The dumbbell floor press is a variation of the basic triathlon exercise and develops the upper part of the amplitude during Its phase of the “boost.” Exercise may help you to improve your results in performing competitive sets.
The main working muscles in this exercise are triceps and pectoral muscles. This exercise can be a great alternative to the dumbbell bench press. This is very convenient for those athletes who do not always have the opportunity to work out in the gym and spend a lot of time at home without necessary training equipment.
Before Exercising
To do the dumbbell floor press, you should have a fitness mat and the working weights. Spread and lower down your arms with the dumbbells. Your elbows should be placed on the soft surface. With this in mind, put the mat on the floor.
Before you proceed to the exercise, you should warm-up. First, warm up your wrist and elbow joints. You can also do the warm-up sets with light weights. It is a kind of preparation for the upcoming muscle strain.
Proper Technique
Starting position
Take a dumbbell in each hand. The equipment should be taken with an upper grip.
Get the starting position lying on the floor with your back.
Your shoulders should touch the floor, and your elbows should be pulled apart at an acute angle to the position of the body, and the forearm should be perpendicular to the floor.
The shoulder blades and the pelvis should be pressed to the floor firmly. Your chest must be straightened forward.
Bend the legs with the knees and then spread them to the shoulder’s width.
Contract your abs and glutes. This will help you to stabilize your body position.
Exercising
Take a deep breath. On the exhale, press dumbbells up from the chest with a powerful movement.
When you reach the extreme upper point, without pauses slowly and smoothly begin to bend your arms at the elbow joints and lower your shells into their starting position until the shoulders touch the surface of the floor.
Perform the desired number of reps.
Pay Attention
You can make out the best of this exercise if you avoid the following mistakes.
Lower down your hands smoothly and do not make any harsh movements. Avoid hitting your elbows on the floor because it may cause injuries.
Do not allow constant muscle tension by placing your elbow joints on triceps.
Keep your pelvis on the floor, and do not stick your feet on the floor too hard.
In the latter case, the load will be redistributed, and part of it will fall on the leg muscles. This will decrease the effectiveness of the exercise.
General recommendations
You can get the most dumbbell floor press if you follow these recommendations.
Perform this exercise with a partner who will pass you dumbbells. This will allow you to take the correct starting position without risk of injury. It is quite problematic to do this with heavy dumbbells.
If you don’t have a partner, you should take the starting position on the floor, and then take the dumbbells. To do this, you need to put the dumbbells between your spread legs and then grab the bar. Lift the upper part of the body, and then lean back on your back.
Keep your shoulder blades together. They should lie on the floor just like when you perform the classic variation of bench press exercise.
If you follow these recommendations, you should not worry about the risk of injuries.
Different Ways To Exercise
There are several variations for performing a dumbbell floor press:
You can do it with a neutral grip. Hold the dumbbells on the sides of the body and press them up parallel to each other. This allows you to put the load on the triceps muscles of the hands.
Besides, you can do it with your pelvis lifted a little bit. It is performed like a glute bridge and shifts the emphasis to the lower part of the chest.
Benefits of the Dumbbell Floor Press
“Benders” perform this exercise as an auxiliary workout. It allows you to develop the final phase of the abs movement.
The reduced amplitude of motion significantly reduces the burden on the shoulder joints.
You can increase the triceps strength.
You can perform it even at home, and there is no need for any special training equipment.
More Info
The dumbbell floor press can be used as an additional exercise to the classic barbell bench press workout, or it may become the alternative to the barbell bench press exercises. It can be used as a standard movement in complex chest developing exercises.
It is recommended to perform about 3-4 sets with 8-12 reps in each set. “Lifter” technique implies a different approach. The weight of dumbbells depends on the level of training. Limiting the amplitude of movement of the “upper third” of the classical bench press allows you to lift more heavy weights than your working weights.
Contraindications
It is allowed to do this exercise even if your shoulder joints are injured. The correct execution technique allows you to do bench press even if you feel pain in the lower back. The only contradiction is elbow injury because this movement can increase the discomfort.
