Floor Press for Chest and Triceps

The floor press - performing a bench press while lying on the floor - limits your range of motion to the top half of the movement. This makes it an excellent tricep and lockout builder.

Benefits

• Tricep focus - shorter range of motion emphasises triceps over chest
• Shoulder-friendly - arms stop at floor level, preventing excessive shoulder extension
• Lockout strength - directly targets the weak point for many bench pressers
• No bench needed - perfect for home gyms in Malaysian apartments

Technique

1. Lie on the floor with barbell in a rack (or have a partner hand it to you)
2. Grip slightly narrower than bench press width
3. Lower until your upper arms touch the floor - pause for 1 second
4. Press back up explosively
5. The pause eliminates the stretch reflex, making the press harder

Dumbbell Floor Press

If no barbell is available, dumbbells work excellently:

• Lie on the floor holding dumbbells
• Press up, lower until upper arms touch floor
• Neutral grip (palms facing each other) is most shoulder-friendly

Programming

• For lockout strength: 4 sets of 3-5 reps with heavy weight
• For tricep hypertrophy: 3 sets of 8-12 reps with moderate weight
• As a bench accessory: 3 sets of 6-8 after your main bench press

The floor press is especially practical for Malaysian home gym setups where space for a full bench may be limited.