We mainly use the floor press as one of our special exercises on max-effort day to improve upper body strength. The 2 main differences between floor pressing and regular bench pressing are as follows…
#1 – Floor pressing builds a tremendous amount of starting strength because it prevents “bouncing” the weight in the bottom position. All too often, athletes will use their chest as a “spring board” when performing a max-effort bench press. A proper floor press will eliminate bouncing because most floors don’t have much “give”! In other words, if you try to “bounce” your triceps off of the floor while holding a heavy weight in your hands, the only thing in between the weight and the floor are your forearms! This gives new meaning to being “stuck between a rock and a hard place”! If you don’t want to break your forearm, you must perform this exercise with strict form! When floor pressing, we have our athletes lower the barbell under control until their triceps touch the floor; then, the athlete pauses on the floor for a split second and presses the weight up explosively. This exercise helps with the bottom & mid portion of a regular bench press and it’s an awesome triceps builder!
#2 – Lying on the floor when bench pressing also takes away from your leg drive. Basically, more load is placed on your upper body because it’s harder to push off with your legs while lying on the floor.
Floor press description taken from Defranco's training
