Adaptive Fitness Coach - Floor Press Variations

Variations of the Floor Press can serve several purposes. They can be used to build up the prerequisite strength needed to perform traditional Push-ups or as an accessory movement to build chest, shoulders, and triceps. The reduced range of motion (ROM) can be more “shoulder friendly” for some but recognize that ROM is one driver of muscle growth. So therefore the Floor Press would be less ideal for hypertrophy than the Chest Press and Bench Press. However, many of our athletes feel more comfortable on the ground than on a bench so the added stability that comes with Floor Pressing could allow some athletes to use heavier loads. The following are five variations that we frequently use.

This could potentially be a safer alternative to using dumbbells or a barbell for younger athletes. By squeezing into the medicine ball, athletes would be performing an isometric pec contraction which could recruit more motor units.

This could be performed with only one dumbbell at a time to increase the core demand of the movement