Chest · Barbell
Barbell Floor Chest Press
How to do the barbell floor chest press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- HorizontalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Lie on the floor with your knees bent and a barbell racked or handed to you over your chest. Lower the bar until your upper arms touch the floor and pause, then press it back up until your arms are extended over your chest.
- 1Feel your chest and triceps drive the bar up off the pause
- 2Keep your shoulder blades pinned back into the floor
- 3Pause briefly when your elbows touch down to kill momentum
Common mistakes
- Don't bounce your elbows or arms off the floor
- Avoid flaring your elbows straight out to the sides
- Don't let your lower back arch up off the floor
Muscles worked
The barbell floor chest press mainly works the mid chest and triceps, with the upper chest, lower chest, and front delts assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- GlutesMinor
Kovo programs the barbell floor chest press for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More chest exercises
- How to do the archer push-up
- How to do the assisted dip
- How to do the resistance band chest flyes
- How to do the resistance band push-up
- How to do the barbell bench press
- How to do the paused bench press
Last reviewed June 2026.