Beginner

Floor Skull Crusher

Performed flat on the floor, this extension lets the dumbbells settle on the ground beside your head, capping the range and taking stress off the joint while still loading all three triceps heads with a long-head bias. It is a beginner-friendly and travel-friendly way to train extensions without a bench. The floor also acts as a natural safety stop if a rep stalls.

Equipment
Dumbbell
Body part
Triceps
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Elbow Extension
Muscles worked
Target
Triceps Brachii Long Head
Secondary
Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head

How to do it

  1. 1

    Lie flat on the floor holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing each other.

  2. 2

    Press the weights up so your arms are straight over your shoulders.

  3. 3

    Keeping the upper arms fixed, bend the elbows to lower the dumbbells toward your forehead.

  4. 4

    Let the upper arms drift back slightly so the triceps stay loaded and the elbows point up.

  5. 5

    Stop when the dumbbells lightly touch the floor beside your head.

  6. 6

    Extend the elbows to press the weights back to the start and squeeze the triceps.

Tips

  • Keep the elbows tucked and pointing toward the ceiling rather than flaring wide.
  • Angle the upper arms slightly back toward your head to load the long head more.
  • Use the floor contact as a gentle reset, not a bounce.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Letting the palms rotate to face your feet as you lower, which flares the elbows wide and drops the upper arms to the floor before the triceps have stretched. Keep the palms facing each other the whole rep.
  • Lowering the dumbbells toward your shoulders instead of your forehead, which turns the set into a narrow floor press and takes the triceps out of it.
  • Lifting your head off the floor to watch the weights come down. Keep the back of your head on the ground and track the dumbbells with your eyes only.
  • Arching the lower back off the floor to help the press. Ribs stay down and the spine stays in contact; the floor is there to keep the set honest.

Frequently asked

How many sets of the floor skull crusher should I do at home?
Three sets of 10 to 15, with a brief settle when the dumbbells touch the floor rather than a bounce. The range is shorter than a bench version, so keep reps a little higher and the tempo slow, taking two to three seconds to lower. Add a rep before you add weight, because the next pair of dumbbells is often a 5-pound jump per hand, which is a lot on arm work. To progress without heavier bells, run it one arm at a time.
What can I do instead of the floor skull crusher if I have no dumbbells?
A loaded backpack held by both straps gives you a two-hand version with the same elbow path. With nothing to hold, close-grip push-ups train the triceps hard; put your hands on a step to make them easier or your feet on one to make them harder. If you have an EZ bar and a bench, the standard skull crusher is the direct upgrade, since it gives the elbows the extra inches the floor takes away.
What is the floor skull crusher for?
It trains elbow extension with a long-head bias while the floor caps how far the elbows can travel, which spares the joint and leaves you a stopping point if a rep stalls. That makes it a good pick for beginners, for home training, and for anyone whose elbows dislike the bottom of a bench version. It is a poor choice when you want the deepest stretch on the long head, where an incline skull crusher or an overhead extension gives you range the floor removes.

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