Floor Press
The Floor Press has you lie on the floor instead of a bench and press a barbell from your chest to lockout. Your upper arms hit the floor well before a normal bench press would bottom out, which shortens the range of motion and cuts leg drive out of the lift entirely. That makes it a pressing exercise built almost entirely around triceps lockout strength, useful for lifters who want a stronger top-end press or need a shoulder-friendly way to train pressing power.
Why it works
A standard bench press lets your shoulders travel below the plane of the bench, stretching the chest and letting your legs drive through the floor to help start the bar moving. On the floor, your upper arms stop against the ground at roughly a 90 degree elbow angle, well short of a full bench dip, and there's no bench to push your feet against. That removes the easiest part of a bench press, the bottom bounce and leg drive, and leaves the triceps and the lockout portion of the lift doing almost all of the work. Lifters who stall out partway through a bench press lockout often find the floor press builds exactly the strength that's missing.
Set up
- Lie on your back on the floor with a barbell set up on a rack, in a squat rack, or handed off by a spotter.
- Plant your feet flat on the floor, knees bent, for a stable base.
- Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width and unrack it, or have it handed to you, directly over your chest.
- Pull your shoulder blades back and down against the floor before the first rep.
How to do it
- Lower the bar under control until your upper arms touch the floor.
- Pause briefly once your triceps rest on the ground.
- Press the bar back up by driving through your triceps and chest, without bouncing your elbows off the floor.
- Keep your wrists stacked directly over your elbows throughout the press.
- Lock your elbows out fully at the top.
- Lower with control for the next rep.
Form cues
- Elbows touch the floor gently, don't bounce.
- Wrists stacked over elbows the whole rep.
- Shoulder blades pulled back and down, not shrugged.
- Drive the lockout hard at the top.
Breathing: Inhale as you lower the bar to the floor, exhale as you press it back to lockout.
Common mistakes
Bouncing the elbows off the floor to build momentum.
Fix: Pause briefly with your triceps resting on the ground before pressing back up, so the muscles do the work instead of the bounce.
Flaring the elbows out wide, putting extra stress on the shoulders.
Fix: Keep your elbows at roughly a 45 degree angle from your torso as you lower the bar.
Setting the grip too narrow and turning the lift into a close-grip press with wrist strain.
Fix: Grip just outside shoulder width unless you're deliberately training a closer grip.
Letting the hips rise off the floor to help drive the bar up.
Fix: Keep your hips down and let your upper body do the pressing; there's no leg drive in this lift by design.
How to program it
- Three or four sets of 5 to 8 reps at a challenging weight builds lockout strength without needing a spotter as much as a full bench press does.
- As a heavy barbell press, once a week as your main pressing lift is enough unless it's the only chest or triceps work you're doing that week.
- It pairs well as a triceps-focused finisher after a regular bench press, since the shortened range lets you load it hard without needing much shoulder mobility.
- Progress the weight once you can lock out every rep cleanly without bouncing off the floor.
Safety notes
- Use a rack, a spotter, or a hand-off rather than trying to get a heavy bar into position from the floor by yourself.
- Stop the descent gently when your triceps reach the floor instead of letting the bar's momentum jar your elbows.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- powerlifting
Frequently asked questions
How much weight should I use on a floor press?
Because the range is shorter and leg drive is removed, most lifters can floor press close to their regular bench press weight, sometimes slightly more on the top portion. Start a bit lighter than your bench max and adjust from there.
Floor press vs bench press, what's the difference?
The floor press stops your upper arms at the ground, cutting the range of motion short and removing leg drive, which shifts more of the work onto the triceps and the lockout. The bench press uses a full range with leg drive helping the lift off the chest.
Can I do a floor press at home without a bench?
Yes, that's part of the appeal. All you need is a barbell and enough floor space; you can even use dumbbells instead of a barbell if that's easier to get into position safely.
Why does the floor press feel harder at the top than the bench press?
Because the bottom bounce and leg drive are gone, your triceps have to generate all the force from a dead stop, which is exactly the part of a normal bench press that leg drive usually helps with.