Is a floor press as good as a bench press?

It trains the same muscles through a shorter range, and the floor stops the bottom of the rep. Pair it with push-ups, which reach the stretch the floor press misses.

Can push-ups build chest?

Yes, when the sets are hard. Once regular push-ups get easy, raise your feet, slow the lowering, or add a band across your back.

Chest Workout Without a Bench

The push days from a home-gym week with the bench taken out: how to press heavy for chest when you have nowhere to lie down.

Workouts shown: 2
Per workout: 30-43 min
Level: Advanced

Equipment: Barbell, rack, dumbbells, pull-up bar, bands and kettlebells, no bench

The workouts

Built by the same generator a MuscleBuddy account uses, for exactly this equipment. These are 2 of the 6 workouts in its week.

Day 1: Push

about 43 min

Exercise	Sets	Reps	RPE	Rest
Dumbbell Floor Press	4	6-10	8	2.5 min
Overhead Press	4	6-8	8	2.5 min
Lateral Raise	4	12-20	9	75s
Diamond Push-Up	4	8-15	8	2.5 min

Day 4: Push

about 30 min

Exercise	Sets	Reps	RPE	Rest
Decline Push-Up	4	10-20	8	2.5 min
Dumbbell Overhead Press	3	8-12	8	2.5 min
Barbell Floor Press	3	5-8	8	2.5 min

Times are estimates: the prescribed rest plus about 30 seconds per set. RPE is effort on a 10-point scale, so RPE 8 leaves about two reps in the tank.

Why these movements

The bench gives a press two things: something to push from, and room for the elbows to travel below the body. The floor gives you the first and takes away the second. That shorter range is the trade.

So the heavy pressing moves to the floor, and push-up variations cover the range the floor press cannot. A push-up lets the chest stretch at the bottom, and changing the hand or foot position shifts the work between chest, shoulders and triceps.

Overhead pressing needs no bench at all, so the shoulder work is unchanged.

How to run it

These are the two push days of a six-day push, pull, legs week. Run them with a pull and a leg day between, or use one as a standalone chest day.
On floor presses, let the upper arm touch the floor and pause before pressing. On push-ups, add reps first, then add load with a band.

Want this progressed from what you log each workout?

MuscleBuddy builds this week around your own equipment, then moves the weight up when your logged sets earn it and adjusts when you stall.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a floor press as good as a bench press?: It trains the same muscles through a shorter range, and the floor stops the bottom of the rep. Pair it with push-ups, which reach the stretch the floor press misses.
Can push-ups build chest?: Yes, when the sets are hard. Once regular push-ups get easy, raise your feet, slow the lowering, or add a band across your back.