Muscles worked
The floor skull crusher trains your triceps lying down, with your upper arms pointing up and the floor as your base. All three heads straighten the elbow, and many people find the palms-facing grip kind to the wrists. With your back on the floor, balance hardly comes into it. The floor also marks a clear bottom: the dumbbells can touch it beside your head, so you know where each rep turns.
Common mistakes
- Resting the dumbbells on the floor. Putting them down at the bottom gives your triceps a break mid-rep. Just brush the floor and straighten your arms without pausing.
- Your back lifts off the floor. With straight legs, your lower back tends to arch up off the mat. Bend your knees and plant your feet, and your back stays put.
- Getting the dumbbells into position badly. Lifting heavy dumbbells off the floor with straight arms once you are lying down puts your elbows in a poor position. Sit down with a dumbbell on each thigh, roll back holding them against your chest and press them up from there. Reverse the steps afterwards.
Variations and alternatives
- The skull crusher is the main exercise, with a bar on a bench, where it is easier to progress in small steps.
- The Tate press also uses two dumbbells lying down, but with your elbows out, if you want to vary the angle.
- The dumbbell floor press lets your chest help, so you can go heavier. It pairs well with this exercise at home.
Sets and reps
For muscle, 2 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps work well, with 15 to 20 for endurance. Heavy sets do not suit it, as the dumbbells move close to your head. The guide to sets and reps explains how to choose, and the dumbbell programme shows how exercises like this fit into a week.
With only one pair at home, you can still make the work harder: take about three seconds on the way down, or add a set. Once you reach the top of your range on every set, move up if you have heavier dumbbells. All of that counts as progressive overload.