The Skull Crusher Dumbbell Arm Exercise

Video Transcript

" Hi! I’m Manny Castro, Exercise Physiologist. This is another variation of a skull crusher or the supine triceps extension with a barbell. Now, as I said before in one of my other clips, the barbell tends to restrict your motion, so sometimes the dumbbell is better now for some people that have problems with theirs elbows, such as tendonitis, the barbell might not work as well. The dumbbell might be an advantage to that. Now we can do the same exercise using the palms facing the ceiling or we can do a variation, like I am going to do now. Basically, you want to take the dumbbells, lay back on the bench. With your elbows pointing up, this is going to be your starting position. Remember you want to keep your elbows always pointing up. This will target the triceps or the back of the arms. Now, remember with the skull crusher what we did is the barbell you held it like this, your elbows were pointing forward. What you did is you brought it down to your forehead and then right back up. Now you can do that variation with the dumbbells and it might be a little less pain. Now most people that have tendinitis will find the palms facing in, a more comfortable position and it probably will not hurt as much. Again, you do your 3-4 sets and 12-15 repetitions to begin. Work your way down from there and increase your weight as you become stronger. "