Training guide
A floor press is a bench press done lying on the floor: you lower a barbell, dumbbells or a kettlebell until the backs of your upper arms touch the floor, pause, and press back up. The floor stops you before the bottom of the press, so each rep is shorter and starts from a dead stop, and you don't need a bench.
No study has measured the floor press itself, so this guide uses what studies of shorter and paused bench presses show: you can lift more, your triceps work relatively harder, and full-range pressing still builds more full-range strength. Coaching bodies recommend it for sore shoulders, but no trial has tested that.
It covers the steps on the 3D figure for the barbell, dumbbell and kettlebell versions, safety without a spotter, floor press against bench press, how heavy and how many, and the warning signs.
Lie on the floor and lower the weight until the backs of your upper arms touch down, pause, and press back up. The floor stops you before the bottom of a bench press, so each rep is shorter and starts from a dead stop. No study has measured the floor press itself (the one study of it is a strength test), so what follows comes from studies of shorter and paused bench presses.
Cutting the bottom off a bench press lets you lift more: two-thirds of the range lifted 14% more than a full press in 42 trained men. In 19 trained men, a top-half press drew more triceps activity than a full press. That's muscle activity, a clue rather than proof of growth.
ACE calls floor presses a great alternative to the dumbbell bench press for clients with shoulder issues, NASM says they often work where the barbell aggravates elbow pain, and our bench press guide suggests one if your shoulders complain. It makes sense, as the floor stops you before the stretched bottom of the press, but nobody has tested it in shoulder or elbow pain.
Full-range training built more strength than partial ranges across 16 studies, and in a 10-week bench press trial in 50 trained men. Use the floor press as one press among others, or as your press when you have no bench. If a bigger bench press is your goal, keep benching too.
With dumbbells or kettlebells, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (each side for one arm), stopping 2 or 3 reps short: the move pages' editorial starting point. With a barbell, 3 sets of 5 to 8 as your main press (our editorial starting point). Find your weight with our starting-weight method, not from your bench: nobody has compared the two. Count floor presses in your 10 or so hard chest sets a week.
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With a barbell, press inside a rack with the hooks low enough to reach from the floor and the safety arms set just below the bar's lowest point, or use dumbbells, which you can lower to your chest and roll off to the side. Later in pregnancy, swap it for an incline or standing press.
A press lying on your back on the floor, knees bent with your feet flat or legs straight: you lower the weight until the backs of your upper arms rest on the floor, pause, and press it back up over your shoulders. The 3D figure shows a barbell from a rack, two dumbbells and one kettlebell, plus harder kettlebell versions (pressing two bells in turn, a leg crossed over, or the other leg dropped across your body) and a barbell with chains. Close-grip, neutral-grip and glute bridge versions are taught in words below.
Your chest (pectoralis major), triceps and the front of your shoulders, as in a bench press. The shorter range shifts some of the work towards your triceps: in 19 trained men, a top-half press drew more triceps activity than a full press, and both half-range presses drew more average chest activity. One-arm kettlebell versions add your trunk, which stops your body turning towards the bell (our move pages).
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It isn't a bench press without the bench. You can't arch much, your legs can't drive into the floor the way they do on a bench, and every rep starts from a dead stop, which took about 8% off the weight people could lift in a study of 113 adults.
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Nothing special: the barbell, dumbbell and one-arm kettlebell move pages list no prerequisite. In a Delphi survey, 17 experts rated the dumbbell floor press 4.35 out of 10 for technique (moderate) and agreed it suits novices; the NSCA's blueprint for older clients lists the barbell floor press as an intermediate press and the dumbbell floor press as a complex one. The harder kettlebell versions need a steady one-arm floor press first. You also need to get down to the floor and up again comfortably.
Where the floor stops you depends on your build (our reading): with short upper arms or a deep chest, the bar stops close to your chest and the press is nearly full range; with long upper arms, it stops higher and the press is shorter. A big arch is hard on the floor, so the floor press evens out lifters who arch a lot on the bench. Most of the studies on this page were in young trained men.
Many of the studies here use EMG (electromyography: electrodes measuring how hard a muscle works over a few reps). It isn't a validated predictor of which exercise grows a muscle more, so treat the activity figures as clues, not verdicts.
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Set the hooks low enough to reach the bar from the floor with your arms slightly bent, and the safety arms just below where the bar stops when your upper arms touch the floor, so a failed rep rests on them, not on you. That's our bench press guide's rule moved to the floor. A spotter can do little when the bar is low over you (our view).
Some coaches load a bar on the floor and roll it up your thighs to get under it. That's fine for a light bar and risky for a heavy one: use a rack with low hooks (our view).
Get the dumbbells into place from your chest, and at the end bring them back to your chest and lower them to the floor beside you. Don't drop them from straight arms, as the move page warns.
Roll towards the bell, grip the handle in both hands, pull it to your chest and roll onto your back, as the Turkish get-up starts; put it down the same way. Keep it stacked over your forearm and never let it drift over your face.
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The move page's 3 steps and cues, with our bench press guide's set-up, grip, elbow angle and safety rules; the safety-arm height and the choice of bent or straight legs are editorial.
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The movement on the figure: Barbell floor press
The move page's 4 steps and caution; getting the dumbbells into place from your thighs is editorial. Palms facing each other (a neutral grip) works too.
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The movement on the figure: Dumbbell floor press
The move page's 4 steps, which follow the opening of ACE's Turkish get-up.
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The movement on the figure: One-arm kettlebell floor press
We found no study of the floor press's muscle activity, joint loads or training effect, and none comparing it with the bench press. The one floor press study is a test: in 20 recreationally trained adults, an isometric floor press with the elbows at 90 degrees tracked the one-rep bench press closely and was reliable. Everything else here comes from studies of the bench press through shorter ranges.
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In 42 trained men on a Smith machine, two-thirds of the range lifted 13.1 kg (14.4%) more than a full press, and one-third of the range a further 20.9 kg (18.7%). The slowest point of the full press, the sticking point, came about a third of the way up (16 cm, 35.5% of the press), and only the full press had a full sticking region.
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In 19 trained men pressing their 10-rep maximum, a top-half press allowed 85.7 kg against 60.5 kg through the full range. Triceps long-head activity averaged 56% of maximum in the top half against 36% in the full press and 41% in the bottom half, and average chest activity was higher in both half ranges than the full press (for example 58% and 55% against 44% at one site). In 10 trained men, the top half produced more force than the full or bottom half. A floor press removes the bottom of the press rather than half of it, so these studies show the direction, not the size, of the change (our reading).
Across 16 studies, full-range training built more strength than partial ranges (effect size 0.56) and more leg muscle. In a 10-week trial in 50 trained men, the full-range bench press group improved most on every bench test and the one-third-range group least.
In 22 athletes, 5 weeks of partial-range pressing raised force at the end of the range by 13.5%. In 16 trained men, 4 weeks of heavy partial-range pressing raised the full bench as much as full-range training, but changed bar speed off the chest less.
Training at long muscle lengths favoured growth in some muscles in a review of 11 studies, but a meta-analysis of 12 studies found only trivial differences, and a 2026 review says the benefit shows when the load is heavy in the stretched position. No study has tested the chest or the floor press. For the triceps, a middle partial range of a triceps extension grew the muscle more than full range in 44 trained men over 8 weeks (48.7% against 28.2%), but that was an isolation exercise, not a press.
In 113 adults, a touch-and-go bench press lifted 7.8% more than a press from a dead stop in men and 7.6% more in women. A floor press paused on the floor is a dead-stop press from a higher point.
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Neither: they do different jobs. The bench press trains the full range, which builds more full-range strength, and you get strongest at the lift you practise. The floor press is shorter, starts each rep from a dead stop and needs no bench.
Nobody has measured it. A shorter range lets you lift more, but the dead stop takes about 8% off and you lose leg drive, so which way it comes out for you depends on your build (our reading). Find your floor press weight with our starting-weight method: a weight you could lift about 10 to 12 times.
The bodyweight press, with the same muscles and no equipment. Our push-up guide has the easier and harder versions; a floor press lets you add weight in smaller steps.
A barbell press in a rack from pins set at a chosen height, so you choose where the range starts. The floor press does the same with the floor as the pin.
The full-range press for your triceps and lockout. Our close-grip bench guide covers it, with both floor presses in its versions.
Free weights and machines built strength and muscle alike across 13 studies. Use whichever you have and enjoy.
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Coaching bodies recommend it, and no trial has tested it. ACE calls floor presses "a great alternative to the dumbbell bench press" that targets the chest "while protecting the shoulders", and NASM says floor presses often work where the barbell aggravates elbow pain. A hospital physiotherapy handout for shoulder training keeps the hands from going below chest level in flys and the grip about shoulder-width, without naming the floor press.
The floor stops your upper arms at about the level of your trunk, so your shoulders don't reach the stretched bottom of a bench press. Pec tendon tears happen most "on the downward motion of a bench press" under a heavy load. That makes the floor press a sensible choice while a shoulder settles, not a proven treatment.
Up to 36% of documented strength-training injuries are at the shoulder, mostly from surveys, and clinicians change the grip, hand spacing, bar path and range of the bench press for injured shoulders. Those changes come from clinical experience rather than trials.
Keep pain during the set to about 5 out of 10 or less, settled by your next session, as our shoulder guides say. Narrow your grip a little and keep your elbows about 45 to 75 degrees from your sides. Our shoulder pain when bench pressing guide covers the pain itself.
NASM suggests floor presses or neutral-grip dumbbells when the barbell bench aggravates elbow pain. With triceps tendon pain, keep discomfort to about 3 to 4 out of 10, settled within an hour, as our triceps tendinopathy guide says, and leave out very heavy lockouts for now.
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Push-ups, 3 sets of 6 to 15 with 90 seconds' rest (our chest workout at home); the dumbbell floor press, the one-arm, alternating, leg-over and extended-range kettlebell floor presses, each 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (each side for one arm), stopping 2 or 3 reps short (their move pages' editorial starting point); the barbell floor press, 3 sets of 5 to 8 as a main press or 3 sets of 6 to 10 after benching, stopping 2 or 3 short (our editorial starting point; its move page gives no dose); the floor press with chains, 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 after lighter warm-up sets, stopping 1 or 2 short (its move page's editorial starting point); and the dumbbell squeeze press, the close press in our chest workout at home, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (its move page's editorial starting point).
3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell floor pressIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoOne-arm kettlebell floor pressIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoAlternating kettlebell floor pressIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoBarbell floor pressIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoLeg-over kettlebell floor pressIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoExtended-range kettlebell floor pressIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoFloor press with chainsAdvanced · A barbell + Other / check instructions
3D demoDumbbell squeeze pressBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or boxHands about shoulder-width apart on the bar, as our close-grip bench guide teaches, not touching. It's a common lockout and triceps exercise; follow the barbell steps above with the narrower grip.
Palms facing each other through the whole press, as the neutral-grip dumbbell bench press does. NASM suggests neutral-grip dumbbells when elbows complain.
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Lift your hips into a bridge and press from there. It adds a little range and works your glutes in a hold; it's coaching practice, and no study has looked at it. Keep your ribs down rather than arching your lower back.
The NSCA's blueprint for older clients lists it as a simple press: hug a sandbag to your chest and press it up from the floor.
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Touch down softly and pause for a second, as the move page cues. The pause is what makes it a floor press.
Keep them about 45 to 75 degrees from your sides with your forearms vertical, as our bench press guide advises.
Hold the bar low in your palm with your wrists stacked over your elbows, or keep the kettlebell over your forearm.
Set them just below the bar's lowest point, or use dumbbells. A failed rep on the floor leaves the bar on you.
Bring them back to your chest and lower them beside you, as the move page says.
Keep the bell stacked over your forearm and elbow, and roll it on and off with both hands.
Keep your hips down unless you're doing the bridge version on purpose; if you need to lift them, the weight is too heavy (our view).
No study has tested doses for the floor press. These are our starting points, matching our plans, workouts and the move pages.
2 sets of 8 to 12 with 3 or 4 reps to spare, as our plans advise for any new lift, using a weight you could lift about 10 to 12 times. Don't work it out from your bench press.
2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, each side for one arm, stopping 2 or 3 reps short of failure: the move pages' editorial starting point. Our chest workout at home does 3 sets of 8 to 12 with 90 seconds' rest, and our kettlebell workout B 3 sets of 8 to 12 each side. Failure added a trivial amount of growth at most across 15 studies, and people misjudge the reps they have left by about one.
3 sets of 5 to 8 as your main press, with 2 to 3 minutes' rest; or 3 sets of 6 to 10 as a second press after benching, with about 2 minutes' rest, stopping 2 or 3 reps short either way. That's our editorial starting point (the move page gives no dose), using our plans' rest for heavy compound sets and our close-grip bench guide's second-press range.
3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 after lighter warm-up sets, stopping 1 or 2 reps short: the move page's editorial starting point, for strong barbell lifters.
About 90 seconds for dumbbells and kettlebells, and 2 to 3 minutes for heavy barbell sets, as our plans advise. Resting more than about a minute gave a small growth benefit in a review of 9 studies.
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Once or twice a week within your chest and triceps work. More weekly sets built more muscle across 67 studies, with smaller gains from each extra set; about 10 or more hard chest sets a week is our plans' mark. The NHS asks for strength work on at least 2 days a week.
Add reps until every set reaches the top of the range, then move to the next weight and drop back to the bottom of the range. Dumbbells and kettlebells often jump by 2 kg or 4 kg, so expect fewer reps for a week or two. Adding reps and adding load both worked in 43 trained people.
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3 to 5 minutes of easy movement, shoulder circles, scapular push-ups and band pull-aparts, then 1 or 2 lighter sets, as our plans and the NHS suggest.
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The floor press trains the top half of the press harder, and partial ranges build strength mostly in the range you train. But no trial shows that floor presses raise the full bench more than extra bench sets do, as our increase bench press guide says of all lockout work.
Keep full-range bench pressing in your week, and add the floor press as a second press, 3 sets of 6 to 10, after benching (our editorial starting point). If your lockout is slow, the close-grip bench and pin presses do a similar job.
Warm up with shoulder circles, 3 slow circles each way with each arm (the move page's editorial starting point), scapular push-ups, 10 reps, and band pull-aparts, 15 reps (our chest workout at home). Keep a full-range press in the week, such as the bench or dumbbell bench press, 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 12 (our bench press guide's editorial starting point). For lockout, the close-grip bench press, 1 lighter set then 3 sets of 6 to 8 (our tricep workout), or pin presses, 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5, stopping 1 or 2 short (the move page's editorial starting point). For the triceps, pushdowns, 3 sets of 10 to 15 (our push day workout), or lying skull crushers, 2 sets of 10 to 15 (our push day workout B). Floor flys, 3 sets of 10 to 15 (our chest workout at home). Pair it with a pull such as the band row, 3 sets of 10 to 15 (the move page's editorial starting point), or a one-arm dumbbell row; cool down with the doorway chest opener, 30 seconds (our chest workout at home).
3D demoShoulder CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoScapular push-up (push-up plus)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBand pull-apartIntermediate · A band
3D demoBarbell bench pressIntermediate · A barbell + A bench or box
3D demoDumbbell bench pressIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoClose-grip barbell bench pressIntermediate · A barbell + A bench or box
3D demoPin pressIntermediate · A barbell + A bench or box
3D demoTriceps pushdownBeginner · A cable machine
3D demoDumbbell skull crusher (lying triceps extension)Intermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoDumbbell flyIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoBand rowBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoSupported single-arm dumbbell rowIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoDoorway chest openerBeginner · A wallOur chest workout at home is built on push-ups, floor presses and floor flys with no bench; kettlebell workout B uses the one-arm kettlebell floor press; the upper body workout at home offers the floor press with dumbbells; the bench press technique workout suggests it for a twinging shoulder; the tricep and bench press strength workouts train the lockout with the close-grip press.
A 30-minute chest workout at home with a pair of dumbbells or a band: push-ups, dumbbell floor presses, flys and a squeeze press, with no bench needed.
30 minBeginner8 movesA band, A dumbbellKettlebell workout B: Turkish get-ups, goblet squats, single-leg deadlifts, floor presses, one-arm rows and an overhead carry, with one or two bells.
40 minIntermediate10 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellAn upper body workout at home with no gym: push-ups, band rows, pike push-ups, face pulls, close-grip push-ups and Y-T-W raises, with dumbbell options.
30 minIntermediate13 movesA band, An anchor pointA 30-minute practice session for the bench press: shoulder blade work, push-ups and dumbbell presses, then the empty bar with the safety arms set.
30 minBeginner7 movesA band, A dumbbellA 35-minute triceps session: a close-grip bench press or dips, then overhead extensions, skull crushers and pushdowns, about 10 hard sets.
35 minIntermediate7 movesA barbell, A bench or boxA heavy bench press session for lifters past the beginner stage: heavy sets of 3 to 5, close-grip presses, rows, pushdowns and face pulls.
60 minIntermediate9 movesA band, A barbellThe kettlebell plan's second session uses the one-arm floor press, and the 3-day home and dumbbell plans press from the floor when you have no bench.
An 8-week kettlebell plan for beginners: two strength sessions and a swing-interval day each week, with how to choose a bell and swing safely.
3 training days35 minBeginner3 days a weekThree full-body home workouts a week with dumbbells or no equipment at all, plus walks and an 8-week plan to keep progressing.
3 training days35 minBeginner4 days a weekA 4-day dumbbell-only plan for home or gym: two upper and two lower days, every set, rep and rest, and how to keep progressing when the dumbbells max out.
4 training days45 minBeginnerA floor press is a reasonable swap for the bench press, within the shoulder pain rule above. Narrow your grip a little, keep the elbows in, and see our shoulder pain guides for the pain itself.
Try neutral-grip dumbbells, a lighter weight and no heavy lockouts, keeping discomfort to about 3 to 4 out of 10, settled within an hour (our triceps tendinopathy guide).
Hold the bar low in your palm with your wrists stacked over your elbows, or use neutral-grip dumbbells, as our bench press guide suggests.
The NHS says strength training is fine if you already do it, and later in pregnancy to avoid lying flat on your back for more than a few minutes. Tommy's suggests an incline or standing chest press instead, says lighter weights may feel better as your bump grows, and warns to be careful that free weights don't hit your bump. A weight pressed over you is that risk (our reading).
Breathe out as you press and keep the weight moderate: heavy lifts to failure with a held breath sent blood pressure to 320/250 mmHg on average in 5 bodybuilders. The American Heart Association calls low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe when blood pressure is controlled. High blood pressure means readings of 140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home.
Follow your surgeon's advice before pushing, pulling or lifting with your arms, as our group cautions say.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest; severe difficulty breathing, or a chest that feels tight or heavy; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
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A pop or tearing at the front of the armpit or chest during a lift, followed by bruising into the chest or upper arm, a change in the shape of the chest or armpit (a thinner or lost armpit fold, or a chest or nipple that looks uneven), or weakness pushing, can be a torn pec tendon: NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre the same day (urgent care in the US). The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says to seek medical care immediately.
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Sudden pain and weakness straightening your arm after a snap at the back of the elbow: go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E, as the NHS advises for an arm injury with a snapping noise or a change in shape.
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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in your arm or shoulder, an arm or shoulder that's hot or cold to touch, pain after an injury or a fall, severe pain in both shoulders, or feeling feverish or unwell. Go to A&E if, after an injury, you can't move your arm or your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape. See a GP if shoulder pain is getting worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
Get help from NHS 111 if your arm hurts when you exercise but the pain goes away when you rest.
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With no safety arms, a failed barbell rep pins you. After a weight lands on you, call 999 or go to A&E for a crack, a change in shape, numbness, or skin that has turned blue or grey.
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See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
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See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
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Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
Powerlifters use it for the top half of the press, home lifters use it because they have no bench, the Turkish get-up starts with it, and the NSCA lists floor presses among its presses for older clients. Experts rated the dumbbell version suitable for novices. It's a press in its own right.
Sensible, not proven. Coaching bodies recommend it as a swap and the floor stops you before the stretched bottom of the press where pec tears happen, but no trial has tested it in shoulder pain or injury. Use it within our pain rules.
For full-range strength, no: full-range training built more strength across 16 studies and in a 10-week bench press trial. For chest size, nobody knows: no study has tested it, and the evidence on training at longer muscle lengths is mixed.
They train the top of the press harder, and partials build strength mostly in the range you train, but no trial shows floor presses raise the full bench more than extra bench sets do.
Nobody has compared them. The shorter range adds weight, the dead stop takes about 8% off and the floor takes away leg drive. Find your weight with the starting-weight method.
Across 15 studies, training to failure gave a trivial growth advantage at most. Stop 1 to 3 reps short, as our plans say.
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Lie on the floor under a racked bar, or with a dumbbell in each hand, knees bent or legs straight. Lower the weight until the backs of your upper arms touch the floor, pause for a second, then press back up over your shoulders.
Your chest, triceps and the front of your shoulders, as in a bench press. The shorter range shifts some of the work to your triceps: a top-half bench press drew more triceps activity than a full press in one study.
Neither is better; they do different jobs. The bench press trains the full range, which builds more full-range strength. The floor press is shorter, starts each rep from a dead stop and needs no bench.
It's a sensible swap: coaching bodies recommend it, and the floor stops your arms before the stretched bottom of the press. No trial has tested it, so keep pain to about 5 out of 10, settled by your next session, and see our shoulder pain when bench pressing guide.
Either. Bent knees with your feet flat are more comfortable for most people; straight legs take away any push from your legs, which some lifters want. No study compares them.
About 45 to 75 degrees from your sides with your forearms vertical, as our bench press guide advises. Let your arms touch down softly rather than bouncing.
Nobody has measured it. A shorter range lets you lift more, but a pause from a dead stop takes about 8% off and you lose leg drive. Find your weight with the starting-weight method rather than from your bench.
Use dumbbells or kettlebells: sit with the dumbbells on your thighs and lie back, or roll a kettlebell onto your chest with both hands. A heavy barbell needs a rack with low hooks and the safety arms set, because a failed rep on the floor leaves the bar on you.
2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 with dumbbells or kettlebells, stopping 2 or 3 reps short, as the move pages suggest. With a barbell, 3 sets of 5 to 8 as your main press, resting 2 to 3 minutes, is our starting point. In your first two weeks, leave 3 or 4 reps to spare.
It trains the top half harder, and partial ranges build strength mostly where you train them, but no trial shows it raises the bench more than extra bench sets. Keep full-range bench pressing in your week too.
Yes: one bell at a time, or two pressed in turn. Roll the bell onto your chest with both hands, keep it stacked over your forearm, and never let it drift over your face.
In early pregnancy, if you already lift. Later on, avoid lying flat on your back for more than a few minutes, as the NHS says, and use an incline or standing chest press instead.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
