Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension
Also works: Chest · Shoulders
A skull crusher done with two dumbbells held palms-facing-in, lowered past the ears rather than to the forehead. The neutral grip lets each elbow find its own comfortable path, which is why lifters whose elbows complain about a straight bar usually get on with this version.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Pick dumbbells you can press up cleanly from your chest one at a time — there is no rack to help you here.
- Lie flat with your feet planted, dumbbells pressed straight up, palms facing each other about shoulder-width apart.
- Tip your upper arms back roughly 10-20 degrees from vertical so tension stays on the triceps at the top.
- Pull your shoulder blades down and back into the bench so your shoulders do not creep forward as you fatigue.
- Set your elbows the width they naturally want to sit, not artificially pinched together.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Inhale as the dumbbells travel down, exhale through the extension. Three seconds down, a brief pause beside your ears, then a deliberate second up — never a snap into lockout.
Before you load it
- Have a plan for a failed rep before you start: bend the elbows and let the dumbbells come to rest on your chest, then sit up. Never try to press them back overhead when the triceps quits.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Start with 6-8 kg per hand even if you bench respectably — the leverage here is brutal compared to a pressing movement. Ten controlled reps with 12-14 kg per hand is a solid intermediate marker. Add weight only when the last rep of the last set still travels the full range at the same elbow angle; otherwise add a rep.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Drop 4 kg per hand and film one set from your feet. If the dumbbells travel outward on the way up rather than straight over your face, the weight is picking the path.
Set a bench at 30 degrees behind your head and let the backs of your upper arms rest lightly against it — the moment they press into the pad, you have started swinging. Fewer reps at a fixed elbow beats more reps of a pullover.
Aim the handles at the bench either side of your head and go until the forearm meets the bicep. The bottom third of the range is where the long head is loaded.
Watch the two handles in your peripheral vision and match the lower one. If the gap will not close, run the set with the weak arm alone for a block and let the strong arm wait.
Why bother
The triceps has three heads, and only the long head crosses the shoulder. Lying with your upper arms vertical or tipped slightly back puts that long head on stretch before the elbow even starts to bend, so it does far more work here than it does on a pushdown, where the arm hangs at your side.
Two dumbbells instead of a bar changes two things. Your forearms can rotate freely, so the elbow tracks where it wants rather than where the bar dictates — the usual reason a straight-bar skull crusher aches. And each arm carries its own load, so a stronger right triceps cannot quietly take over the rep.
Where it fits
Late in a pressing day, after benching or overhead work, 2-4 sets. It pairs badly with heavy close-grip pressing in the same session — both hammer the same elbow tendons. If your elbows are already grumbling, put pushdowns here instead and keep this for weeks when they feel clean.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
Asked and answered
To the ears or to the forehead?
To the ears. Lowering past the head rather than onto the forehead gives you a longer range and keeps the load moving away from your face. It also lets the upper arm stay tipped back, which is what keeps the long head under tension at the top of every rep.
Why do my elbows hurt on skull crushers but not on this?
A straight or EZ bar locks both wrists into one fixed rotation, so any mismatch between that path and your natural elbow track shows up as tendon pain. Dumbbells let each forearm rotate independently. If bar work bothers you, this is the substitution to try before you drop triceps extensions entirely.
Should I lock out at the top?
Stop a few degrees short. A hard lockout dumps the load onto the elbow joint and gives the muscle a rest at the exact moment you want it working. Keeping the arms slightly bent turns a 12-rep set into 12 reps of continuous tension.
Can I do this on the floor instead of a bench?
Yes, and it is a reasonable option if you train at home, but the floor cuts your range short — your upper arms cannot tip back and the dumbbells hit the ground beside your head early. Use a bench when you have one; use the floor when the alternative is skipping the set.