Barbell overhead triceps extension
A bar lowered behind your head and pressed back up, elbows held high. The overhead position trains the long head of the triceps through its full stretch.
The movement
2 stages
Locked overhead
01 Locked overhead
Stand tall with the bar pressed straight overhead and the ribs pulled down.
02 Bar behind the head
Bend only at the elbows so the bar lowers behind the head; the upper arms stay pointing up.
How to do it
Setup
- Take a light bar to your shoulders, hands about shoulder-width apart, palms facing forward.
- Press it overhead until your arms are straight and the bar sits just behind your head.
- Stand with your feet under your hips and your ribs pulled down so your back does not arch.
Execution
- Bend at the elbows to lower the bar behind your head, keeping your upper arms still and pointing up.
- Lower until you feel a stretch down the back of your arms.
- Press the bar back overhead until your elbows lock straight.
BreathingInhale as the bar lowers behind your head, exhale as you press it up.
Getting it right
Form cues
- Only your forearms move. Your upper arms stay pointed at the ceiling.
- Keep your ribs pulled down so the arch comes out of your lower back.
Common mistakes
- Letting the elbows drift wide, which hands the work to the shoulders and chest.
- Arching the lower back to press the bar up, which loads the spine instead of the arms.
- Starting too heavy, so the bar drops behind the head faster than you can control it.
Worth knowing
- The bar travels behind your head, where you cannot see it and cannot bail out sideways. Start lighter than you think you need, and train it inside a rack or with someone standing behind you until the groove is familiar.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
The triceps has three heads, and only one of them crosses the shoulder. That long head is fully stretched when your arm is overhead, which is why an overhead extension trains it in a way a pushdown or a close-grip press never does. If your triceps work is all pressing and pushdowns, this is the part you are missing.
The barbell version exists for a practical reason. A skull crusher needs a bench, and a dumbbell extension runs out of load once one weight becomes awkward to hold overhead in two hands. Standing with a bar needs neither, so it is the triceps movement that works when a barbell is the only thing in the room.
Elbow position is the whole exercise. The moment your upper arms drift forward or flare out, your shoulders and chest start helping and the stretch disappears. Keeping them pointed straight up is harder than it sounds under load, which is the honest reason to run this lighter than your other triceps work.
Standing also means your trunk holds the position. Most people arch their lower back to get the bar overhead, and then arch harder as they tire. Pull your ribs down before the first rep and stop the set when you cannot hold that anymore, not when your arms give out. If bracing keeps failing before the triceps do, sit on a bench with a back support and run the same movement there.