Isolation
Skull crusher
Loads the triceps with the arms overhead of the torso, a position pushdowns miss. Rough on some elbows, which is what the swap is for.
This one is not programmed directly — it is what you do when the first choice is taken or does not suit you. See the splits it stands in for.
Everything else that trains this pattern
- Barbell curlBiceps
- Cable curlBiceps
- Cable lateral raiseSide delts
- Cable rope curlBiceps, Brachialis, Forearms
- Dumbbell curlBiceps
- Dumbbell overhead extensionTriceps
- Face pullRear delts, Mid back, Rotator cuff
- Hammer curlBiceps, Brachialis, Forearms
- Lateral raiseSide delts
- Leg curlHamstrings
- Leg extensionQuads
- Lying leg curlHamstrings
- Nordic curlHamstrings
- Overhead rope extensionTriceps
- Reverse flyRear delts, Mid back
- Seated calf raiseCalves
- Seated leg curlHamstrings
- Sissy squatQuads
- Standing calf raiseCalves
- Triceps pushdownTriceps
Training is the easy half
You will not build anything on the wrong number of calories, and most people are eating a long way under the protein they think they are. Get your daily number, then have the week built to it — every recipe on the site is costed from gram weights, so the figures are checkable rather than rounded up to sound better.
This is not a form tutorial. There is no technique walkthrough here and no claim about the one correct way to move — a page cannot watch you lift. What it gives you is what the movement trains, how much of it to do, and what to do instead when the equipment is taken. If a movement is new to you, get someone qualified to watch your first few sessions. If you are under 18, pregnant, or managing an injury or medical condition, talk to someone qualified rather than a website.