Barbell Board Press
What Is the Barbell Board Press?
Barbell Board Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the chest and triceps and also engages the front deltoids. It is an advanced-level movement: a flat barbell bench press done in a power rack, where the bar comes down onto a stack of boards resting on the sternum instead of touching the chest, so the bottom few inches of every rep are cut out.
Lifters use it to overload the top part of the bench press. The shorter range usually lets you handle more weight than your full-range max, which builds lockout strength and gets you used to heavier loads in your hands. Powerlifters and strength coaches treat it as a bench accessory, either as the heavy movement of a session or after the main bench work. The stack height sets where the bar stops: one or two boards work the range just off the chest, while three to five boards turn the lift into a lockout drill. Board thickness is not standardized, so a two-board press in one gym can be a three-board press in another.
Taking away the bottom of the press removes the stretched position where the chest and shoulders do most of the work, so the triceps carry a larger share, and the higher the stack the more the lift becomes about straightening the elbows. The chest and front deltoids still drive the bar off the board. A closer grip shifts even more of the work to the triceps, while your usual bench grip keeps the movement closest to your main lift. Unlike the Barbell Pin Press, the board moves with your chest, so you keep your arch and shoulder blade position and still control the lowering phase. The Barbell Floor Press gives a similar shortened range with no boards or rack.
In a small 4-week study of experienced lifters, pressing 105% of their bench press 1RM to a block that stopped the bar 5 inches above the sternum in week one and 2 inches by week four raised 1RM about as much as conventional full-range training, though changes in bar movement around the bottom of the press showed up only in the full-range group. The board press suits lifters who already bench with consistent technique and stall in the top half of the lift. Newer lifters get more from the full Barbell Bench Press and the Barbell Bench Press (Close Grip) before adding boards.
Muscles Worked
- Pectoralis Major
- Primary
- Deltoid
- High
- Flexor Carpi Radialis
- Minimal
Instructions
- Set a flat bench inside a power rack, with the J-hooks at a height you can unrack from with nearly straight arms and the safety arms just below where the bar will sit when it rests on the board.
- Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar, feet flat on the floor wider than your hips, and shoulder blades pulled back and down.
- Place the board stack flat on your sternum, where the bar touches in your normal bench press, and have a partner hold it or secure it with a band or under your shirt.
- Grip the bar overhand, a little wider than shoulder width, with your thumbs wrapped around it.
- Unrack the bar and hold it over your shoulders with your arms straight.
- Lower the bar under control, elbows angled slightly in toward your torso, until it touches the top board.
- Pause briefly on the board while keeping your upper back, arch and legs tight. Do not relax or bounce.
- Press the bar up and slightly back toward your shoulders until your arms are straight.
- Repeat for your reps, then rack the bar before the board comes off your chest.
Common Mistakes
Bouncing off the board
Dropping the bar onto the board and rebounding off it skips the controlled touch the movement is meant to train and jars the sternum.
Relaxing on the board
Letting the arch, upper back and shoulder blades go slack while the bar rests on the board leaves you pressing a heavy weight from a loose, unstable position.
Unsecured or misplaced board
A board that is tilted, sits up toward the neck or is not held in place can slide or tip under the bar, so it must sit flat on the sternum and be held, strapped or tucked.
Flaring the elbows
Letting the elbows flare straight out to the sides drives the bar toward the face, puts the shoulders in a weak position and pushes the bar off the board.
Chasing board numbers
Piling weight onto high boards for a big number without improving your full-range bench misses the point of the exercise, which is a stronger lockout.
Replacing full-range benching
Doing board presses instead of full bench presses leaves the bottom of the lift, from the chest up to the board, untrained.
Injuries
Barbell Board Press is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The shorter range spares the shoulders the stretched bottom position, but the loads are usually heavier than in a full bench press, and the board itself has to stay in place. The strain falls on the elbows and triceps tendons at lockout, on the shoulders and front of the chest under heavy loads, and on the wrists if they bend back under the bar.
Bench inside a power rack with the safety arms set just below the height of the bar when it rests on the board, so a missed rep lands on the arms rather than on you. Place the board flat and square on the sternum, well clear of the throat and chin, and have a partner hold it, strap it to the bar with a band, or tuck it under a fitted shirt. Lower the bar under control, touch the board without bouncing, and keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down for the whole set. Add weight over weeks rather than chasing a board max, and keep full-range benching in the same program.
Because it shortens the range, the board press is a common step back into pressing after shoulder irritation: start from a pain-free board height and lower it over the following weeks. If even a high board hurts, the Barbell Floor Press or lighter dumbbell work is the next option. To progress, use fewer boards until you are back to a full Paused Barbell Bench Press, or add top-end overload with the Barbell Bench Press with Chains or the Banded Barbell Bench Press.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain or a pulling or tearing sensation in the chest, front of the shoulder or elbow, or if the board starts to slide. Pain that lingers for days, wakes you at night or gets in the way of daily tasks needs a medical check before you press heavy again.
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Barbell Board Press
The Barbell Board Press is also known as:
- Board Bench Press
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How many boards should I use for a board press?
It depends on where your bench stalls. One or two boards work the range just off the chest, while three to five boards turn the lift into a lockout drill. Board thickness differs between gyms, so note the height you use to keep your progress comparable.
- Q: How do you hold the board in place without a partner?
A partner holding the board is the classic setup, but you can also strap it to the bar with a band, use a block made to attach to the bar, or tuck it under a fitted shirt. Whichever you choose, the board must sit flat on the sternum and stay clear of your throat.
- Q: What is the difference between a board press and a pin press?
In a board press the bar comes down onto boards that ride on your chest, so you keep your arch and shoulder blade position and still control the lowering phase. In a Barbell Pin Press the bar stops on the rack's fixed safety pins, which lets you set an exact height and press from a dead stop but makes it harder to keep the shoulder blades set.
- Q: Can the board press replace the regular bench press?
No, it works best as an accessory next to full-range benching. In a 10-week study of resistance-trained men training with the same relative loads, full-range bench pressing improved 1RM strength and bar speed more than two-thirds and one-third range versions, and the gains got smaller as the range got shorter.
- Q: How heavy should a board press be?
On higher boards most lifters can handle more than their full bench press max, and the load climbs as the stack gets taller. Start near a weight you can bench for a few reps, work in sets of 1 to 5, and add load only while the touch on the board stays controlled.
- Q: Should I pause on the board or touch and go?
Many coaches teach a short pause of about one second on the board, because it stops you from bouncing and makes you press without a rebound. Stay tight through the pause instead of letting the bar rest on you.