Floor Press or Incline for Raw Bench?

want2getlean 2012-01-28 23:46:46 UTC #1

I hear alot on forums about people using the Floor Press, but is it really of much use to raw lifters, considering it works on the end portion of the lift?

I think I read something about Jim Wendler liking the Incline for raw benching

What's your opinion on this?

clutz15 2012-01-29 16:10:32 UTC #2

I actually use floorpress to help bring up my strength off the chest for a few reasons. One my floorpress is maybe an inch or less off my chest so its actually very close to my paused competition bench. Two, as your triceps pause on the floor you lose the stretch reflex you would normally have during the lift putting more emphasis on the chest. When I do floorpress either BB or DB I feel it way more in my chest than anywhere else.

That being said I think incline is a very valuable lift for raw lifters as well, variations of floorpress, incline and flat bench make up almost all of my ME bench exercises and I use their DB variations as supplementary work along with a few others.

budreiser 2012-01-29 16:28:37 UTC #3

floor press as a max effort really helps my power off the chest. I haven't tried any incline variations as a max effort so I can't comment there.

gurbob 2012-01-29 17:21:17 UTC #4

my torso is thick enough that when i floor press the bar actually touches my chest.

so i use both.

StrengthDawg 2012-01-29 22:07:04 UTC #5

Aside from where the bar is in relation to ones chest, another huge factor in why a floor press is 'harder' and effective for building starting strength is that in a floor press you don't arch or use leg drive. In my experience a weight that I can floor press is relatively easy when done with the proper bench set up and leg drive. If my floor press improves, then my regular bench certainly does ( I can generally 3 rep what I can 1 rep on a FP). Give them a shot for a few weeks maybe as a main execrise and as a suplemental one. It's just more more tool in the arsenal. ( If your floor press is similar in poundage as your regular bench, I would evaluate your bench set up to see what you aren't doing correctly or as efficiently as possible. The floor press poundage should be less generally than your bench press, not always but generally speaking)

Another very beneficial lift to help raw benchers is the dead bench. Simply set a bar on the spot pins and press. Then return the bar to the pins, reset and press again. I tend to prefer hanging the bar from chains in my power rack so that the bar return to the exact starting point each rep. It helps me stay tight and properly set up. Plus, it teaches me to push straight up ro the bar will sway in the chains and I waste energy and can see that I'm wasting energy which is a positive reinforcement of proper form. Another benefit of the chain version is that I can adjust the height link by link vs the spacing on the spot pins.

Hope this helps.

Ghost16 2012-01-29 23:00:16 UTC #6

StrengthDawg wrote:
Aside from where the bar is in relation to ones chest, another huge factor in why a floor press is 'harder' and effective for building starting strength is that in a floor press you don't arch or use leg drive. In my experience a weight that I can floor press is relatively easy when done with the proper bench set up and leg drive. If my floor press improves, then my regular bench certainly does ( I can generally 3 rep what I can 1 rep on a FP). Give them a shot for a few weeks maybe as a main execrise and as a suplemental one. It's just more more tool in the arsenal. ( If your floor press is similar in poundage as your regular bench, I would evaluate your bench set up to see what you aren't doing correctly or as efficiently as possible. The floor press poundage should be less generally than your bench press, not always but generally speaking)

Another very beneficial lift to help raw benchers is the dead bench. Simply set a bar on the spot pins and press. Then return the bar to the pins, reset and press again. I tend to prefer hanging the bar from chains in my power rack so that the bar return to the exact starting point each rep. It helps me stay tight and properly set up. Plus, it teaches me to push straight up ro the bar will sway in the chains and I waste energy and can see that I'm wasting energy which is a positive reinforcement of proper form. Another benefit of the chain version is that I can adjust the height link by link vs the spacing on the spot pins.

Hope this helps.

x2. This is very good information.

DixiesFinest 2012-01-30 04:52:09 UTC #7

Floor press is excellent for raw lifters.

Do both.

Why would you not do both?

greystoke 2012-01-30 13:31:40 UTC #8

dalle 2012-01-30 14:10:35 UTC #9

my floorpress feel pretty odd because I have very long arms and I bench pretty closegrip so it becomes more like a lockout movement for me because its only half rom off my benchpress, therefore I have found better strength carryover from paused benchpresses .

animus 2012-01-30 16:34:57 UTC #10

Floor-pressing is amazing for my chest. It's just very difficult for me to set up without a partner.

kpsnap 2012-01-30 17:16:24 UTC #11

!! Never measured how far off the chest a BB floor press is for me . . . but it's quite a distance with my puny upper body and long arms.

Fletch1986 2012-01-30 17:26:19 UTC #12

I like both. I don't like either for ME work though simply because I find I do best with all my ME work on the flat bench. At least so far. What I love about floor press is that it puts the bar right at my sticking point which is mid-way for me.

GhostOD 2012-01-30 17:56:00 UTC #13

Floor Press is one of my top upper body movements, personally. Both for max effort of assistance. Straight weights, chains or mini bands, different grips, different bars, whatever. Great movement. Incline is great too, but I'm not nearly as familiar with it.

vdizenzo 2012-01-31 12:43:18 UTC #14

Yes

maraudermeat 2012-02-01 00:16:56 UTC #15

i can't tell you the last time i did an incline press of any kind. But, i do a ton of floor pressing. i think it's one of the best bench variations you can do. whenever i do heavy floor presses for a cycle i find that i'm able to grind through heavy reps much easier. the best variation for me is legs totally straight with a very long pause to get rid of any stretch reflex.

ouroboro_s 2012-02-01 22:03:28 UTC #16

With my small chest and long fore arms, I can floor press more than I can bench. It's like a 2-board.

want2getlean 2012-02-02 00:24:49 UTC #17

is that you in your avatar?

ouch

marlboroman 2012-02-02 01:21:28 UTC #18

StrengthDawg wrote:
Aside from where the bar is in relation to ones chest, another huge factor in why a floor press is 'harder' and effective for building starting strength is that in a floor press you don't arch or use leg drive. In my experience a weight that I can floor press is relatively easy when done with the proper bench set up and leg drive. If my floor press improves, then my regular bench certainly does ( I can generally 3 rep what I can 1 rep on a FP). Give them a shot for a few weeks maybe as a main execrise and as a suplemental one. It's just more more tool in the arsenal. ( If your floor press is similar in poundage as your regular bench, I would evaluate your bench set up to see what you aren't doing correctly or as efficiently as possible. The floor press poundage should be less generally than your bench press, not always but generally speaking)

Another very beneficial lift to help raw benchers is the dead bench. Simply set a bar on the spot pins and press. Then return the bar to the pins, reset and press again. I tend to prefer hanging the bar from chains in my power rack so that the bar return to the exact starting point each rep. It helps me stay tight and properly set up. Plus, it teaches me to push straight up ro the bar will sway in the chains and I waste energy and can see that I'm wasting energy which is a positive reinforcement of proper form. Another benefit of the chain version is that I can adjust the height link by link vs the spacing on the spot pins.

Hope this helps.

pin presses (as I call them) rock . it's incredible how hard it is to get that first rep moving with a weight you can press all day in a normal set up .

ouroboro_s 2012-02-02 02:22:21 UTC #19

Yeah. That's me in, funnily enough, my best meet yet

maraudermeat 2012-02-02 02:34:43 UTC #20

now that's ATG...even the USAPL couldn't red light that depth.