The Dumbbell Decline Skullcrusher is a beginner-friendly dumbbell strength exercise that targets the triceps. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesTriceps
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentDumbbell
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Dumbbell Decline Skullcrusher
Set the bench to a slight decline and lock your feet under the foot pads.
Lie back with a dumbbell in each hand and press them up over your chest with palms facing each other.
Tilt your upper arms slightly back toward your head so the dumbbells sit just past vertical.
Bend at the elbows to lower the dumbbells slowly toward the sides of your head.
Stop when you feel a strong stretch across the back of the upper arms, with the elbows still pointed up.
Extend the arms back to the start by driving through the triceps, keeping the upper arms in place.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Builds triceps size with a deep long-head stretch.
Adds focused arm volume without loading the chest or shoulders.
Trains the elbow extension pattern that drives lockout in pressing lifts.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Letting the upper arms swing forward on the way up so the lift turns into a press.
Flaring the elbows out wide, which trades triceps work for shoulder strain.
Cutting the range short at the bottom and skipping the deep stretch where the long head loads up.
Going too heavy and crashing the dumbbells toward the head instead of lowering under control.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Dumbbell Decline Skullcrusher, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
