The lying tricep extension, i.e. skullcrusher, is a great isolation exercise for the triceps.
This is a simple setup variation that allows you to not only perform them more strictly and with more stabilization, it also forces you to keep tension on the triceps at the top, where you would normally lose it.
And all you need is a wall.
How to do Rolling Wall Skullcrushers for tricep isolation...
Start by loading a light weight on an EZ curl bar (a regular straight bar will work, too, if that's all you have and if you have the room). I highly recommend using bumper plates for this.
Set your flat bench near a blank wall. You'll want the end of the bench to be just a few inches from the wall.
Get the bar to the normal top of the lying tricep extension position, then let it come backwards until the plates contact the wall.
You're going to KEEP the plates in contact with the wall for the entire set.
Now lower the bar down, rolling the plates down the wall, coming down until the bar is right by your forehead (where the name "skullcrushers" comes from).
Now extend the elbows, rolling the bar back up to the top position.
DO NOT bring the bar off the wall. Extend up into the top position where the upper arms will be back at an angle, which maintains tension in the triceps, where normally you would lose it in a normal free weight version of the exercise.
We're essentially using the wall like a Smith machine, guiding the path of the bar. However, since it's still moving freely in other planes of movement, you're not locked in like a Smith machine, making it easier on the elbows.
The lying tricep extension is not a "power" exercise.
It's all about control and isolation. If you want to build power in the triceps, use a form of press instead of an isolation exercise.
We want to get a good stretch at the bottom, maintaining tension in the triceps, then pushing all the way to the top.
Use light weight (I'm using 60 lbs in the demo here) and a controlled movement, really feeling the tension in the triceps all the way through.
Rolling Wall French Curls for greater triceps stretch
You can also do this exact same setup using French Curls (incline bench lying tricep extensions).
This puts a great stretch on the triceps at the bottom.
The setup is basically the same, though you may need to sit up on the bench face a little bit.
At the bottom, you can let your butt come off the bench a little bit, to get more stretch on the triceps.
Then roll the bar back up the wall, keeping it contact with the wall all the way through.
Again, use a LIGHT weight for these exercises...going too heavy forces you to use momentum and bring in other muscles to get the weight up.
For an overall tricep workout, use this one in conjunction with Close Grip Dumbbell Bench Press.
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