EZ or Barbell Skull Crushers?

Why I Feel My Triceps Better with a Straight Bar (And Less in My Shoulders)

One thing I’ve noticed over time is that skull crushers feel very different depending on the bar I use. Most people default to an EZ bar because it’s considered more “joint-friendly,” but for me, the opposite has been true. When I use a straight barbell, I feel my triceps—especially the long and medial heads—working much more effectively, and I experience less stress in my shoulders - which at my age is very important!

At first, that seems counterintuitive. The angled grip of an EZ bar is supposed to reduce strain on the wrists and elbows, so you’d expect it to feel better overall. But once you look at the mechanics of the movement, the difference starts to make sense.

With a straight bar, your hands are locked into a fully pronated (palms-down) position. That fixed (French) grip limits how much your wrists and elbows can move around during the exercise. As a result, your elbows tend to stay more tucked, and your upper arms remain relatively stable throughout the set. The movement becomes a clean hinge at the elbow, which is exactly what you want for triceps isolation.

That constraint is actually a good thing. Because there’s less freedom to shift positions mid-rep, your body has fewer opportunities to recruit other muscles to help out. The shoulders, in particular, are less able to sneak into the movement. What you’re left with is a stricter, more controlled extension that places consistent tension directly on the triceps—especially the long head, which benefits from a stable shoulder position, and the medial head, which thrives under controlled, no-cheating conditions.

The EZ bar changes that dynamic. Its angled grip puts your forearms in a more inverted grip (not neutral, there is no such thing!) or semi-supinated position, which introduces more flexibility at the wrist and elbow. While that can feel more comfortable, it also makes it easier for your elbows to drift outward slightly or for your upper arms to shift during the lift. Over the course of a set, that added freedom can turn a pure elbow extension into more of a hybrid movement involving both the elbows and shoulders.

That’s likely where the shoulder stress comes in. Even small amounts of elbow flare or upper arm movement can increase shoulder involvement, particularly through the anterior deltoid. You may not consciously notice it happening, but you feel it as extra strain that isn’t really contributing to triceps growth.

Another key factor is bar path. With a straight bar, many lifters naturally lower the weight slightly behind the head rather than directly to the forehead. This increases the stretch on the long head of the triceps, which crosses the shoulder joint. That deeper stretch can significantly enhance muscle activation—provided the upper arm stays relatively stable. In contrast, the EZ bar often encourages a more vertical path toward the forehead, which can reduce that stretch and shift tension elsewhere.

All of this adds up to a simple conclusion: the straight bar creates a more constrained, disciplined movement pattern, and for some people, that leads to better triceps engagement and less unwanted shoulder involvement. The EZ bar, while more forgiving, allows for small compensations that can dilute the stimulus.

This doesn’t mean one bar is universally better than the other. It just highlights how individual biomechanics and technique interact with equipment. In my case, the straight bar forces me into a movement pattern that keeps the focus where I want it—on the triceps—and away from where I don’t—my shoulders.

And sometimes, less comfort leads to better results.