Purpose of Body Weight Skull Crushers
The purpose of the body weight skull crushers is NOT to crush your skull, despite its name, but rather to stimulate the major muscle located on the back of the upper arm known as the triceps.
Equipment Needed to Perform Body Weight Skull Crushers
The most suitable piece of equipment to perform body weight skull crushers is a barbell secured in a power rack. If you don’t have that, any sort of stable bar will work. A smith machine is also a very suitable option.
Difficulty of Body Weight Skull Crushers
On a scale of 1 to 5, body weight skull crushers would rank between a 3 and/or 4.
This movement requires a greater level of baseline strength (meaning you need to be strong enough to even consider doing this movement in the first place, as you can’t really reduce the amount your body weighs acutely – although you can vary the height of the bar to lower the resistance felt) than exercises in which you can lower the amount of weight.
Not only do you need a certain level of strength to perform this exercise, it will also challenge your core stability, as the trunk must remain stable to reap the full benefits of this exercise.
How to do Body Weight Skull Crushers
To perform body weight skull crushers you are going to need to have a bar secured in a power rack, or a smith machine – these are by far the most practical options. The height at which the bar is set should be based on your strength, and how many reps you wish to perform. The lower the bar is in relation to the floor, the more of your weight you are going to have to overcome to perform the movement.
Once the height of the bar is set, and the bar is anchored, you want to take a shoulder-width grip, with your feet a few feet behind where the bar is set (your body should be on a 30-60 degree angle in relation to the floor).
With your arms locked out in front of your body, you then initiate the movement by bending at the elbow to allow your body to be lowered forward until your skull comes close to making contact with the bar.
Stop your descent BEFORE your skull makes contact with the bar and reverse the movement by contracting your triceps to straighten your arms and bring you back to the starting position.
Make sure to keep your core tight during the entire duration of the movement – the same as you would when performing a traditional push-up.
Key Points When Performing Body Weight Skull Crushers
- Set the bar at the desired height – higher = easier, lower = harder
- Use a shoulder-width grip, and walk your feet back a few feet until your body is between a 30-60 degree angle
- Keep your core tight and tensed throughout the duration of the exercise
- Bend at the elbows to lower your skull towards the bar
- Stop BEFORE your head comes into contact with the bar
- Contract your triceps hard to extend your arms and complete the movement
How Many Reps When Performing Body Weight Skull Crushers
Body weight skull crushers can be very taxing on the elbow joints, so it’s best to align yourself in such a way that you are able to perform at least 8-12 repetitions. If you are unable to perform at least 6, even with the bar set high to limit the amount of your own bodyweight you need to overcome, then this exercise is not for you.
If you can manage over 20 reps, then this exercise may not be for you either – although there are ways to increase the demand such as performing this exercise in a fatigued state.
Common Mistakes When Performing Body Weight Skull Crushers
Some of the more common mistakes when performing body weight skull crushers are:
- Failing to remain tight throughout – this is one of the most common mistakes made anytime the body is the primary form of resistance. Often times people are more focused on the execution of the movement, and not on keeping the core tight and stable. This happens because people take core stability for granted, assuming that the core will magically remain stable on its own, so they end up looking past this basic fundamental requirement to make this exercise maximally effective.
- Allowing the elbows to flare – the triceps are smaller and weaker in comparison to the pecs, so what often happens is peoples elbows will unintentionally flare to involve the larger, stronger pec muscles. If one is not conscious of this, they will basically turn the exercise into a modified pull-up, and thus defeat the purpose of selecting this exercise in the first place.
- Locking the elbows at the top of each rep – removes the tension from the triceps and places it on the elbows which increases the chances of injury in the long term.
Modifications to Body Weight Skull Crushers
As stated above, the only real modifications to bodyweight skull crushers is to increase, or decrease, the height of the bar that you are holding on to.
The higher the bar is anchored, the less of your own body weight you have to overcome, while the lower the bar is anchored, the more of your own body weight you have to overcome.
When to Do Body Weight Skull Crushers
Due to the difficulty of the movement, unless you are extremely strong from a relative perspective, bodyweight skull crushers should always be performed when you are in a fresh state, NOT a fatigued state.
The more fatigued state you are in when you begin this exercise, the lower likeliness that you will be able to successful perform this exercise.
Alternatives to Body Weight Skull Crushers
The most obvious alternate to body weight skull crushers would be to perform traditional skull crushers with an EZ-bar.
Push-ups are also a good alternative, especially for those who have a difficult time remaining tight through the core. In fact, if that’s your major limiting factor, then mastering the push-up may be more beneficial to you, as it could be used as a stepping stone to body weight skull crushers.
Body Weight Skull Crushers vs. Skull Crushers
The major difference here is that with body weight skull crushers you must have a minimal amount of strength to even perform the exercise in the first place, while with skull crushers using a free weights you have the luxury of lowering the resistance to what is best for you (as long as you have enough strength to perform the exercise with the resistance provided by the bar).
The barbell variation can be used as a good teaching tool to learn how to use the triceps to perform elbow extension in a similar manner to what you would when performing body weight skull crushers.