Pin Presses
The pin press is a barbell press that starts from a dead stop, the bar resting on the safety pins of a power rack instead of your chest. Without a stretch reflex or any downward momentum to borrow from, your triceps and chest have to generate every bit of force from a standing start. It's a tool for lifters chasing a stronger lockout, especially anyone who grinds and misses their bench press a few inches from the top.
Why it works
A normal bench press gets a small assist from the stretch reflex: the bar dips onto your chest and the muscle's own elastic recoil helps kick the bar back up. Pin pressing removes that help completely. The bar sits still on steel pins, so every rep starts from zero velocity at the exact joint angle you choose. That isolates the last, hardest portion of the lift, the part where your triceps do the most and your chest and shoulders finish the job, which is exactly where most lifters miss a heavy bench press.
Set up
- Set the safety pins in the rack at the height where you usually stall on a heavy bench press, often just above your chest.
- Lie on the bench under the bar with your feet flat and your eyes roughly under the bar.
- Grip the bar slightly outside shoulder width, the same grip you'd use for a normal bench press.
- Pull your shoulder blades down and back against the bench before you touch the bar.
- Lower the bar onto the pins if it isn't resting there already, so the first rep truly starts dead.
How to do it
- Take a full breath and brace your core before you press.
- Push the bar straight up off the pins, driving hard through your palms.
- Keep your elbows tracking under the bar rather than flaring out to the sides.
- Extend all the way to a full lockout at the top.
- Lower the bar back down under control until it touches the pins again.
- Let it rest dead on the pins for a full second, no bounce, before the next rep.
- Reset your breath and brace between every rep.
Form cues
- Dead stop on the pins, never a bounce off the metal.
- Elbows track under the bar, not out wide.
- Drive through your whole palm, not just your fingers.
- Finish every rep at a true lockout, not just past the sticking point.
Breathing: Breathe in and brace hard before each press off the pins, then let the air out once you pass the hardest part near lockout.
Common mistakes
Bouncing the bar off the pins for a little free momentum.
Fix: Let the bar go fully still and silent on the pins for a full second before you press, so your muscles do all the starting work.
Letting the elbows flare out wide on the way up.
Fix: Picture your elbows staying stacked under the bar the entire press, closer to your torso than a normal wide bench setup.
Stopping just short of a full lockout.
Fix: Push through to straight arms every rep; a partial lockout only trains the part of the lift you already have.
Setting the pins too low, so the lift turns into a regular partial-range bench press.
Fix: Set the pins at the exact height where your real bench press stalls, usually just an inch or two off your chest.
How to program it
- This is heavy, joint-locked pressing with almost no elastic help from your body, so treat it like your other maximal lifts and give it one focused session a week rather than stacking it with a full bench day.
- Three to five sets of three to five reps, loaded at or slightly above your regular bench weight since the range of motion is shorter, works well for most lifters chasing lockout strength.
- Place it after your main bench press work as a finisher, or make it the primary lift on a day built around triceps and lockout strength.
- Pair it with close-grip pressing or dips on the same day if triceps strength, not chest size, is the goal.
Safety notes
- Set the pins to match your actual sticking point rather than guessing, so you're training the range that matters instead of a token partial rep.
- Keep a spotter nearby or set a second pair of safety pins a few inches below your working height, since starting from a dead stop with no downward momentum makes it harder to bail a missed rep gracefully.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- powerlifting
Frequently asked questions
What are pin presses good for?
They build strength at one specific joint angle, usually the hardest point of your bench press, by removing the stretch reflex and any downward momentum. Lifters who stall at the same spot on a heavy bench rep use them to strengthen that exact weak link.
How much weight should I use for pin presses?
Because the range of motion is shorter and there's no stretch reflex, many lifters can handle a similar load to their regular bench press, sometimes a bit more if the pins are set high. Start conservative and adjust once you feel how different the dead start is.
Pin press vs board press, what's the difference?
Both remove the bounce off your chest, but a board press still touches down on wood resting on your sternum, so there's a small give. A pin press stops dead on steel at whatever height you set, which makes it the stricter, more controllable version.
Do I need a power rack for pin presses?
Yes, you need a rack with adjustable safety pins strong enough to catch a loaded bar. If your gym doesn't have one, a board press or a spotter calling out a pause at your sticking point are reasonable substitutes.