Dumbbell Floor Presses for Strength, Size,…

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Dumbbell Floor Presses for

Strength, Size, and Health
by Anthony Mychal | 10/20/11

Tags: Chest, Bench Press

It's been twelve days since you
ditched all barbell pressing and
withdrawal has been a bitch.

Your cuff rehab routine has been

mind-numbing. You miss the strain of
the big heavy iron, and good God,
what about your shirts? Your pecs
and shoulders can't start to shrink
now, you just moved up to a size XL.

But you couldn't go on pressing in

pain. Wisely, you abstained.
What if I told you there was a press
that could change your life? A press
that, for once, wouldn't get tagged as
a destroyer, but as a healer. One that
could add serious muscle in places
that no other press could?

If you think you're dreaming, it's time

to wake up, cause this exercise
needs to be added to your program,
regardless of shoulder health.

Barbell Woes
Complaints about pressing and
shoulder pain run rampant and of all
pressing implements, the barbell
press causes the most problems. It
alters the neutral alignment between
the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

There are people out there that

bench press and overhead press
without problems. I know, back in the
old days everyone used to press with
a barbell for overhead and bench
work and they never had problems.
Or so everyone tells me.

But you might not be in that

category. Don't feel bad if you're not,
and don't force yourself into it, either.
Your anatomy is different. Your
posture is different. Your history is
different.

Whether you train yourself, clients,

students, or athletes, don't write off
pain. I'm sure if Tiger Woods was
paying you millions of dollars to train
him, you wouldn't make him do
anything that would jeopardize his
game.

So why subject Mr. Jones to it?

Having to miss work because your
trainer destroyed you last night isn't
hard training, it's assault.

So what can we do if pressing is a

no-go? Swiss bars and push-ups are
common ways to press around
shoulder problems, but not everyone
has specialty bars, and loaded push-
ups are a pain in the ass.
Enter the unilateral dumbbell floor
press, the new/old solution to your
pressing problems.
Why Unilateral?
Unilateral exercises are often deemed
less effective than their bilateral
counterparts because they can't be
loaded as heavily. And since the load
is offset, it requires more stabilization
throughout the body. That means
that sometimes, something other
than the primary movers can hold
you back. Those that have tried the
unilateral dumbbell bench press
know what I'm talking about.

Lifters often do their presses from a

standing position for this very
reason. They want to engage the
entire kinetic chain to mimic how
most movements are performed in
both sports and real life.

This may be tagged as "functional"

slop, but something tells me that
firing the glutes and stabilizing the
torso to produce movement at the
shoulder isn't a bad thing.
For complicated reasons beyond
torso strengthening, the unilateral
version just works better. I have an
overly scientific theory to explain why
and it goes like this – you can't walk
and chew bubble gum at the same
time.

All available attention is allotted to

one arm, which, for you math gurus,
is 50% more than what there is in the
bilateral version. It reminds us that
we're doing more than exercising;
we're accomplishing a specific goal.

Another advantage is the freedom to

move and adjust your body position.
If you lose your upper back tightness
when taking the bar out of the rack
during a bench press, there's no
going back.

Dumbbells are easier to adjust, but

when you use two you're going to be
seesawing with weights above your
face, making it look like you're
scratching an unfortunate back itch.
With only one shoulder pinned down,
it's easier to get into proper position.

The Benefits – Expanded

What if you're the guy with perfectly
healthy shoulders that's not lacking
in upper chest development? Well,
Mr. Franco Columbu, it's still a great
exercise for your triceps and lockout
strength, just like any floor press
variation.
Dumbbell floor presses will help you
lift more weight during pressing
exercises, and more weight is usually
a good thing.

So you have a choice. You could be

the guy doing kickbacks to get your
triceps jacked, or you could be the
guy on the floor doing this exercise.
Not only are your triceps going to
thank you, but you're also doing your
shoulders and upper chest a favor.

Healthy Shoulders
The unilateral floor press protects the
shoulders because the lower half of
the press is eliminated, and that's
where funky stuff happens. Shoulders
uncontrollably externally rotate
themselves into the impingement
zone. The slow and controlled
descent becomes a ballistic bounce.
Even though range of motion is
sacrificed, it's better to eliminate the
possibility of these things happening.
The true magic, however, happens in
the lockout position. The dumbbell
compresses the shoulder into its
socket, seemingly reversing postural
problems. When done correctly, the
shoulder blade lies flat on the
ground, and the entire body is locked
down.

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Another beauty is how the dumbbell

subtly teeters back and forth. The
shoulder stabilizes much like it would
during more specific rotator cuff
movements, like quadruped rhythmic
stabilizations.

Your New Upper Chest

Guys can be insecure about a lot of
things, but nothing takes its toll quite
like a lackluster upper chest.

Sufferers try everything. Flies, cable

crossovers, incline pressing. Often,
none get the job done because, like
other lacking body parts, there's no
mental connection with the muscle.
Most compound lifts put your body in
a disadvantageous position for
optimal activation, and that includes
incline pressing. When you combine
bad activation with sub-optimal
biomechanics, you're not going to
get a good contraction.

The unilateral floor press gasses the

upper chest because it solves both
problems. First, you have a free hand
so you can palpate your upper chest
during the lift. You don't hope it's
contracting, you know it's
contracting. This sensory connection
increases activation.

Second, the biomechanics lends

itself to greater upper chest
activation. Dr. Clay Hyght, in Building
a Bodybuilders Chest explains:

At least one study has shown that

using a slightly narrower grip
improves upper chest activation even
more so than an incline bench angle.
This is because using a slightly
narrower grip forces the elbows to
come slightly in towards the sides
(adduction of the humerus) as
opposed to them being flared.

Subsequently, this puts the clavicular

pectoralis in a better mechanical
advantage to do its primary
function(s) – flexion and horizontal
adduction.

Dr. Hyght was referring to a narrow

grip on a barbell. Yet when using a
barbell, no matter how narrow the
grip, there's a propensity to flare the
elbows because the hand is
pronated, which shifts the workload
to the lower chest.

With a dumbbell, however, it's easier

to keep the elbows from flaring
because your wrist is in a neutral
position, so the upper chest does
more work.

Setting Up
The most difficult part about the floor
press is getting into position with the
dumbbell at lockout without killing
yourself. There are two ways to do
this.

The first step is the rolling method.

You don't need to be a Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu champion to do this, so don't
get discouraged. You just need a few
principles so you don't twist your
spine like a Twizzler.

Lie on your side and cuddle the

dumbbell as close to your body as
possible with your knees bent. This is
going to reduce the lever arm,
lowering the torque throughout your
spine. Both hands are important, but
the top hand is the one that grips the
handle; the bottom hand supports.
Next, extend your top leg to the
ground. The bottom leg stays tucked.

Begin the roll by looking over your

top shoulder. Where the head goes
the body follows, so the head always
leads. Once you feel a pull in the
dumbbell, use your hands to roll it
onto your chest and abs. It should be
able to rest comfortably here.
Extend both legs, and use both arms
to press the dumbbell to a desired
side.

Pics are great, but video is often

better. Here's a video of the rolling
setup and press:

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Second is the heave-ho method, and
more similar to what you're used to
doing on a traditional bench. Spread
your legs into a "V" with the dumbbell
resting on the ground between them.

Tilt the dumbbell so that side closest

to you rests on the ground, with the
other side in the air.

Interlock your fingers around the

handle. Rock your momentum
forward, and explode backward,
heaving the dumbbell to the lockout
position.
And again, a video description:

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Positioning: The How To

Regardless which method you use,
you'll be at lockout with your feet
extended. Squeeze your glutes and
contract your abs to stabilize your
body. This becomes more important
as the weight increases.

Shift the dumbbell to the desired

hand and make sure the shoulder is
down and back. For you nerds out
there – retract and depress the
scapula. This is commonly known as
a "packed" position.
However, remember that since you're
only dealing with one dumbbell, you
have more freedom to move. Wiggle
around to set your shoulder if you
have to; it's one of the perks this
exercise offers.

Once you're confident that your

shoulder is down and back, with the
blade flat on the ground, either place
your free hand on your chest, or let it
roam in the air to challenge your
stabilization even more. Hold this
position for 5-10 seconds and just
"feel" the head of the shoulder sink
into its socket, while the upper back
tightens. Now you're ready to go.

Form: The How To

After the isometric lockout hold, slide

the elbow down next to your torso.
When the upper arm hits the floor,
pause for a second while keeping
everything tight. It's like the box
squat. Just because you come to a
dead stop doesn't mean you take a
nap.
After pausing, extend the arm to its
original position by cueing yourself to
push the shoulder blade into the
ground. This helps to keep your
shoulder packed. Your elbow stays
tucked close to your torso; don't let it
flare.

After completing your set, hold the

dumbbell at lockout again for
another 5-10 seconds. If you want
more shoulder stability work, you can
do what I call "the compass." After
your set, at lockout, nudge the
dumbbell north, south, east, and
west to mimic quadruped rhythmic
stabilizations. This can get
dangerous with heavier weights, so
save it for warm up sets.

Finishing: The How To

After finishing the set for one arm,
return the dumbbell to the chest. Grip
the dumbbell with the other hand,
but use both to get to the lockout
position.
Once both hands complete a set,
return the dumbbell to the floor by
reversing either setup.

If you're reversing the rolling

directions, rest the dumbbell on your
chest, tuck one leg to the side (the
side you plan on rolling to), look over
the shoulder, and cradle the
dumbbell to the floor.

If you're reversing the heave-ho

directions, hold the dumbbell at
lockout with both hands, rock your
momentum onto your thoracic spine,
rock your momentum forward while
doing a sit up, and place the
dumbbell on the floor in between
your legs.

Pressed to Action!
Add mass to your triceps, size up
your upper chest, and increase your
lockout strength, all while healing
your shoulders? You bet!
Stop wallowing in your pressing woes
and start doing something about it.
Maybe you can't overhead press or
bench press just yet, so take care of
your problems and increase your
strength at the same time.
Regardless of your goals, the
unilateral dumbbell floor press is
worth your consideration.
COMMENT ON FACEBOOK

10/20/11
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