher
Also known as: decline skull crusher, decline skull crushers, decline ez bar skull crushers, decline lying triceps extension, decline ez bar triceps extension, ez bar decline triceps extension
In SetGrip: EZ-Bar Skull Crusher (Decline)
- Secondary muscles
- Delts
- Body part
- Upper Arms
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Setting the EZ bar on a decline changes where the exercise is hardest: with your head below your feet, the bar keeps pulling on the triceps even near lockout instead of stacking over your joints at the top. The angled grips spare your wrists, and the secured feet give a heavier, more stable base than the decline dumbbell version.
How to do the Decline EZ-Bar Skull Crusher
- Lie on a decline bench with your head lower than your feet and your feet secured.
- Hold the ez barbell with an overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
- Extend your arms fully, keeping your elbows close to your head.
- Lower the barbell slowly towards your forehead, bending your elbows.
- Pause for a moment, then extend your arms back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Keep a slight bend at the top on lying extensions to protect the elbow, but lock out fully on cable pushdowns.
Muscles worked
Primary
Triceps · Arms
The triceps straighten the elbow, and overhead variations stretch the long head at the bottom, so you should feel the whole back of the upper arm working with a hard squeeze at lockout.
Secondary
- Delts — The front delt holds the upper arm in position on overhead extensions and should feel tension but not be lifting.
Common mistakes
- Elbows flaring out — on overhead and lying extensions the elbows should stay pointed forward or up, not out to the sides, since flaring turns it into a press.
- Upper arm moving — the upper arm should be pinned in place and only the forearm should move; if the elbow drifts, drop the weight.
- Not finishing the rep — take every rep to a full triceps squeeze; on pushdowns that means a complete lockout for a count.
- Cutting the stretch — on overhead extensions let the weight travel down behind the head until you feel the long head stretch before pressing up.
Where it fits in a workout
Triceps extensions go after the presses in a push session or at the end of an arm day. Superset them with biceps curls.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without ez bar
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.
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More exercises
- All arms exercises
- All triceps exercises
- All ez bar exercises
- EZ Bar triceps exercises
- Barbell Overhead Triceps Extension
- Seated Close Grip Barbell Overhead Triceps Extension
- Reverse Grip Barbell Skull Crusher
- Kneeling Cable Concentration Triceps Extension
- Rope Cable Lying Triceps Extension
- Straight Bar Cable Lying Triceps Extension
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.