I would not substitute the floor press with a bench press. PowerliftingTechnique.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. If you experience pain going all the way down to your chest in a bench press, floor presses … At one time lifters attacked the lift with gusto, putting up some impressive numbers, including George Hackenschmidt's 361-pound strict floor press back in 1899. I am running 12 week strength program (so far I love it!) Make sure you implement a ‘light’ touch with your elbows. As a result, you’ll only be working the top-end range of motion, and the bottom-end portion of the lift will not be worked. If you want to target your chest to a larger extent, perform the regular bench press, or other exercises such as dumbbell press, pec flys, or machine press. It can even be a great variation for lifters with achy shoulders. When you lower the bar, your upper arms rest on the ground at the bottom of the movement. (No, Here Are 5 Reasons). In the below video you can see the proper setup and execution of the barbell floor press. An older exercise, floor presses have regained popularity in recent years as a bench press alternative for trainees with shoulder impingements. This is why you need to train both the bench press and floor press, either by rotating the exercises over consecutive training programs or by adding in both movements within the same training program. BarBend is an independent website. The tricep muscles are most used to extend the elbow in the final lockout portion of the floor press. These male standards were last updated August and are based on 6,000 filtered lifts. As a result, your shoulders and triceps need to work a lot harder in the floor press than they normally would during a regular bench press. Rather than the barbell going through a full range of motion, the barbell will stop when your elbows hit the ground. and next week one of the prescribed exercises is floor press. Incline and decline presses are rotated mostly without bands. Slowly lower the dumbbells (or barbell), letting your elbows touch the ground softly. Place feet on floor with knees bent. When all the benches are taken on bench press Monday, you’re might consider giving the lifter sitting on the bench talking on their cell phone the evil eye. Here’s how you should set up the floor press: You’ll need a squat cage for this exercise. While a bench press requires you to p… Benching pressing with dumbbells but the lifter should be lying on the floor rather than on a bench while pressing the dumbbells) To perform this movement, lay on the floor, have a partner hand you two dumbbells, then bring the dumbbells down until your elbows hit the floor … Join the BarBend Newsletter for everything you need to get stronger. If you have longer arms, the floor press will activate your shoulder muscles to a larger extent. The Floor Press is my preferred horizontal pressing exercise for wrestlers. As such, the entire movement is focused on the top-half to the top-third range of motion, which is the exact portion of the lift that needs to be prioritized if you struggle to lock your elbows at the top of the lift. The floor press starts with you lying on the floor. Feature image from Muscular Humans’ Instagram page. 9 Highly Effective Bench Press Alternatives, 5 Tricks To Bench Pressing With Long Arms, Can You Deadlift In Squat Shoes? barbell floor press is a free weights exercise that primarily targets the chest and to a lesser degree also targets the forearms, triceps and middle back. Close Grip Floor Press: Done by holding a barbell with a closer-than-shoulder-width grip. Learn how to correctly do Barbell Floor Press to target Chest, Shoulders, Triceps with easy step-by-step expert video instruction. In fact, unless a wrestlers asks me to design a program with the Bench Press as part of it, I always use the Floor Press. 1 – Barbell Floor Press This is one of the most basic pain-free ways of pressing that decreases the amount of stress on the anterior shoulder girdle while also allowing you to go heavy. The floor press will incorporate the major pressing muscle groups, including: While the chest is the least active muscle group in the floor press, it’s still used as a prime mover. After pausing, drive the barbell upward to lock the elbows. The barbell floor press is the standard floor press option that we described above. The floor press, which was covered extensively in a previous article, is a segmented (shorter range of motion) variation of the bench press, with the intent to target the top half of the movement. Bench Press —Which One Should You Be Doing?]. You’ll know if you have longer arms if they measure 38% or greater of your overall height. Due to the floor reducing shoulder external rotation, this variation is an excellent lift for those with banged up shoulders. Travis also has tester exercise such as a floor press … The differences (besides the obvious) are less range of motion (ROM) and minimal assistance from the lower body. Never again will you have to worry about all the benches being occupied at the gym, as you’ll have a new perspective when seeing open floor space. This is because the floor press removes two important elements of your bench press technique, which are the bench press arch and leg drive. As such, the muscles in your upper body have to work harder to stabilize the movement. The SWIS bar floor press … Instructions. Here’s a short video demonstrating proper technique: SWIS Bar Floor Press. The floor press forces you to exert greater levels of control compared with other bench press variations. Then we’ll dive into the benefits of the lift and why you should consider including it into your training routine. While you might see some people do the floor press with their legs straight, I recommend having your legs bent and your feet flat on the floor. However, in my opinion there are better exercises to target the chest muscles than the floor press. Dismount barbell from rack over chest. As you lay underneath the weight, you’ll want to have your eyes slightly in front of the barbell. You want to make sure you’re still maintaining tension on your muscles rather than letting this be a position where you ‘rest’. The barbell locks your wrists and shoulders into one position for the entire ROM, which doesn’t agree with all lifters. You’ll have the chest most active as you bring the bar down, as it has a role in stabilizing the bar path and decelerating the barbell before your elbows hit the floor. Due to this shortened ROM, the movement places more emphasis on the triceps and less on the chest. No, he was just doing Close Grip Floor Press. While the shoulder muscles are quite active during the floor press, the shoulder joint doesn’t have a large range of motion to go through. Just like the bench press, there are dozens of very finite details you need to implement into your form and training protocols in order to truly maximize your performance.When comparing the floor press versus the bench press the most obvious difference is the lack of a bench in the floor press. Here are four benefits of the floor press, regardless of which variation you choose. The setup of my gym makes barbell floor pressing difficult so I was curious about alternatives. It also helps build up strength and better control for more difficult lifts such as the bench press. DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Why buy from New York Barbell: New York Barbell sells TDS Fitness Equipment and is the only Fitness Equipment Company that has a large warehouse of items coupled together with … There are 7 benefits to performing the floor press. In the floor press, you don’t have the opportunity to ‘bounce the barbell’. When performed for sets of 3-5 and 6-15 reps, the floor press is a great move to add mass to the chest, shoulders, and triceps without adding excessive strain to the shoulders due to the decreased range of motion. Set up the pins low since you’ll need to be able to grab the barbell while you lay on the floor. If you struggle with the lockout portion of the bench press, then the floor press is an excellent exercise to overcome this area of weakness. Additionally, your chest will be more active if you choose to heave your elbows directly stacked underneath of the barbell rather than have a slight elbow tuck. The shoulders are sometimes vulnerable when in abduction and external rotation — common positions of a standard bench press. There are quite a few variations of the Floor Press, but the two I’d like to focus on are the Barbell … Using dumbbells can reduce strength imbalances on each side. Floor presses are a pure upper body power movement. As annoying as that may be, there is no reason to waste time or anger when another lift is available to offer a bevy of benefits: the floor press. In the absence of the arch and leg drive, the upper body is challenged to a greater extent. The floor press is a fantastic pressing variation for lifters of all levels to improve muscle mass, lockout strength, and bench press technique. There are 3 basic types of floor presses. PowerliftingTechnique.com also participates in affiliate programs with Bluehost, Clickbank, CJ, ShareASale, and other sites. 1) Dumbbell Floor Press. The floor press targets the same muscles, but the triceps are activated to a greater extent, especially if you perform the close-grip variety. What makes the floor press unique is that instead of lying flat on a bench press, you will lay flat on the floor with either your legs bent or straight. Grasp bar from rack with overhand and slightly wider than shoulder width grip. The only barbell floor press equipment that you really … While the floor press is used to develop a stronger lockout, it can equally be used to break through sticking points in the mid-range of motion. By pausing (and I recommend that you do), you will need to generate force from a dead stop while the weight is de-loaded on the floor. The floor press is a good candidate for training lock-out strength because the elbows are restricted on going beyond 90-degree flexion. In the 12 Week Strength program for example you can do a block of … Build a bigger bench press with the floor press - a bench press supplemental exercise that works the weak point or sticking point of a regular bench press! If you want to use the floor press to target more shoulders (and chest), ensure you’re keeping your elbows directly stacked underneath of the barbell. Depending on how many times per week you bench press, I would use the floor press on your second bench press day within your training split. The floor press is the original horizontal barbell press, even predating the bench press. You want to think about applying maximum force during this phase, especially as your elbows leave the floor. Don’t continue to train your areas of strength, you’ll get stronger by training your areas of weakness. Therefore, you can also use the dumbbell floor press if the barbell variation feels somewhat uncomfortable. Don’t let a lack of bench stop you from improving your upper body strength and mass. Having feet on the floor or legs extended while floor pressing is a matter of personal preference. Find related exercises and variations along with expert tips According to Scarpulla, the Floor Press is by nature an explosive exercise. Rather than the barbell going through a full range of motion, the barbell will stop when your elbows hit the ground. Just ditch the bench and instead set up on the floor … As I mentioned previously, by manipulating the position of your elbows you can easily target different muscle groups. As you bring the barbell off the rack, you’ll begin to lower the weight to your chest in a controlled fashion. Each shoulder injury is different though, and you’ll want to make sure to seek proper medical advice if you’re injured or feel shoulder pain. The floor press you’ve come to know and love, but performed with dumbbells instead of a barbell. Finally, the increased stability of the floor can help improve pressing mechanics and positioning. The benefits of the floor press are covered as well, which states increased triceps mass and strength, better lockout performance, and makes the case for the floor press as a shoulder saving pressing option. Of course, heavier weight is great for those with a goal of building mass and strength. Lockout strength is often a weakness when it comes to bench and overhead pressing, Olympics lifts, and even strongman events. Most lifters like using the floor press to drive muscle growth because, as I stated before, you don’t need a lot of weight to get a high training effect from this exercise. You need to bring the barbell down with control, and if you don’t, then your elbows will smash onto the floor causing a lot of discomfort. However, the floor press is special because even though it’s a partial exercise, you will typically use less weight when compared with the bench press. Barbell Floor Press This is likely the most popular way of floor pressing because it has a simple set up and allows for heavier lifts. Use these benefits to determine whether the floor press is something that you should implement into your training program. Combined with the neutral grip, it is easier on the wrists as well due to a clean alignment of the elbow to the wrist for the duration of the movement. The floor press starts with you lying on the floor. Lie with your back flat against the floor. This is particularly the case if you are the type of lifter who ‘bounces’ the barbell of your chest while benching. It allows you to lift heavy from the safety of the floor without putting excessive strain on your joints. Take a look at my article on 9 Highly Effective Bench Press Alternatives. The first 3 weeks are focused on hypertrophy development, with the second 3 weeks focused on strength development. Here are some other frequently asked questions that I receive when it comes to floor pressing: While the floor press does activate the chest as you bring the barbell down to the floor, the pec recruitment is minimal compared with the regular bench press. Grab a barbell off a squat rack or have a partner hand you the barbell … [Related: 3 Exercises You Can Do On the Floor to Become a Better Powerlifter]. Most exercises that incorporate a partial range of motion, such as the boarded bench press, allow you to lift more weight than you normally would be able to. the weight feels hard), you’ll see a variety of different strength athletes use this exercise. I could find a good space for DB floor … The floor press is an upper-body pressing movement that mimics the range of motion of a bench press. If you use a higher rep range (8-12 reps) then you’ll be able to use the floor press to build hypertrophy. After you've done regular dumbbell floor presses for a while, you may reach a point where your progress starts to stall out, or you reach a strength level where you either max out the dumbbells at your gym or it just becomes too hard to get them into position.This doesn't mean you have no choice other than heading back to barbells—which might not be an option if you've got jacked-up shoulders. In this case, the focus is on the mid-range and lock-out portion. You can limit the range of motion in the bench press to gain the … The barbell floor press is an upper body exercise for the chest, shoulders and triceps. When performed on the floor, the range of motion of the exercise is limited to reduce the strain placed on the shoulder joint. Here are three variations to consider. Because the floor press reduces the range of motion to only focus on the lockout portion, the triceps are highly active in this variation. As a result, your triceps will be more activated in this variation versus the regular floor press. The floor press is one of the best bench press accessories for building strength, hypertrophy, and technique. PowerliftingTechnique.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Bend knees with feet firmly planted on floor. This is particularly the case if you choose to pause each rep for 1-2 seconds with your elbows on the floor. The floor press is a relatively simple exercise to start doing, but a very difficult exercise to perfect. There are a few other floor press variations that you can implement depending on whether you want to target more or less of your triceps, or your specific lifting goals. Your level of shoulder activation will also largely be determined by the length of your arms. Female Floor Press Standards (lb) This variation will require a specialty bar called a swiss bar. As a result, you need to practice decelerating the barbell on the way down rather than relying on the rebound that you get from ‘bouncing’. Note: if you smash your elbows on the ground it can cause elbow pain in the long run. Rather, I would use the floor press to compliment your other pressing movements within your overall training program. Lie supine on floor at base of power rack. Because you can use less weight on the floor press, but still yield a high training effect, the floor press shouldn’t cause as much training fatigue as other exercises. This is likely the most popular way of floor pressing because it has a simple set up and allows for heavier lifts. However, don’t let your hands or lats relax. With the floor press you can handle heavy loads in the top half of the movement, strengthening your triceps, chest, and anterior shoulders. Here’s how I would program the floor press over a 6-week program. I’m Avi Silverberg and this is the place where my friends and I nerd out about powerlifting technique. This will inevitably bring up the strength of the mid-part of your lift once you’ve trained this way for a significant amount of time. There are several benefits to the floor press, which we’ll discuss in this article. It’s been demonstrated that a grip that is shoulder-width apart will recruit the triceps 2X as much when compared with a grip that is double the distance (Lehman, 2005). Eb says: The floor press isn't an excuse to skip out on the good eccentric contractions. If you haven’t got a training partner, these can be performed in the squat rack instead. This site is owned and operated by PowerliftingTechnique.com. I wrote an entire article on the swiss bar bench press. The video below from CrossFit’s YouTube channel demonstrates how to properly perform the floor press: [Related: Floor Press vs. [Related: 5 Ways to Improve Your Bench Press Lockout]. It will also give you a bit more flexibility to position your hands and elbows in a more natural movement pattern. The floor press is used to … I would suggest having a slight elbow tuck during the floor press, unless for some reason you purposely wanted to use this exercise to target your chest muscles. The dumbbell floor press can be used if you don’t have access to a squat rack to set up the barbell variation. Note: these barbell standards include the weight of the bar, normally 20 kg / 44 lb. The floor press is similiar to the Larsen Press. How to do Floor Press with proper form and technique. This will ensure additional stability through your torso, and it will make it easier to hold your shoulder position. The floor press is not only easier on your shoulders, but it targets your triceps better than the standard version of the exercise. Unfortunately, as the bench press grew in popularity, interest in the floor press … BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. This variation is used more with football players or combat athletes as these sports require athletes to develop strength and power in a close hand position. The goal is to make sure you know how to perform this exercise properly, and understand whether it’s a bench press variation that you should implement into your training program. The trap bar floor press is easier on the shoulders as the floor stops them going into excess external rotation. Your grip should be the same that you use for the regular bench press. Like other partial range of motion lifts (rack pulls and box squats), the floor press is great for targeting certain portions of the lift. The range of motion ends when your elbows touch the floor. Saves Your Shoulders. Since dumbbells are harder to stabilize than a barbell, it may slow the lift down, providing more time under tension. A close grip floor press is the same exercise but you’ll take a grip that is shoulder-width apart. We are going to discuss what the floor press is and how it should be performed. Barbell Floor Press. The floor press has several benefits, including being able to prioritize the mid and top-end range of motion, allowing the shoulder joint to experience less strain, and increasing elbow extensor strength. Barbell Bench Press Step 1 Grab dumbbells with an overhand grip and lie flat on your back. On this blog we share all the things we wish we knew when getting started. If you need help with your lockouts on things like presses, jerks, dips, or muscle-ups, floor presses might not be a bad idea. Most people will pause in this position for 1-2 seconds before driving the barbell back to the starting position. Can You Squat and Deadlift In The Same Workout. Hi! The floor press is a fantastic exercise to target this weakness as you can handle heavier loads with undue strain on the rest of your body. Try both and find out what works best for you. If you struggle in the lock-out phase of the bench press, then you’ll want to implement variations that target the top-end range of motion specifically. This is why the floor press is used by some strength athletes to prevent or rehab shoulder injuries because it’s viewed as a ‘safer variation’ for the shoulders. It often results in missed lifts and unstable lockout positions. On a personal level, I’ve been dedicating myself to the world of powerlifting for the past 15 years, having both competed and coached at the highest level. What is the floor press? ... your partner passes you the barbell, take it with over hand grip a bit wider than shoulder width; to … The floor press is similar to the bench press except rather than using a bench, it is done while lying on the floor. The shoulder muscles, especially the anterior delt (the front part of the shoulder), are the most active during the initial drive upward as the elbows leave the floor. Because you can use less weight than a normal bench press but have an extremely high training effect (i.e. When he programs Floor Press I would think he just means your standard grip or comp grip. World records, results, training, nutrition, breaking news, and more. … This is especially important if you need to increase muscle mass for your shoulders and triceps specifically. While you certainly want to master how to use a bench press arch and proper leg drive while lifting, during the floor press you’re trying to limit the contribution of these techniques in order to make the lift harder. It has great carryover to the regular bench press because of the lack of lower body involvement, which can help improve lockout strength. Using dumbbells does allows you the capacity to change the angle of the shoulder and wrist. Therefore, if you want to take the chest and shoulders out of the movement altogether, use the close-grip floor press. 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