Floor Press
A supine dumbbell press from the floor where the upper arms stop at ground level, shortening the range and sparing the shoulder.
How to do it
- Sit on the floor with a dumbbell resting on each thigh and your legs extended.
- Rock back onto your shoulders while bringing the dumbbells to your chest.
- Bend your knees so your feet sit flat on the floor and your lower back stays down.
- Press both dumbbells up over your chest until the arms are almost straight.
- Lower under control until the back of your upper arms touches the floor and pause.
- Press back up without bouncing and repeat for the prescribed reps.
Key technique cue
Let the elbows touch the floor and stop — no bounce, no hard lockout at the top.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Bouncing the elbows off the floor, which loses tension and loads the elbow joint sharply.
- ✕ Clashing the dumbbells together at the top, which destabilizes the shoulders under load.
- ✕ Locking the elbows out hard each rep, which hands the work from the muscles to the joints.
- ✕ Arching the lower back off the floor, which shortens the range and shifts load to the spine.
Benefits
- ✓ Shortens the pressing range, which suits lifters with shoulder discomfort at full depth.
- ✓ Loads the triceps heavily while still training the chest through the available range.
- ✓ Needs only dumbbells and floor space, so it works in home and hotel gym settings.
Progression: from easier to harder
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About the exercise
The floor press is a horizontal press performed lying on the ground rather than a bench. The floor stops the upper arms partway down, which removes the deepest and most demanding part of the shoulder range. That shortened path shifts a larger share of the work onto the triceps while the chest still drives the press, and it makes the movement workable for lifters who find full-depth benching uncomfortable. Leg drive is unavailable because the hips stay flat, so the upper body produces the lift on its own.
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