all posts post new thread

Barbell Floor press (enough)

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
the problems I have with floor press is that it's very hard to get the lats to work well and they stabilize the shoulders. It's a great exercise but it can be problematic for wonky shoulders. Imo the ROM is fine for building upper body mass in the pecs, delts and tri's

If you had access to a bench would you do floor press or bench press?
 
My experience is that Bench Press is a better exercise all round, particularly for chest. Floor Press is a 'not-too-bad' second that's much easier on the shoulders provided you arch your back purposefully in order to properly pack the shoulders. Lying flat on the floor under weight prevents you pushing your shoulders back and down and leaves you vulnerable to issues such as impingement - arching the back makes the space for you to properly pack your shoulders.
 
Last edited:
My experience is that Bench Press is a better exercise all round, particularly for chest. Floor Press is a 'not-too-bad' second that's much easier on the shoulders provided you arch your back purposefully in order to properly pack the shoulders. Lying flat on the floor under weight prevents you pushing your shoulders back and down and leaves you vulnerable to issues such as impingement. Arching the back makes the space for you to properly pack your shoulders.

Would arching the back be equally beneficial for the bench press, making them relatively equal in regards to shoulder stress?
 
what about the bridge press to add a little range of motion?
That could help engage the lats more but try the traditional way and see how it goes, first. Just make sure to always include pushups in the mix to make sure the lats and scapulae are working correctly in that press pattern
 
Would arching the back be equally beneficial for the bench press, making them relatively equal in regards to shoulder stress?

Not in my experience. The greater range of motion of the Bench Press is in itself a cause of significant shoulder problems for many lifters and packing the shoulders, while beneficial for other reasons, doesn't address that issue. The limited range of motion of the Floor Press is much kinder to shoulders, but packing is still important and more difficult while lying on the floor. Lifters I've known who have experienced shoulder problems while floor pressing haven't been packing properly.

In relation to the lats, getting tight and trying to bend the bar will activate the lats during the Floor Press but it's been a while since I've benched and so I can't say if that process is more or less efficient in comparison
 
What about the alternating floor press- I've seen some videos of this exercise, it looks like perhaps a greater ROM than the standard floor press? (with the shoulder leaving the ground)
 
Maybe this is a case where we have to grudgingly accept that the bench press machines are a definite improvement over our more barbaric practices. The machines are safe, do not require a spotter, and allow you the extended range of movement the bench press affords.
 
Good question. I would rotate them ,both have very good benefits. But my horizontal pressing favorite is still the push-up or dip

I think a nifty thing to do would be to put a 50lbs sandbag on my back and then do feet elevated pushups. In my case, that would be 80% of 270lbs, so 216lbs - an alright high-rep weight for forward pressing, not too far off my entire bodyweight activated for dips, which is 220lbs.
 
Maybe this is a case where we have to grudgingly accept that the bench press machines are a definite improvement over our more barbaric practices. The machines are safe, do not require a spotter, and allow you the extended range of movement the bench press affords.

I respectfully disagree; a fixed-path machine isn't going to be biomechanically compatible with everyone (a cable machine would be better in this regard, however) and will not engage the stabilising musculature of the shoulder joint. It all depends on what you want to get out of the bench press, I suppose, but I would advocate the use of free weights wherever possible.
 
I think a nifty thing to do would be to put a 50lbs sandbag on my back and then do feet elevated pushups. In my case, that would be 80% of 270lbs, so 216lbs - an alright high-rep weight for forward pressing, not too far off my entire bodyweight activated for dips, which is 220lbs.
First, no to the machine, there are always a better option than that as a primary movement. The pushup unweighted is better.

And I do agree with the sandbag. I use a 50lb bag along the length of my spine for sets and reps on my Sat session. works great and is very healthy for the shoulders
 
what about the bridge press to add a little range of motion?
I did this version of the floor press. there are only slight differences in my experience.
1.you seem to use your lats more
2. you can "cheat the bridge" an get leg drive involved.
3. it really engages your triceps and pecs less front delt (thats how it felt anyway)
and these "differences" are very minor if not imagined.
 
I respectfully disagree; a fixed-path machine isn't going to be biomechanically compatible with everyone (a cable machine would be better in this regard, however) and will not engage the stabilising musculature of the shoulder joint. It all depends on what you want to get out of the bench press, I suppose, but I would advocate the use of free weights wherever possible.
Hehehe. Okay.
 
Maybe this is a case where we have to grudgingly accept that the bench press machines are a definite improvement over our more barbaric practices. The machines are safe, do not require a spotter, and allow you the extended range of movement the bench press affords.

In this case you likely have a point. The closer the machine movement is to a natural ROM, the better the outcome. With BP vs machine bench it would not surprise me if the machine had a lower incidence of injury. IIRC this is actually true across a wide range of machines vs freeweight when you compare injuries per hours of training.


I think a nifty thing to do would be to put a 50lbs sandbag on my back and then do feet elevated pushups. In my case, that would be 80% of 270lbs, so 216lbs - an alright high-rep weight for forward pressing, not too far off my entire bodyweight activated for dips, which is 220lbs.

I've seen video of a person wrapping chain around their upper body for more weight. Have tried resting a sandbag across my back and stopped as it was just too unstable and practically needed a spotter to load me up.

I have (and still do work this into rotation) used two tubesand bags as an improvised and low to the floor bench. The hard part is racking the KBs and then lowering into a benching posture. Not much different from dumbbell bench press. This gives a deeper ROM and for me is a better movement than the floor press. Limiting factors are having matching KB weights, or you can train them unilaterally and get some anti-rotation in the mix as well.
 
I would advocate the use of free weights wherever possible.
Or bodyweight ;)

I've seen video of a person wrapping chain around their upper body for more weight. Have tried resting a sandbag across my back and stopped as it was just too unstable and practically needed a spotter to load me up.
Chains are great.
You can use them to load up calisthenics and for crawling.

The pushup is still one of the best pressing exercises IMO and one of the few that's especially good for heavy guys.
If you're 130lbs you're pushing only ~80lbs, which is not great if you try to improve max strength.
Like @Kozushi already mentioned, at 200+lbs though just elevate your feet, use some chains or a weighted vest, maybe even use rings for the instability and you get into territory that's similar to benching 225lbs, 250lbs or more.
 
Last edited:
I've shied away from buying a bench because I don't have a spotter at home.

As an alternative to a spotter just don't go near failure. I've lifted solo without exception for nearly 10 years and had one incident (hey, everybody's had one!) caused by ego and never to be repeated. Failure is unnecessary for strength or hypertrophy gains so just don't go there (unless you have a spotter)
 
I've shied away from buying a bench because I don't have a spotter at home.

Dumbbells.

I used to have a set of 30-90 lbers. A 90 lb dumbbell BP is pretty solid work, at 100-110lbs/hand you're probably approaching a comparable 300lb barbell BP.

And with dumbbells you don't need the rack.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom