Exercise Anatomy: The Floor Press

CrossFit has a love-hate relationship with the bench press. Most coaches admit that it’s one of the best developers of upper-body pushing strength, but the use of the bench and the prevalence of shoulder injuries in lifelong benchers makes it seem wise to avoid. And from a practical standpoint, bench pressing is tough to program because few boxes want to invest the money or floor space on a half-dozen benches. The solution? Enter the floor press.

A brute-strength old-school lift that predates the bench press, the floor press combines the massive recruitment of upper-body muscle fibers with a highly functional movement pattern and a range of motion that makes it much healthier for your shoulders than a traditional bench.