Here's the thing with typical skull-crushers: You can't always load a ton of weight onto the bar and truly challenge your triceps. Go heavy on a traditional skull-crusher and the weight can cause elbow pain during the eccentric phase of the movement (when you're bringing the weight down).
In order to alleviate that elbow pain, you might not get a full stretch on your triceps during that eccentric phase. Or, you might lower the weight with such speed that when you begin to lift it again, momentum is assisting the concentric phase of the movement and your triceps aren't doing all of the work or getting the full benefits from it. (For a full workout that will leave your entire body dripping in sweat, check out Metashred from Men's Health.)
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Enter the floor skull-crusher, which will have your tris working for the entire concentric phase of the movement. Lie on the floor with the EZ-curl bar held over your forehead. Lower it slightly behind your head, until the weights come to rest on the floor. Pause here for one second, then raise the weight until your arms are straight.
The big benefit of the move is you can go heavier than you would with a normal skull-crusher, forcing your triceps to work against heavy resistance with little assistance from momentum, and it works well as the lead move in this circuit:
Do 10 to 12 floor skull-crushers, followed by 6 traditional bar-to-forehead skull-crushers.
Then rep out on close-grip floor bench presses.
Rest for one minute, then repeat for four sets.
You won't want to do floor skull-crushers every triceps workout, but mix them in every now and then for a switch that can spark serious sleeve-busting growth.
This article originally appeared on Men's Health
