For those of you who do heavy floor presses and don’t have a spotter, what do you use? I was going to do them in the power rack, but the pins at my gym don’t go low enough. Any ideas?
I do my Floor Presses in the power rack and just take the pins out completely. You just have to be really smart about how much weight you are going to do and how many reps. Its just like going heavy on a regular bench press.
Always use a spotter on floor presses. If you do’nt have one, don’t do them. Trust me, as I’ve been there without a spotter and too heavy. Not a good experience.
On second thought, I guess you could possibly get away without using a spotter if you could put the pins low enough. Most racks won’t work like that though.
Is it possible to get stuck under the bar on floor presses? Liek if you’re not HEEEYYYYOOOOGE then would the plates not keep the bar far enough off the ground to wiggle out from under? or at least not crush you to death…
[quote]Hanley wrote:
Is it possible to get stuck under the bar on floor presses? Liek if you’re not HEEEYYYYOOOOGE then would the plates not keep the bar far enough off the ground to wiggle out from under? or at least not crush you to death…[/quote]
Ya, I thought about this. But I’m not sure. Even with 45’s on the bar, the bar is probably only 8 inches off the ground at most. I suppose I could roll it over my legs until it passes my feet, lol.
[quote]SprinterOne wrote:
Hanley wrote:
Is it possible to get stuck under the bar on floor presses? Liek if you’re not HEEEYYYYOOOOGE then would the plates not keep the bar far enough off the ground to wiggle out from under? or at least not crush you to death…
Ya, I thought about this. But I’m not sure. Even with 45’s on the bar, the bar is probably only 8 inches off the ground at most. I suppose I could roll it over my legs until it passes my feet, lol.[/quote]
Ya know you could also try stacking a cople of plates either side of you so that the bar (well the plates on the bar) will just clear them when it’s in the bottom postion but if needs be can also be rested on them if you miss the weight. I’m just throwing out ideas as they pop into my head… don’t know how useful they’ll be.
[quote]Hanley wrote:
Ya know you could also try stacking a cople of plates either side of you so that the bar (well the plates on the bar) will just clear them when it’s in the bottom postion but if needs be can also be rested on them if you miss the weight. I’m just throwing out ideas as they pop into my head… don’t know how useful they’ll be.[/quote]
This is something that seems like it could work. I was thinking about items I could put down in place of pins that would be high enough for me to drop the bar on, but low enough to be out of the way. This might be the best idea so far.
I am fortunate enough to have a rack from EliteFTS. If I’m maxing out floor press (or any press for that matter) I do it in there. The pin settings are very accommodating.
Shadow
[quote]Hanley wrote:
Is it possible to get stuck under the bar on floor presses? Liek if you’re not HEEEYYYYOOOOGE then would the plates not keep the bar far enough off the ground to wiggle out from under? or at least not crush you to death…[/quote]
YEah, your second idea is good, but the first won’t work. I thought I could get away by doing this and all I ended up doing was dragging the bar allong side my ribs until I realized somebody would need to pull it off.
I use the old 12 plate spot - 4 piles of 3 plates around the power rack ensures that I can miss my top ME attempt and still be safe. Depending on your arm length you might be able to get away with just 2 plates per stack. The rack stops it from rolling up past my head, the and having 2 piles per side means I’m covered down to around my hips, waaaay farther than the bar would ever roll. But yeah, works like a charm, no worries about getting smashed.
You can use dumbbells.
Too heavy, drop them to the sides.
I loved it the last time I did it.
For me, even though I have a substantial girth, my elbows hit the floor at the same time as the bar hits my chest, even with an arch. So if I fail a lift, I could just support the bar on my elbows until I get sufficient strength back to lift it.
However, the best solution is never to attempt a lift you are not sure you will get.
Not to hijack this thread, but I run into a problem like this doing DB floor presses on WS4SB. After I worked up to 85lb Dbs, I couldn’t use a heavier weight because I just couldn’t get them in the ready position by myself. Anyone else have this problem?
[quote]Drecappa wrote:
Not to hijack this thread, but I run into a problem like this doing DB floor presses on WS4SB. After I worked up to 85lb Dbs, I couldn’t use a heavier weight because I just couldn’t get them in the ready position by myself. Anyone else have this problem?[/quote]
I sometimes have this problem with seated shoulder presses. The simplest soultion that i’ve found is to take one dumbell to full extenstion and get some one t ohand you the other dumbell while you have both arms licked out.
Really really big plates, with a radius bigger than your body. Actually I haven’t found them, but they would be a bloody good thing to have.
Alternatively, a squat rack connected to the bar like a yoke would be a good thing.
Find the hieght and suspend bar from chains or make two little raised wood platforms to set under the plates to raise the bar just high enough.
[quote]SprinterOne wrote:
For those of you who do heavy floor presses and don’t have a spotter, what do you use? I was going to do them in the power rack, but the pins at my gym don’t go low enough. Any ideas?[/quote]
I have gone beyond failure in the floor press without a spotter in the power rack dozens of times. I rack the bar on the 2nd hole in my rack. I do not use the safety catchers. When I hit a weight and can’t get it, I just lower the bar to the neck by bending the elbows. With 45’s its 2-3 inches above my neck. I can turn my head slightly and get out with no problem.
[quote]mertdawg wrote:
SprinterOne wrote:
For those of you who do heavy floor presses and don’t have a spotter, what do you use? I was going to do them in the power rack, but the pins at my gym don’t go low enough. Any ideas?
I have gone beyond failure in the floor press without a spotter in the power rack dozens of times. I rack the bar on the 2nd hole in my rack. I do not use the safety catchers. When I hit a weight and can’t get it, I just lower the bar to the neck by bending the elbows. With 45’s its 2-3 inches above my neck. I can turn my head slightly and get out with no problem.
[/quote]
Yeah same here, no spotter needed since my skinny ass can get out from under the bar when its sitting on the ground (with 45’s of course).
I used to have the same problem. I worked my way up to 90lb DBs for seated military press but just the act of getting them ready for the set was very tiring. I know I could ask someone to hand them to me, but I train alone, and I usually go to the gym (purposely) when very few people are in there. I hate asking someone to hand me Dbs 4-5 times LOL.
[quote]Hanley wrote:
Drecappa wrote:
Not to hijack this thread, but I run into a problem like this doing DB floor presses on WS4SB. After I worked up to 85lb Dbs, I couldn’t use a heavier weight because I just couldn’t get them in the ready position by myself. Anyone else have this problem?
I sometimes have this problem with seated shoulder presses. The simplest soultion that i’ve found is to take one dumbell to full extenstion and get some one t ohand you the other dumbell while you have both arms licked out.[/quote]
[quote]StevenF wrote:
mertdawg wrote:
SprinterOne wrote:
For those of you who do heavy floor presses and don’t have a spotter, what do you use? I was going to do them in the power rack, but the pins at my gym don’t go low enough. Any ideas?
I have gone beyond failure in the floor press without a spotter in the power rack dozens of times. I rack the bar on the 2nd hole in my rack. I do not use the safety catchers. When I hit a weight and can’t get it, I just lower the bar to the neck by bending the elbows. With 45’s its 2-3 inches above my neck. I can turn my head slightly and get out with no problem.
Yeah same here, no spotter needed since my skinny ass can get out from under the bar when its sitting on the ground (with 45’s of course). [/quote]
I don’t get it. I’m not skinny, and I have over a 17 inch neck and the bar clears my neck by 2 inches or more.