Why the floor press deserves a place in your workout

Finding out about floor flys was a game changer for me. It became an exercise worth doing, compared to its bench version, which can lead to the infamous shoulder or back pinch many regular gym-goers experience. But that’s just scratching the surface of how useful the floor can be, even for exercises one might otherwise think are meant to be done only a certain way. These (floor-based) moves aren’t just substitutes for exercises that tend to cause injuries, they’re also good additions that give your muscles a different kind of stimulus, even if it means not having to lift heavy weights.

My opinion on floor presses of any kind—including the floor fly—changed when a very experienced gym friend told me he had stopped bench pressing after years of being obsessed with it. Over the past two weeks, I haven’t used the bench for flys or presses.. I have instead focused on using the floor variations of both exercises. Pairing this with chest dips has helped me stay away from the bench and the shoulder or back injuries that can come with it.

The science behind doing a chest exercise on the floor versus on a bench is fairly simple: the floor provides both support and a clear marker for how far your arms should go before pressing the dumbbells up. It also offers full back support, unlike the narrow surface of a bench. The back, the clavicle, the shoulder, biceps, and triceps are all involved in executing a bench press and the risk of injury is influenced by factors such as grip width, elbow flare and how deep you go on the descent before pressing the weights up. It is agreed that the bench allows for the arms to cross the torso on the way down and leads to a longer stretch in the pecs for muscle growth, but it is impossible to know if every rep out of your set is uniform. The floor press eliminates this doubt because the arms cannot cross beyond a certain point.

“Experiencing injury onset during bench press training was associated with injuries in the shoulder, and onset during deadlift training was associated with lumbopelvic injuries,” notes a paper titled Prevalence and Consequences of Injuries in Powerlifting: A Cross-sectional Study. Multiple studies suggest this is usually due to an imbalance of strength (since you’re using both sides at the same time in a press), and flaring of elbows, especially pertinent in the case of newbies who are just starting out.

There are other factors that make the floor press more appealing than the bench press. The first is the elimination of leg drive— or worrying about the leg being in contact with the floor. The second is not needing to arch the back, a position heavy lifters take and sometimes overdo, leading to lower back injuries. And the third is the decreased range of motion. Think of it as a pushup where you cannot go beyond the point of your chest touching the floor. This limited range of motion means you may be able to lift more weight on the floor than on the bench.

There is one major difference between the two exercises when it comes to which muscle groups are most used. The bench press, due to an increased range of motion, always engages more chest muscles while the floor press engages more of the triceps. The toughest part of a chest press is the lockout at the top of the exercise, when you fully extend the arm. This is not always possible in a bench press because the triceps are responsible for that final extension.

“For many lifters, locking out the bench press may be holding their PRs back. Usually, weak triceps are the culprit in a lacklustre lockout, as they are the muscles that fully extend the elbow. If you’re specifically looking to target the triceps for a stronger bench press lockout, the floor press is your best bet, since it’s essentially the same movement,” notes a BarBend article titled Floor Press Vs. Bench Press — Is One Better Than the Other?

There are two ways of doing the exercise. The first is to get on the floor and use two dumbbells. Alternatively, you can use a Smith Machine and get under it if you prefer to use a barbell instead, with heavier weights and an easy lockout. If you’re using dumbbells, be careful about getting back up into a sitting position after the sets or make sure your gym has a sturdy floor to let them drop to the side if you’re using heavy dumbbells.

There is very little chance of the floor press replacing the bench press. After all, stronger triceps and better shoulders and back muscles can lead to a better bench press. That said, for those dealing with injuries or frustrated with their bench form, the floor press is a simple, no-frills and safer alternative.

Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.