For triceps growth
For triceps growth, overhead dumbbell extension rates well ahead on our research criteria: more of the work on the triceps, more stretch.
Dumbbell skull crusher is easier on the joints.
Both are good choices, and they train the triceps differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Dumbbell Skull Crusher. Dumbbells let each arm find a comfortable path with a decent long-head stretch. Awkward to load heavy.
Overhead Dumbbell Extension. Same overhead advantage, harder to load and to get into position.
For triceps growth, overhead dumbbell extension rates well ahead on our research criteria: more of the work on the triceps, more stretch. Dumbbell skull crusher is easier on the joints. Both are good choices, and they train the triceps differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Dumbbell skull crusher needs dumbbells and a bench, so a home gym covers it. Overhead dumbbell extension needs dumbbells, so a home gym covers it.
Dumbbell skull crusher: it rates Strong for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Good for overhead dumbbell extension.