Floor Press

intermediate · push_horizontal

Setup

Adjust the J-hooks in the squat rack to a height you can reach while lying down. Lie on your back on the floor with your head near one end of the rack, shoulder blades pulled together, knees bent and feet planted. If you train alone, leave the collars off both ends of the bar.

Execution

Unrack the bar, bringing it directly over your chest with your arms locked out.
Inhale and lower the bar under control, elbows at about 45 degrees from your torso.
Let your elbows touch the floor lightly, pausing there for a beat instead of bouncing straight back up.
Exhale and press the bar back up from that dead-stop position.
If a rep stalls, do not reach back for the hooks: lower the bar to your chest, roll it down to your belly and sit up, or have a spotter take it off you.
At the end of the set, guide the bar back onto the J-hooks under control.

Breathing

Inhale as you lower the bar, exhale as you press up. Do not hold your breath at the pause on the floor; if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or you are pregnant, use a lighter load and always have a spotter.

Quick cues

Pause fully when the elbows touch down.
Elbows at 45 degrees the whole set.
Shoulder blades pinned to the floor.
Training alone means no collars.

Common faults

Fault: Bouncing the elbows off the floor to help drive the bar up
Fix: Come to a full 1-second stop on the floor before actively pressing back up.
Fault: The elbows flaring out to 90 degrees
Fix: Tuck the elbows in closer, to about 45 degrees.
Fault: The shoulder blades lifting off the floor on a heavy press
Fix: Drop the weight and keep the shoulder blades pinned to the floor through the press.
Fault: Setting the J-hooks too high, forcing you to arch up to reach the bar
Fix: Set the J-hooks to a height you can reach comfortably while lying flat.

Equipment

barbell, squat_rack

Muscle groups

arms, chest, shoulders