For triceps growth
For triceps growth, single-arm cable pushdown and skull crusher score the same.
Single-arm cable pushdown is easier on the joints; skull crusher keeps more of the work on the triceps.
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
Single-Arm Cable Pushdown. One arm at a time with steady tension. Joint-friendly, with less stretch than overhead work.
Skull Crusher. Lowering behind the head stretches the long head, but heavy reps can be hard on the elbows.
For triceps growth, single-arm cable pushdown and skull crusher score the same. Single-arm cable pushdown is easier on the joints; skull crusher keeps more of the work on the triceps. 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.
Single-arm cable pushdown needs a cable station, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Skull crusher needs an EZ bar and a bench, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Single-arm cable pushdown: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Good for skull crusher.