Skull Crushers

[Beefkake31]

Ok for those of you that don't know a skull crusher is a excersize for the triceps where you lie down with a EZ curl bar and Press the bar directly over the chest, keeping the elbows close to the body. Then, instead of lowering the bar back to the starting position, lower the bar to your forehead and back up again. Now that everyone knows what I am talking about, here is my question.

What can I do about the pain in my elbows everytime I do this excersize. I can even to it with the cables and it doesn't hurt. But this excersize always makes my elbows hurt and I can't go too heavy because I feel like im tearing something in my elbow and it hurts.

What can I do to solve this problem? I've tried warming up with one set of light weight and even though that helps verrrry slightly it is not enought. Any suggestions guys?

[Juggernaut]

Bro it could be a whole slew of things causing this. Have you thought about seeing a doc to have it checked out? When something hurts like that its for a good reason, means you should stop exercising it. My elbows never hurt while doing SKs and I go pretty heavy.....I'd have a doc look at it, imho.

[Beefkake31]

Bro it could be a whole slew of things causing this. Have you thought about seeing a doc to have it checked out? When something hurts like that its for a good reason, means you should stop exercising it. My elbows never hurt while doing SKs and I go pretty heavy.....I'd have a doc look at it, imho.

Hey Jug, I am pretty sure everything is fine with my elbow. I think 90% of the people I ask who do this excersize tell me their elbows start hurting or cracking a little while doing this. I wanted to see if there was any way to prevent this.

[31uniform]

Ok, when you lie on the bench have your neck on the end of the bench so your head hangs off the back slightly. this will force you to keep your arms back when you raise the bar (at a slight angle so your arms dont go straight up), therefore keeping all the resistance on your triceps and off your elbows. Let me know if this works>

[Beefkake31]

Ok, when you lie on the bench have your neck on the end of the bench so your head hangs off the back slightly. this will force you to keep your arms back when you raise the bar (at a slight angle so your arms dont go straight up), therefore keeping all the resistance on your triceps and off your elbows. Let me know if this works>

Will do man, thanks for the help , I will try it out and let you know if there is a difference.

[SwoleCat]

Warm up the elbow first with a few single over the head d-bell extensions to thoroughly warm up the area.

~SC~

[TheMudMan]

Warm up the elbow first with a few single over the head d-bell extensions to thoroughly warm up the area.

~SC~

Yep......... I will do some type of push downs for my first exersice to warm up my joints before going into the rest of my tricept work.

But if they don't get better you need to see a doctor or stop doing them.......... You should really have no pain that would make you complain about it.

[needmorestrength]

I used to have this problem.. simple I don't do skull crushers any more!! sometimes your body isn't compatible with certain excerises.. I thought to myself is it worth wrecking my elbows all over again, Nope!! heavy close grip and reverse and dips is where its at for me know

[Hypertrophy]

[QUOTE=TheMudMan]Yep......... I will do some type of push downs for my first exersice to warm up my joints before going into the rest of my tricept work.
[QUOTE]

Yeah, I usually start with heavy pressdowns, then skulls. If I perform skulls first, my elbows hurt.

[Jantzen4k]

it hurts my training partner too.

try subbing in french-presses or something else till it goes away or you see a doctor

[MrMondodondo]

I put neoprene elbow wraps on. It keeps everything tight and warm. Helps a million. I also do Skull Crushers with the Olympic bar and for some reason it feels better on the elbows as well.

[symmetry101]

Skull crushers are why my elbows kill right now, like someone else said heavy close grips and dips till they get better. It's cause by your elbows flaing out to the side of your body too much. It's very hard for some to maintain the elbos close to your head and going heavy. If you take a weight belt and tighten it around your tri's of both arms it will force your elbows to stay close together. Just have a partner tighten the belt and hand you the weight. Bottom line its caused by bad form and some point.

[ryamigo]

i had the same prob with my elbows while doin skull crushers.
i was using a close grip on the ez-curl bar, with my elbows in...
i decided to experiment...i used a wider grip, still with my elbows in...down to my forehead....
it worked for me...the elbow pain went away

[weightshead]

I also do Skull Crushers with the Olympic bar and for some reason it feels better on the elbows as well.

straight bar is much more comfortable on the elbows for me also.

[bluethunder]

Too me that is a early sign of tendonitis. Because of the sharp elbow bend. You can do a few things that may help. Lower the weight, slightly wider grip or try performing the exercise on a decline which is a FANTASTIC variation that very few employ.(blood flow increases toward your upper body) Do a few close grip push ups firsts to get some warm up. Also, try using the straight bar as your wrist are more natural position.

[Dude-Man]

i do them inclined on the rare occasion that i have an arms day.

[bigcut77]

I agree with the other guys about the warm up sets before hand. my tendons in the elbow are really tight also and this has made a world of diffrence for me. I usuallly do 2 light set with high reps of push downs on the cable before starting any heavy skull crushers.

[Malvino]

My elbows also hurt when i do this excersize they've hurt since i did this to train for hockey when i was 10. I remember my dad showing me that excersize so id on't beleive its tendasitus. I think some peoples bodies are just created differently.