Dumbbell floor press

What is a dumbbell floor press?

A dumbbell floor press is a chest press performed lying on the floor with a dumbbell in each hand. Both arms press together, and the upper arms meet the floor at the bottom. This guide uses a neutral grip, with the palms facing each other.

Two angled views of a person lying on the floor with knees bent, pressing two dumbbells with palms facing each other. The left view shows bent elbows and the right shows extended arms, with chest, shoulders and upper arms highlighted.

How do you perform a dumbbell floor press?

Set up

Sit on the floor with bent knees and a dumbbell resting on each thigh. Choose weights you can get into position and put down under control.
Hold the dumbbells close as you roll back onto the floor, using your thighs to help bring them beside your chest. Keep your feet planted and your head, upper back and hips down.
Turn your palms toward each other. Set your upper arms on the floor beside your torso, with wrists straight and forearms upright beneath the dumbbells.

Execution

Press both dumbbells above your chest until your arms are straight, keeping your hips on the floor.
Lower slowly until the backs of your upper arms touch down softly. Keep the weights above your elbows and maintain your grip at the bottom.
Repeat from the same floor contact. Finish with your upper arms down, bring the dumbbells close to your torso and lower them to the floor beside you under control.

Common mistakes

Using a hip bridge to finish the press
Keep your hips down for this version. If you need to lift them to complete a rep, end the set or use lighter dumbbells.
Dropping the upper arms onto the floor
Slow down before contact. Each rep should finish its descent with a gentle touch, rather than a bounce into the next press.
Choosing weights you cannot put down
Practise the setup and finish with light dumbbells first. Leave enough control at the end of the set to lower both weights beside you.

Where it fits in a session

Use it as a dumbbell pressing exercise in your session.

Record the weight of one dumbbell and count one repetition when both arms complete the press. Keep that convention, grip and floor contact consistent across sessions.

Muscles worked

Front

Back

Primary

Secondary

Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Chest and triceps are listed together without ranking their contribution.

Variations

Barbell floor pressUses a barbell and a rack. Keep its loads and repetitions in a separate exercise history.
Dumbbell bench pressUses a bench instead of the floor to support the torso; log it as a separate exercise.

Frequently asked questions

Do I log one dumbbell or both added together?

Use the weight of one dumbbell for this guide. Two 12 kg dumbbells are logged as 12 kg, with one rep for each simultaneous press. If your existing history uses the combined weight, keep it consistent or clearly mark the change.

Must my palms face each other?

That is the grip taught and illustrated here. If you choose a different grip, record it consistently rather than changing it from set to set.

Is this the same exercise as a barbell floor press?

No. This version uses two separate dumbbells and starts from the floor without a rack. Keep a separate history from your barbell floor press so the loads remain comparable.