Floor Pressing and Four Ways to Increase Your Pressing Power

Board Press is one of many
partial movements to help build
pressing strength and  mass in the arms

No explanation of the workout today, just get after it and read these four reasons why your pressing power is weak or stalling.

1) Partial Movements:  In my experience, most regular lifters and athletes don't struggle coming off the chest in the bench press, they struggle in their lockout.  This may not be the case for all elite lifters and powerlifters, but in the case of the average gym goer or athlete lifting to build upper body strength, the problem is about halfway through the movement in locking out the weight.  Don't believe me?  Next time you watch someone fighting through a rep on the bench press, watch as the weight reaches their chest at the end of the eccentric portion, then flies off the chest only to immediately stall about halfway through the movement.  You will then see them kick and squirm and struggle to break past that sticking point, most of the time with no success, which will lead their spotter to have to pull the bar off their chest before they kill themselves.

I'm the exact same way.  When I fail on a bench press, it's not coming off the chest, it's in the lockout.  In order to strengthen the lockout portion of the bench press, it's important to use partial movements in your training.  My favorite partial movement is the floor press.  I use them as my core lift with a heavy barbell or sometimes with dumbbells as an assistance movement.  Other partial movements include board presses and pin presses.  Start incorporating partial movements in your training to build muscles in the triceps and strength in your lockout.

Band Triceps Extensions are a brutal
way to build size and strength
in the triceps

2) Triceps Strength: When was the last time you saw someone bench press a BIG weight who didn't have big pipes?  Massive horseshoe triceps aren't just for bodybuilders and guys who wan't to stretch the sleeves on their shirts.  If you want to build pressing power and avoid injuries in lifting or athletics, (ask Ray Lewis how serious a triceps tear can be) you need to give your triceps the attention they deserve.  The number of ways to build big, strong triceps is endless, but here are some of my favorites:  Band Triceps Extension, Dumbbell Rolling Triceps Extensions, Floor Press, Board Press, high rep Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press, Straight Bar Triceps Extensions, Neutral Grip Band-Resisted Pushups, Diamond Pushups, etc.

Point is, train your triceps.  I have noticed a dramatic increase in my pressing strength since I began using a high volume of pushup variations and band triceps extension.  If your bench is stalled, the answer may be in building your triceps.

3) Bigger Back for a Bigger Bench?:  In their quest for a bigger bench and more pressing power, many people neglect their back.  The muscles of the upper back aren't as easy to see as the chest and triceps, and most normal gym goers who want to be able to answer the question "how much ya bench?" with an impressive number think the answer lies in pressing over and over and over.  The reality is, have an expansive and strong upper back is not only impressive to look at, but will help you in JUST ABOUT EVERY LIFT YOU DO.  The upper back muscles serve as a platform to you to press from, and a strong back can help to keep your shoulders healthy, which many aging lifters struggle to do.  To strengthen your upper back, do band pull aparts, band, ring, and cable face pulls, chest-supported rows, barbell rows, dumbbell rows, inverted rows, pull ups, lat pull downs, band pull downs, etc.

Build a stronger upper back keep your shoulders healthy so you can build a massive press for years to come.

4) Shoulder Strength:  Healthy shoulders aren't just important for comfortable pressing, the shoulder muscles play a huge role in moving heavy weight.  Many people think that only the chest and triceps are called into action when horizontal pressing, but the shoulders are actually as or more important than those other muscles in building a big bench.  Aside from the fact that big shoulders are impressive looking, building them through overhead pressing variations like the Klokov Press, Dumbbell Military Press, Push Press, Barbell Military Press, Lateral and Front Raises, and See-Saw Presses will help you blast through your bench press sticking point.


Foam Rolling
General Warmup
Dynamic Warmup

Band Pulldowns--2x15
Triceps Extensions--2x15

Klokov Press for upper body mass
and strength

Band Face Pulls--2x15
Pushups with Knee Tucks--2x10

Power
Full Body Plyo Pushups--5x3

Strength
Barbell Floor Press--3x3 at RPE 9
*Worked up to 310 for 3x3*

Assistance
Incline Dumbbell Press--2x15
*70 lb dumbbells, 1 minute rest

Supplemental Lift
Band-Resisted Chest-Supported T Bar Row--4x8

Muscle-Building/Conditioning
Standing Dumbbell Military Press--10
Weighted Pull Ups--8
Band-Resisted Knee Tucks--15

Gun Show #1
Band Triceps Extensions--100 total reps

Gun Show #2
Dumbbell Hammer Curls--2x12

Abs
Straight Leg Sit Ups--2x25