The floor press has two main advantages. The first is that it is pretty user friendly for the shoulder. Thanks to the floor, your elbow cannot travel lower than your back. As long as you are maintaining the proper retraction, this will prevent the front of your shoulder from being pushed forward and experiencing extra stress. If you are having anterior shoulder issues when pressing, this movement may be a good option for both reducing pain and helping to learn better mechanics. (Of course, that’s after you have your shoulder evaluated by the appropriate medical professional.)
The second advantage is the ability to comfortably come to a full stop at the bottom of the press. Again, thanks to the floor you can stop at the bottom for as long as you like. This gives you a couple of options. You could pause at the bottom and then work on pressing from a dead stop, which builds strength without the use of the stretch reflex you can get bench pressing. You could also work on speed/acceleration by stopping and then trying to accelerate the weight upwards as quickly as possible. This is a great way to train power.
A great exercise and one that I do not often see being used. Give the floor press a try!
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