Larsen Press: How to Do It, Its Benefits, and Larsen Press vs Bench Press

The Larsen press is a bench press done with your legs straight out in front of you and your feet held just off the floor, so you cannot use leg drive. To do it, set up as for a normal bench press with your eyes under the bar and your shoulder blades pulled back and down, then straighten your legs and lift your feet a little off the ground. Unrack, lower the bar to your lower chest and press it back up, keeping your body still the whole time. With your legs out of the lift, your upper back, chest and arms have to hold the position on their own, which makes the Larsen press a strong teacher of upper body tightness and a steady bar path. Use less weight than on your regular bench.

What is a Larsen press?

It is a variation of the flat barbell bench press. Everything above your hips stays the same: the grip, the shoulder blades, the bar path. What changes is your legs. On a normal bench press your feet are planted and push through the floor. On a Larsen press your legs are straight and your feet hover, so the only parts of you touching the bench are your upper back, your glutes and your head.

That takes away the base most lifters lean on without noticing. Any looseness in your upper back shows straight away, as a bar that drifts or a body that wobbles.

How do you do a Larsen press?

• Lie down with your eyes under the bar. Same position as your normal bench.
• Take your grip. Your usual bench grip, thumbs wrapped around the bar.
• Set your shoulder blades. Squeeze them together, pull them down and press them into the pad.
• Straighten your legs. Extend them out in front of you, in line with the bench, and lift your feet just off the floor. Keep your glutes on the bench.
• Brace. Take a big breath and hold it, and squeeze your glutes and your thighs.
• Unrack and lower. Bring the bar out over your shoulders, then lower it under control to your lower chest.
• Press. Drive the bar up and slightly back to over your shoulders, without letting your legs swing or your hips rise.

Many lifters unrack with their feet still on the floor, then lift their legs into position before the first rep. A spotter or a handoff makes that easier, and safety arms set just below chest height are a good idea.

What are the benefits of the Larsen press?

• Upper back tightness. With no leg drive, your shoulder blades have to stay set by themselves. That habit carries straight back to your regular bench.
• A steadier bar path. Any side to side drift shows up immediately, so you learn to press in a clean line.
• Control at the bottom. Without a push from the floor, you cannot rush off the chest. The press starts from your chest and arms.
• Less arch. Straight legs flatten your lower back, which suits lifters who find a big arch uncomfortable or who want to train the press through a slightly longer range.
• Chest, shoulders and triceps. The same muscles as the bench press do all of the work, with nothing from the legs to help.

How does the Larsen press compare with the bench press?

The Larsen press does not replace your bench press. It sits next to it, as a variation that sharpens the setup you use on the main lift. Here is how to increase your bench press by fixing the setup first.

Larsen press, feet up bench, Spoto press or paused bench?

They are often mixed up. Each one takes something away from the normal bench press, so you have to control it yourself.

The feet up bench and the Larsen press are close cousins. With bent knees the feet up version is a little easier to balance, and many lifters start there.

How do you stay on the bench without leg drive?

On a normal bench press, your feet press your upper back into the pad. Take your legs away and nothing pushes you into the bench except your own tension. That is where a slippery pad shows up. On worn or sweaty vinyl your upper back can slide a little toward the head of the bench on each rep, and the shoulder blades you set lose their place.

“You do not realize how much tension you waste pinning yourself to vinyl until you do not have to. Bar speed went up because I stopped bracing against the bench.”

A grip mat under your upper back holds the bench on one face and your back on the other. With your legs in the air, the mat takes over part of the job your feet usually do: it keeps you in the spot you set.

“Commercial bench pads at my gym are shot. I was sliding toward the uprights every heavy set. This mat locked my shoulder blades down and the bar path finally stayed consistent.”

How heavy should you go, and when should you do it?

Start well below your regular bench, at about three quarters of the weight you use for the same reps, and build from there. The Larsen press is a technique and strength builder, so clean reps matter more than the number on the bar.

• Where: after your main bench press, or as the main press on a lighter day.
• Sets and reps: 3 to 4 sets of 4 to 8 reps.
• How often: once a week is plenty.
• Progress: add a little weight when every rep looks the same as the first.

What are the most common mistakes?

• Legs swinging. Keep your thighs tight so your legs stay still through the rep.
• Hips lifting. Your glutes stay on the bench. If they rise, the weight is too heavy.
• Losing the shoulder blades. Set them before you lift your legs, and keep them set on every rep.
• Starting too heavy. The point is control. A weight you can press with a perfect bar path teaches more than one you fight.
• Benching without safeties. Without your feet on the floor you are less stable, so use a spotter or safety arms.

How much should you arch on your normal bench? Here is how to arch on the bench press and keep it set.

PR Grip is a double-sided grip mat. HexaTrac on one face holds the bench and the other face holds your back, so your shoulder blades stay where you set them, with or without your feet on the floor. It grips through pressure, not adhesive, and at 16 x 26 inches (about 41 x 66 cm) it covers the contact area on a standard flat bench. It rolls into your gym bag when you are done.

See the PR Grip mat

Frequently asked questions