Lying Close-Grip EZ-Bar Triceps Extension Behind the Head
Trains the Triceps.
- Equipment
- An EZ bar and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Lie on a flat bench with your head at the very end, holding an EZ bar with a close overhand grip.
- Press it up until the arms are straight over your chest.
- Tip the upper arms back so they point up and behind you.
- Bend the elbows to lower the bar past your head toward the floor behind you.
- Go down until you feel the stretch along the back of the upper arms.
- Straighten the arms back to the start without letting the elbows flare.
Common mistakes
- Lowering to the forehead. Behind the head is the whole point — it takes the upper arms further back and puts the long head on more stretch at the shoulder.
- Letting the upper arms drop toward vertical. Angled back is what creates the stretch; upright turns it into an ordinary skull crusher.
- Lying too far up the bench. The head at the end is what gives the bar somewhere to travel; further up, the bench is in the way.
- Going heavy. The bar travels behind your head on a bent elbow, and the position is the least controllable in any triceps exercise.