Starting Position for DB Floor Presses?

If you’re going heavy with them, how do you get the DB into the starting position? Lay it on a bench and ease it down to your hand? Pick it up with both hands?

-dizzle

Just like you would set up for presses on a bench.

I sit down with the bells at my side, put them on my thighs while holding them, and lay back.

I just get my training partner to hand them to me. If not then just kick em back as you would on a bench.

k im gonna hikack this thread with a question…

when you floor press is it better to lay flat, or have your feet up like you would in a sit-up?

I prefer legs bent up, but have done em legs flat. Technically you’ll lift less legs flat but, for me, difference wasn’t much. I am good at floor pressing relative to bench press anyway. Just make sure you set up your upper back as you would benching.

do you have to use a safety rack when doing floor presses? My gym doesn’t have a power rack that allows me to put the safety bar low enough. Sucks. And how do you modify the movement to focus on the triceps?

They actually make a hook specifically for this. It’s a large “S” hook that is made of wire. One side hooks the dumbbell and the other side hooks on an Olympic bar. The handle side hook is really made up of 2 hooks that are spread out toward the edges of the handle so you can still grip and lift the dumbbell. You can set either a smith machine or power rack bar to where you want the lift-off, place the hooks on the bar and workout like you would with a normal barbell and rack.

I know my description is probably hard to understand, but it’s rather hard to describe. I don�??t know what they are called, but my old gym had them. I used them to do heavy dumbbell shoulder presses when I was training alone.

www.prowriststraps.com/power_hooks_dumbbell_power_hook

Power Hooks

[quote]k8thegr8 wrote:
do you have to use a safety rack when doing floor presses? My gym doesn’t have a power rack that allows me to put the safety bar low enough. Sucks. And how do you modify the movement to focus on the triceps?[/quote]

You can pull over a flat bench and rest the barbell on there about 6 inches or so from the edge. Another idea is to setup with the plates on the bar resting on step platforms or the blocks that are used to raise said platforms, though if you’re going really heavy this may be a problem. Using other plates can work too.

As far as tricep focus, the movement usually eliminates part of the involvement of the chest because you’re not bringing the bar to your chest and getting the stretch at the bottom, eliminating much of the stretch reflex, thus making it pretty good for triceps, though I could be wrong. I’ve heard conflicting opinions saying that your floor press should be less or more than your regular bench for different reasons, so if I could get clarification on this, that would be great. My floor press numbers are usually the same as if not a little better than my normal bench because of the shortened range of motion.

For the record, both my triceps and bench suck (1RM approximately 265lbs at 210lbs), though it could be my shoulders too.

[quote]D_S wrote:
k8thegr8 wrote:
do you have to use a safety rack when doing floor presses? My gym doesn’t have a power rack that allows me to put the safety bar low enough. Sucks. And how do you modify the movement to focus on the triceps?

You can pull over a flat bench and rest the barbell on there about 6 inches or so from the edge. Another idea is to setup with the plates on the bar resting on step platforms or the blocks that are used to raise said platforms, though if you’re going really heavy this may be a problem. Using other plates can work too.

As far as tricep focus, the movement usually eliminates part of the involvement of the chest because you’re not bringing the bar to your chest and getting the stretch at the bottom, eliminating much of the stretch reflex, thus making it pretty good for triceps, though I could be wrong. I’ve heard conflicting opinions saying that your floor press should be less or more than your regular bench for different reasons, so if I could get clarification on this, that would be great. My floor press numbers are usually the same as if not a little better than my normal bench because of the shortened range of motion.

For the record, both my triceps and bench suck (1RM approximately 265lbs at 210lbs), though it could be my shoulders too.

[/quote]

Oh yeah, dumbbells.

Hooray reading comprehension.

[quote]D_S wrote:
k8thegr8 wrote:
do you have to use a safety rack when doing floor presses? My gym doesn’t have a power rack that allows me to put the safety bar low enough. Sucks. And how do you modify the movement to focus on the triceps?

You can pull over a flat bench and rest the barbell on there about 6 inches or so from the edge. Another idea is to setup with the plates on the bar resting on step platforms or the blocks that are used to raise said platforms, though if you’re going really heavy this may be a problem. Using other plates can work too.

As far as tricep focus, the movement usually eliminates part of the involvement of the chest because you’re not bringing the bar to your chest and getting the stretch at the bottom, eliminating much of the stretch reflex, thus making it pretty good for triceps, though I could be wrong. I’ve heard conflicting opinions saying that your floor press should be less or more than your regular bench for different reasons, so if I could get clarification on this, that would be great. My floor press numbers are usually the same as if not a little better than my normal bench because of the shortened range of motion.

For the record, both my triceps and bench suck (1RM approximately 265lbs at 210lbs), though it could be my shoulders too.

[/quote]

thanks!

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
www.prowriststraps.com/power_hooks_dumbbell_power_hook

Power Hooks[/quote]

Great investment. Great for attaching bands to as well.

I did them today for the first time.

I managed to drag them ontop of me while I was sitting up then just lay down with them.

Admittedly they werent overly heavy for me as I was doing sets of 10.

I think anything heavier I would likely need a partner to hand them to me, at least the 2nd one anyways.