The floor press is an underrated addition to your training routine that can help to build a strong chest and boost your standard bench press, but are you sure you’re even doing the exercise correctly?

For this movement, you shouldn’t settle for anything other than perfect form—especially because it’s such a killer exercise that can serve as a simple addition to your training plan. Let Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. and associate fitness editor Brett Williams guide you through the move’s subtleties, saving you from the bad habits that are keeping you from unlocking your fitness potential.

Before you grab a pair of dumbbells, hit the deck, and get to pressing, take note that it’s extremely important to pay attention the movement here. Using the proper form is essential to make sure you’re getting the most out of the exercise—particularly because the way that you lie on the ground is more complicated than just flopping down. Let’s break down everything you need to know.

Men’s Health

Abs and Glutes Tight

Eb says: You’re on the floor for a floor press, but you’re not lying down on the job. You still want to create tension through your core and glutes, just as you would when on the bench press, because you’re using this to train your bench press.

Don’t relax on the floor. Stay tight.

Arms Down Slowly

Eb says: The floor press isn’t an excuse to skip out on the good eccentric contractions. Slowly lower the dumbbells (or barbell), letting your elbows touch the ground softly. If you don’t do this, you’re missing out on one of the best parts of the movement.

Once you learn it, you get to go heavy with the floor press, challenging yourself with potentially greater loads than you might normally bench, and owning the negative gives you a chance to assert control over that load. That’ll translate to greater control when you do the classic bench with larger weights.

Explode Upwards

Eb says: The floor press is a great way to work on heavy-weight lockouts at the elbows for your standard bench press. Take advantage of that and be powerful and strong firing upwards on every rep.

Explosion is key, so don’t be slow. If you’re too slow, you’re wasting the opportunity to hone your bench press.

Want to master even more moves? Check out our entire Form Check series.

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