When it comes to training your triceps, there is no shortage of exercises to choose from. However, some triceps exercises are more effective than others when it comes to building big triceps.

One of the most common tricep exercises I see is the skull crusher and while this is not necessarily a bad exercise to do, it has some limitations.

The first problem I have with the skull crusher is how the exercise is influenced by the downward force of gravity. At the beginning and the end of the rep, the weight is directly over your chest. This means that the downward force of gravity is parallel to the direction of the triceps.

The limitation behind this position is that a significant amount of tension is being taken off the triceps. Remember, tension is the language of the muscles you are trying to grow and you need to become fluent in that language. The more tension applied to the triceps means that there will be a better stimulus for growth.

The second issue with the skull crusher is that the long head of the triceps is never on stretch. As new research has shown, introducing a stretch stimulus under load to the muscle will induce more hypertrophic results. That means more muscle growth. If we could somehow get the long head of the triceps, responsible for the majority of size in the triceps, we would be on the road to better gains.

Is there a better alternative?

Let me introduce the lying triceps extension. With the weight starting and finishing in a position behind your head with your arms angled back, you don’t have to worry about gravity. In this position, the downward force of gravity is far more perpendicular to your triceps, meaning that there is a greater amount of tension on the triceps. With more tension on the muscle, you are in a better position to illicit more growth.

Add in the fact that the long head of triceps are now on stretch with the weight descending behind your head, you have that stimulus working in your favor. This will help to build the largest head of the triceps which will lead to a bigger arms as the triceps make up 2/3 of the mass of the upper arm.

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Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

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