It’s funny as soon as you done this video, the day after, people in my gym suddenly started trying this. I’m in the Uk so it shows the reach and influence you have with these videos 👍🏼
Alex, would you consider bringing back the once a month or every two weeks Q&A videos? They are not only informative, but also entertaining. I even listen to your old ones when I'm doing my daily walking.
I started doing Larson Press because I was stuck at the "225 intermediate bench" for over 3 months (during this time I ignored the problem and worked on my deadlifts instead). I worked up my Larson Press up to 225 single and man... I benched 245 for the first time the other week. I'm also doing 225 for reps. I'm focusing on Squatting right now and using the Larson Press as a maintainer has been really effective. Awesome video as always!
@@OggyCartoonsFun Ive been bulking since I started lifting, I went form 110 - 150 in two years. I haven’t really been maingaining, more recomping. I’m still gaining strength and size so it doesn’t really matter to me what my body weight is. I would like to keep bulking to about 180 then cut for the hell of it.
what you said for intermediate benchers was spot on...doing larsen with a close grip and a long pause took me right back to 185 for tough sets of 8. humbling experience.
larsen press has been my response in a way to the massive amount of leg drive and ridiculous arch everyone puts into bench now. i understand the "everyone has different goals" argument ppl like to respond with, but i can't help feeling it's really about obsession with numbers. i'm obsessed with honest strength lol and larsen is about as honest as it gets.
@@YinOfYangEnlighten I'm a calisthenics bro, and if I ever start bench pressing, I'll do Larsen. I also only do muscle ups with strict form, no swinging or kipping, from a dead hang or sitting on the ground, and when I do one armed push ups, I downset or dropset to declined archers as soon as I can't be perfectly straight. If you're not competing in powerlifting, it seems like Larsen is just better. More out of less weight, more stimulus per fatigue, the movement itself is forced to be aesthetic. None of that ridiculous tiny range of motion C shaped back nonsense.
Got caught up at the 375lb mark. Heavy triples weren’t getting me results anymore. I’ve scaled it back to 255-235 pause Larson’s to push past my limits and go beyond
@@chrisholder8906 Congrats on 395! Sorry about the tricep tear but hey soon you’ll have it healed and will be at 4 plates! Yeah it’ll take some time to recover and regain what was lost, and I get progress can be slower at that level anyway. But I have faith in you!
I have been doing them for about a month and I can say that it affects very well my competition bench. I have done them for hypertrophy purposed due to low SFR. I have increased my paused bench press 5 kg without gaining weight. I am planning to do them in the next cycle too.
I'm being coached by alec enkiri and he programs this for me all the time staple lift and has really improved my bench. Also I really appreciate that in your bench pressing you bring the bar all the way down to your chest and press all the way up. Too many gym bros half reppin both directions out there.
@@Lucas-tg3hv Increased rom with the incline bench in my case. I have a slight sticking point in the midrange but generally if I can get it off my chest I can finish the rep
I tried the Larson press for the first time yesterday, I practiced form with the bar/low weight. And you’re right Alex, did 185lbs for rep work for 3 sets, wowwwww chest pump was real and man they were a grinder! Can’t wait to see the progress over the months now that I’m using this style! Thanks alpha
Coach B. I knew I'd see you here for this ! Have a great Thursday tomorrow buddy. I heard him say Larsen Press if I didn't see you in the comments I was gonna tag you and hopefully you'd see it :)
@@AlexLeonidas I did! Would you say with floor press it’d be better to keep the slight leg drive or is there a place still for floor pressing straight legged?
For anyone who has experiences any form of lower back when flat benching and employing leg drive can retain a lot of benefit from the Larsen press. For years I struggled with bench cues and I believe this type of pressing may be the solution to nailing in the scapular retraction required when benching optimal weight
Man, love your channel. Implemented the RDL at your recommendation and it has been only amazing. It even carries over to everyday life, lol. Regarding upper body, chest is my genetic weakspot and has the greatest imbalance of my physique. I have been working on incline DB press and cable/DB flies to mitigate (successfully to an extent) but during regular heavy bench I see the right side still lagging behind. I think this is what keeps me "plateaud". I hit a 80kg working weight in mid October, went all the way up to a working weight of 95kg (3 x 8), did a deload with form correction down to 85kg and now I am sick and likely back to 80kg :/ But next chest session, Larsen Press it is!
Nice, will start to focus on this for a while. Never really liked barbell bench because of upper body stability issues. Guess this will be great for fixing that. Thanks!
I always used feet up on bench over Larsen and I used it to hit every PR from 315 to 405. Larsen is probably more specific for the tightness aspect but feet up basically keeps your back flat, which emphasizes brute strength even more and gives more ROM. Can’t say I ever do Larsens just because they don’t feel stable for me, but I think people chasing a big bench put too much emphasis on max load (arching, form, leg drive, etc) to the point where their muscles aren’t getting developed as much. Simply doing competition bench isn’t the greatest mass builder, but if we overload via variations and accessories, that will improve our benching potential in the long run when we choose to focus on max weight in the future. Ever since implementing variations more and more, my bench progress has accelerated
Just two session of Larsen pressing 225 for reps jumped my bench up from 275 for 3x3 to 3x4. Just make sure you’re strong enough to do the weight you put on the bar comfortably start out light and find what works for you so you don’t hurt yourself guys
I've employed the floor press in my 'Sub-Optimal Position Training' often. It works very well because when your upper arm is parallel to the floor the moment arm is at its longest. And it is better than the pin press because with the weight pressing the upper arm down you have to do overcome more inertia than the pin press because the pins support the weight. Since the sole purpose and benefit is to become stronger at that specific joint angle I wouldn't recommend sets of 10. Try this: w/o1: 80x6, 85x4, 90x4x4x2 w/I 2: 85x5, 90x3, 95x4x1 w/o 3: 90x4, 95x2x2 w/I 4: 95x3 Those are percentages of your floor press max, not your bench. It's a 4.5% gain in 4 workouts, which is rapid because it is designed to be used with a new exercise. It has never failed when that condition was met.
Well... Now I can only do 70 kg for 7 reps on a regular bench press. I think I'll go up to 100 kg with classic leg drive and then I'll start incorporate Larsen press with 60-80kg. It's going to take some time
Larsens are great has helped me alot tremendously, I'm doing in my program right now from my coach volume work and doing bench 4 times a week , I do pause Larsen presses , tempos 3-2-0, floor press, and pause bench its taxing and all that I'm doing bench 4 times a week but will pay off once I max out the end of this 2nd cycle
Throwing this in to compliment to my bench on push days. Going to do higher reps paused and we’ll see how it works. Current bench max is 295 so I’ll do this after I bench and OHP. Hopefully it carries me to a 315 one rep max.
Great lift. I also find they’re very usual for building those all important core stabilizers keeping you grounded and stable on a narrow surface. You don’t get that in floor presses. Dumbbell Larsen presses are great too.
I just started incorporating this in my training the last month. It helped me switch up my form as well as watching tips from Sean noriega’s channel. I feel like my max has gone from 215 to 245 just from these switches. I’m not a beginner to the gym but most likely a beginner to bench. Tho I have been training for 3 years. My bench has always just sucked even tho my deadlift and squat have gotten to 475 and 405 respectively. Anyways, this lift has helped me a ton, and I agree with all your points! Cheers
Ayyy thanks bro did these today. Hit a 375 bench PR then dropped down to 225 for a few sets. Hit a set of 15 then 11 then 10 lol pretty tough but felt amazing.
Awesome video Alex! I also recommend trying this off the floor for a Larsen/Floor press hybrid as another variation. Especially if you don’t have a wide bench or fat pad. It will definitely emphasize upper back tightness. I remember the first time I tried it I had upper back DOMS
For push days What do you Think of this Monday Bench 3x5 OHP 10x10 A few sets of triceps and side raises Thursday OHO 3x5 CG bench 10x10(triceps are lagging) A few sets of triceps and side raises
Why so much 10x10? I mean it works but you'd probably get better results doing two exercises of 3x6-10. I can also see you stalling long term if you're not mixing things up.
Are you supposed to lock into upper body tightness by retracting? I’m a bit confused cause you say press with normal scapulohumeral rhythm. Trying to figure out how to build chest (upper)without getting injured shoudlers
I did a 265lbs bench press with a wide grip and leg drive, but I didn’t feel my upper body doing the work. So I switched to my main bench press being a larsen press and the gains are real
Pausing at the bottom solved your lockout issues? Do you feel like thats because you had to dial in your upper body tightness? I also have a weak lockout while being super strong off my chest
Larsen Press is my favorite bench variation. Been doing them for a while now and they're definitely a permanent part of my routine. Great chest pump and awesome carry over to regular bench.
Next you need to try the tempo 3-3-1 larson spoto press @ RPE 8. I agree this is a great accessory, there's a reason this lift is the bread and butter of RTS type training where you bench 4x/week.
Hey man, I love your videos. I've just started to prioritise strength for the new year, but still want some size gains. I'm going to incorporate the single rep max effort method you detailed a few weeks ago, my plan looks something like this and I'd love to hear if you think it'll do me well. It's a 4 day split with a separate emphasis point each week rotating Week 1 Day 1 - Squat to heavy single then 3x3 Day 2 - Bench to heavy single then 3x3 Day 3- Trap bar deadlift heavy single then 3x3 Day 4 - OHP heavy single then 3x3 Week 2 Day 1 - Leg hypertrophy Day 2 - Chest and triceps hypertrophy Day 3 - Back and biceps hypertrophy Day 4 - Shoulders and traps hypertrophy Then go back to week 1 Please let me know if you think this will be good to stick at for a while :)
@@EmpoDaddy99 so you think maxing out on each lift 3 times a week is beneficial for strength? I don't often think people are overtraining but I'd be pretty happy saying that is overtraining
I’ve been doing Larsen press and I’ve had ppl on TikTok saying I’m benching incorrectly😹😹😹people are soo dumb , when I get jacked people will start too follow the things I do, I can’t feel any pumps tbh when I do it , I can Larsen pres 135 I usually start at 90 pounds but I can’t feel it still
When’s the next QNA gonna be ? Love the content man keep it up I’ve been looking at all your videos even from years ago there super informational and I’m trying to make maximum gains from home
I saw your post earlier and decided to try Larsen press today. I was looking forward to you making a video on this. I am a novice and rn I do my usual bench sets with 1 plate. I tried the Larsen press with 1 plate as well and the difficulty was similar to my normal bench and I managed to get similar number of reps. I was surprised that the Larsen press wasn't much harder than my regular bench. Could this be a sign that my normal bench bench technique isn't using enough leg drive? On paper this should have been harder but I still managed to do 3 sets of 10 like I did with regular bench last week.
It's a sign that your regular bench technique isn't optimized. However.. keep in mind this is also different for novices, as the ratio will get more skewed with greater experience and that has to do with the 10% reduction being bigger overall. So 10% of 400 is 40lbs. Whereas 10% of 100lbs is only 10lbs, so you can see why it wouldn't make as much of a difference for beginners.
Larsen Press is only useful if you have a grasp of leg drive. Your problem is pretty common among beginner lifters that don’t have their mechanics down. Larsen press would be pretty useless in your case. Close grip bench or long pause bench is a better option until you learn and master leg drive
@@AlexLeonidas Thank you for the reply. I'll definitely look into optimizing my technique and getting the movement down. I feel like I could definitely be pushing more but I'd like to get my technique down first to avoid building bad habits before adding more weight to the bar.
@@BaldOmniMan Thank you for the reply. Does close grip bench have additional benefits to learning technique or am I just doing it for the better tricep gains? I think my arch could also use work as it's very shallow. I feel like I'd have to lift my butt off the bench to get a greater arch but I suspect there is something else to it. Maybe I require more mobility to be able to arch more.
@@kenansabic2901 Give it a try. Leg drive doesn't cheat the movement or anything, it actually gives you a better/more stable base. Sounds counterintuitive but it works. The Larsen press/no leg drive removes that stability and makes the movement more difficult for people who can't just push maxes anymore. At beginner levels it makes the lift a bit safer and lets you press more, which means more stimulus (beginner lifters not generating enough fatigue to be super problematic).
Alex I'm still having trouble feeling my pecs in the Larsen Press.. maybe because I'm still new to it. And how do you keep yourself so stable while performing it? And would it be ok to perform it 3x a week, heavy day, medium day, light day? Appreciate it brother!
Funny, I never knew there was such an exercise but thats what im doing, i train at home and i dont have room for a bench and a rack, i press dumbbells while lying on my bed and i put my head on a chair that is at the end of the bed so i could press with full range of motion, currently lifting 72 lbs dumbbells for around 16 reps (3 sets overall), wonder how much i could lift on an actual bench press.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
It’s funny as soon as you done this video, the day after, people in my gym suddenly started trying this. I’m in the Uk so it shows the reach and influence you have with these videos 👍🏼
Too awesome man!
Alex, would you consider bringing back the once a month or every two weeks Q&A videos? They are not only informative, but also entertaining. I even listen to your old ones when I'm doing my daily walking.
Will likely be doing live Q&As once or twice a month. I don't think the regular Q&As will be back for a while.
@@AlexLeonidas That is good too. All the best for the year, man.
And please bring back workout sessions. So inspiring.
Same, they're good to listen while doing other stuff
Haha i listen to those on long walks sometimes too
I started doing Larson Press because I was stuck at the "225 intermediate bench" for over 3 months (during this time I ignored the problem and worked on my deadlifts instead). I worked up my Larson Press up to 225 single and man... I benched 245 for the first time the other week. I'm also doing 225 for reps. I'm focusing on Squatting right now and using the Larson Press as a maintainer has been really effective. Awesome video as always!
@thespiritbomb 160ish (pounds)
Wdym as a maintainer you can still build ur strength
@@OggyCartoonsFun Ive been bulking since I started lifting, I went form 110 - 150 in two years. I haven’t really been maingaining, more recomping. I’m still gaining strength and size so it doesn’t really matter to me what my body weight is. I would like to keep bulking to about 180 then cut for the hell of it.
What was your larsen press 1rm when your PR bench was 225?
I mean when you started doing larsen.
@@thatweakpowerlifter2515 what was yours my current 1 rep max is 225 and I wanted to try this.
Happy Bald Omni Man noices
what you said for intermediate benchers was spot on...doing larsen with a close grip and a long pause took me right back to 185 for tough sets of 8. humbling experience.
You know when you see someone banging out 275 or 315 for reps on Larsen, they’re strong af because it really makes a huge difference
facts im tryna get like u bald omni man lol
larsen press has been my response in a way to the massive amount of leg drive and ridiculous arch everyone puts into bench now. i understand the "everyone has different goals" argument ppl like to respond with, but i can't help feeling it's really about obsession with numbers. i'm obsessed with honest strength lol and larsen is about as honest as it gets.
@@YinOfYangEnlighten I'm a calisthenics bro, and if I ever start bench pressing, I'll do Larsen.
I also only do muscle ups with strict form, no swinging or kipping, from a dead hang or sitting on the ground, and when I do one armed push ups, I downset or dropset to declined archers as soon as I can't be perfectly straight.
If you're not competing in powerlifting, it seems like Larsen is just better. More out of less weight, more stimulus per fatigue, the movement itself is forced to be aesthetic. None of that ridiculous tiny range of motion C shaped back nonsense.
Bald Omni Man squad rise up. We need an interview with him asap.
Ong
🦅🦅🦅🦅
First dude I remembered when I read the title!
@Hansamuman 𓃻 not tryna be offensive, but do Yk if he even watches your videos?
@Hansamuman 𓃻 he calls them larsen press though?
Got caught up at the 375lb mark. Heavy triples weren’t getting me results anymore. I’ve scaled it back to 255-235 pause Larson’s to push past my limits and go beyond
yo bro did it work in the end? Can t wait for your update
Update?
Update?
@@lewisstrongofficial an absolute success. Got up to 395 then tore my tricep. Working my way back tho
@@chrisholder8906 Congrats on 395! Sorry about the tricep tear but hey soon you’ll have it healed and will be at 4 plates! Yeah it’ll take some time to recover and regain what was lost, and I get progress can be slower at that level anyway. But I have faith in you!
Gave it a preemptive like, because I'm in love with the larsen press for a while, my fav bench variation/accessory
I feel you Victor, there's lots to love with this awesome variation!
Love larsen presses, doing them with a football bar and 3-5 count pauses right now. Got 212lb for 3x4 last week, going for 6 tomorrow!
Smart to do them with the football bar and longer pauses! Nice work man.
I have plateaued at 305 and now I am finally implementing this into my next block. Hoping this will help me push to the next level!
I have been doing them for about a month and I can say that it affects very well my competition bench. I have done them for hypertrophy purposed due to low SFR. I have increased my paused bench press 5 kg without gaining weight. I am planning to do them in the next cycle too.
I'm being coached by alec enkiri and he programs this for me all the time staple lift and has really improved my bench. Also I really appreciate that in your bench pressing you bring the bar all the way down to your chest and press all the way up. Too many gym bros half reppin both directions out there.
Bald omni man is gonna love this one
Let's each go assault a gym boomer to celebrate
@@MB2.0 I was late because I was preoccupied with this
Was hoping for this video after your Instagram post 👍
Larsen press and incline bench have given me the most carryover so far
Classic brute strength combo right there
Incline bench? Honestly kind of surprised by that did you have a midrange sticking point
@@Lucas-tg3hv Increased rom with the incline bench in my case. I have a slight sticking point in the midrange but generally if I can get it off my chest I can finish the rep
@@Luke-id1cp interesting
I tried the Larson press for the first time yesterday, I practiced form with the bar/low weight. And you’re right Alex, did 185lbs for rep work for 3 sets, wowwwww chest pump was real and man they were a grinder! Can’t wait to see the progress over the months now that I’m using this style! Thanks alpha
One of the things I love about this weights game is that even after 40 years training I still learn new stuff. 💪🤗
The Larsen press is really amazing, I am currently doing them paused and with a slightly wider grip to hit the chest that much harder!
Same
Have been doing Larsen presses for couple of weeks. I can feel the pump lasting longer , more stronger muscle fibers and strength
How am I late to a video about my favorite exercise? f in the chat
😂😂Seeing lots of love for you here!
@@AlexLeonidas dude it’s so cool to see a community of naturals paving the way
Coach B. I knew I'd see you here for this ! Have a great Thursday tomorrow buddy. I heard him say Larsen Press if I didn't see you in the comments I was gonna tag you and hopefully you'd see it :)
I literally just clicked on your channel to see if you posted, good timing my g
Enjoy homie
@@AlexLeonidas I did! Would you say with floor press it’d be better to keep the slight leg drive or is there a place still for floor pressing straight legged?
For anyone who has experiences any form of lower back when flat benching and employing leg drive can retain a lot of benefit from the Larsen press. For years I struggled with bench cues and I believe this type of pressing may be the solution to nailing in the scapular retraction required when benching optimal weight
I like to pause Larson press with a cambered, no bar on your chest works wonders
Larsen press and spoto press are my go to bench variations
Man, love your channel. Implemented the RDL at your recommendation and it has been only amazing. It even carries over to everyday life, lol. Regarding upper body, chest is my genetic weakspot and has the greatest imbalance of my physique. I have been working on incline DB press and cable/DB flies to mitigate (successfully to an extent) but during regular heavy bench I see the right side still lagging behind. I think this is what keeps me "plateaud". I hit a 80kg working weight in mid October, went all the way up to a working weight of 95kg (3 x 8), did a deload with form correction down to 85kg and now I am sick and likely back to 80kg :/
But next chest session, Larsen Press it is!
Nice, will start to focus on this for a while. Never really liked barbell bench because of upper body stability issues. Guess this will be great for fixing that. Thanks!
I always used feet up on bench over Larsen and I used it to hit every PR from 315 to 405. Larsen is probably more specific for the tightness aspect but feet up basically keeps your back flat, which emphasizes brute strength even more and gives more ROM. Can’t say I ever do Larsens just because they don’t feel stable for me, but I think people chasing a big bench put too much emphasis on max load (arching, form, leg drive, etc) to the point where their muscles aren’t getting developed as much. Simply doing competition bench isn’t the greatest mass builder, but if we overload via variations and accessories, that will improve our benching potential in the long run when we choose to focus on max weight in the future. Ever since implementing variations more and more, my bench progress has accelerated
In B4 Bald Omni Man comments with his approval :D
I am late but I am here
Just two session of Larsen pressing 225 for reps jumped my bench up from 275 for 3x3 to 3x4. Just make sure you’re strong enough to do the weight you put on the bar comfortably start out light and find what works for you so you don’t hurt yourself guys
I've employed the floor press in my 'Sub-Optimal Position Training' often. It works very well because when your upper arm is parallel to the floor the moment arm is at its longest. And it is better than the pin press because with the weight pressing the upper arm down you have to do overcome more inertia than the pin press because the pins support the weight. Since the sole purpose and benefit is to become stronger at that specific joint angle I wouldn't recommend sets of 10. Try this:
w/o1: 80x6, 85x4, 90x4x4x2
w/I 2: 85x5, 90x3, 95x4x1
w/o 3: 90x4, 95x2x2
w/I 4: 95x3
Those are percentages of your floor press max, not your bench. It's a 4.5% gain in 4 workouts, which is rapid because it is designed to be used with a new exercise. It has never failed when that condition was met.
I have awful shoulder blade control, I'm going to try this and see if I can finally get how to set up my upper back for the bench.
I seen ppl do this exercise but never knew how and why should i do it as well,might have to try and incorporate this one
Well... Now I can only do 70 kg for 7 reps on a regular bench press.
I think I'll go up to 100 kg with classic leg drive and then I'll start incorporate Larsen press with 60-80kg.
It's going to take some time
Larsens are great has helped me alot tremendously, I'm doing in my program right now from my coach volume work and doing bench 4 times a week , I do pause Larsen presses , tempos 3-2-0, floor press, and pause bench its taxing and all that I'm doing bench 4 times a week but will pay off once I max out the end of this 2nd cycle
Throwing this in to compliment to my bench on push days. Going to do higher reps paused and we’ll see how it works. Current bench max is 295 so I’ll do this after I bench and OHP. Hopefully it carries me to a 315 one rep max.
Thank you. Gonna give this a try, since my bench is not making good progress.
Great lift. I also find they’re very usual for building those all important core stabilizers keeping you grounded and stable on a narrow surface. You don’t get that in floor presses. Dumbbell Larsen presses are great too.
Might had to try this on my next chest day. I never tried this or heard of it until now.
I just started incorporating this in my training the last month. It helped me switch up my form as well as watching tips from Sean noriega’s channel. I feel like my max has gone from 215 to 245 just from these switches. I’m not a beginner to the gym but most likely a beginner to bench. Tho I have been training for 3 years. My bench has always just sucked even tho my deadlift and squat have gotten to 475 and 405 respectively. Anyways, this lift has helped me a ton, and I agree with all your points!
Cheers
Injured my knee, only doing Larssens, already matching my normal bench numbers…2 weeks in. Bench feeling better than ever
Bald Omni Man press
Going to try this tomorrow. Good look
Can we apply this somehow to a low incline bench press?
Ayyy thanks bro did these today. Hit a 375 bench PR then dropped down to 225 for a few sets. Hit a set of 15 then 11 then 10 lol pretty tough but felt amazing.
I honestly thought that's how you were supposed to do it. I didn't know it was a whole different variation.
Inb4 Freakie D and Bald Omni Man
You dropped this, 👑
Awesome video Alex! I also recommend trying this off the floor for a Larsen/Floor press hybrid as another variation. Especially if you don’t have a wide bench or fat pad. It will definitely emphasize upper back tightness. I remember the first time I tried it I had upper back DOMS
I larsen press narrow grip the same as wide grip with legs
Gonna try it in my 79% range for pauses
Nice man you won't regret it, especially for paused work!
For push days What do you Think of this
Monday
Bench 3x5
OHP 10x10
A few sets of triceps and side raises
Thursday
OHO 3x5
CG bench 10x10(triceps are lagging)
A few sets of triceps and side raises
Why so much 10x10? I mean it works but you'd probably get better results doing two exercises of 3x6-10. I can also see you stalling long term if you're not mixing things up.
@@AlexLeonidas thanks. Keep up the good work.
Love the Larsen press,it really helped me on keeping my upper back tight and I got some great size gains running it in a hypertrophy block.
I've been doing Larsen Floor Press because I only have a barbell and plates at home. Gotta be creative.
Great variation, man. Your content never disappoints
Are you supposed to lock into upper body tightness by retracting? I’m a bit confused cause you say press with normal scapulohumeral rhythm.
Trying to figure out how to build chest (upper)without getting injured shoudlers
I’ve always found the Larsen to help more than most variations. Great video!
Would you say to do the Larsen press would be better than floor pressing for your novice program
Just started doing Larsen presses, thought l was supposed to have upper legs in air also, this video cleared that issue up
The ''Z'' Press + Larsen Press might be the best solution for a stalled OHP/Bench!
Thanks for the inspiration as always Alex!
Waiting for bald omni man to show up
I did volume work of 10 sets of 10,60 kg larsen press with 3 min rest between sets.
Volume PR
I did a 265lbs bench press with a wide grip and leg drive, but I didn’t feel my upper body doing the work. So I switched to my main bench press being a larsen press and the gains are real
Thank you Mr Leonidas I completely forgot about this variation. Cannot wait to implement it and feel the benefits 🤝
Larsen long pauses solved my lockout issues completely. Fighting from that disadvantage pushing thru lockout makes a normal bench lockout nothing
Pausing at the bottom solved your lockout issues? Do you feel like thats because you had to dial in your upper body tightness? I also have a weak lockout while being super strong off my chest
@@h870 yes I would definitely say that played a role as well
@@User-ig4ge Thats awesome. And here ive been all this time avoiding pausing on my chest because im already strong there. ill have to give this a shot
Apparently.. I have been doing the Larsen press all this time :’D
Haha just came back from the gym after doing larsen. It's my preferred secondary day variation
Larsen Press is my favorite bench variation. Been doing them for a while now and they're definitely a permanent part of my routine. Great chest pump and awesome carry over to regular bench.
Will this give similar strength gains just like the dead bench?
It’s inconceivably better than dead bench
Next you need to try the tempo 3-3-1 larson spoto press @ RPE 8.
I agree this is a great accessory, there's a reason this lift is the bread and butter of RTS type training where you bench 4x/week.
this is my main goal now because my bench press doesn't increase no matter how hard I try, maybe that's how I'll fix a problem I didn't notice
Hey man, I love your videos. I've just started to prioritise strength for the new year, but still want some size gains. I'm going to incorporate the single rep max effort method you detailed a few weeks ago, my plan looks something like this and I'd love to hear if you think it'll do me well.
It's a 4 day split with a separate emphasis point each week rotating
Week 1
Day 1 - Squat to heavy single then 3x3
Day 2 - Bench to heavy single then 3x3
Day 3- Trap bar deadlift heavy single then 3x3
Day 4 - OHP heavy single then 3x3
Week 2
Day 1 - Leg hypertrophy
Day 2 - Chest and triceps hypertrophy
Day 3 - Back and biceps hypertrophy
Day 4 - Shoulders and traps hypertrophy
Then go back to week 1
Please let me know if you think this will be good to stick at for a while :)
I'd say combine weeks 1 and 2, and increase frequency of the lifts to 2-3x a week
@@EmpoDaddy99 so you think maxing out on each lift 3 times a week is beneficial for strength? I don't often think people are overtraining but I'd be pretty happy saying that is overtraining
@@james2614mc nahhh DEFINITELY don't max out 😂😂
@@james2614mc i was saying like you could do your heavy lifts in the beginning and then do your hypertrophy work after
@@james2614mc but like do all of it not to failure
I’ve been doing Larsen press and I’ve had ppl on TikTok saying I’m benching incorrectly😹😹😹people are soo dumb , when I get jacked people will start too follow the things I do, I can’t feel any pumps tbh when I do it , I can Larsen pres 135 I usually start at 90 pounds but I can’t feel it still
Are these possible with dumbells as well ?
Great Video :) ! Thank you, cool !
im using this as my main horizontal press along with weighted push ups right now. feels amazing though the gym I go to has pretty narrow benches
I always did larsen press without know lol, so, thanks old weird high bench press from my homegym
This ain't 315 brigade homie, this iS FOUR-OH-FIVE BRIGADE HOMIE!
DAMN RIGHT HOMIE!
Larsen press is so fucking hard I just benched 225 and I’m struggling with my body weight on Larsen (180)
Keep it up Alex!
well, looks like I found my max effort move for today
When’s the next QNA gonna be ? Love the content man keep it up I’ve been looking at all your videos even from years ago there super informational and I’m trying to make maximum gains from home
when u went from a bulk to a cut how did it effect ur mind muscle connection?
Didn't really make a difference
I love how this exercise is named after me, I haven't even invented it yet
- A Danish prson
Hey Alex, are u planning another Bench Press competition in the near future? I think u would kick asses, ur leverages are made for Bench pressing
I really don't care about competing but I do want to keep raising my standards like benching 200kg.
Will this override the biological law of accomodation? I ask because for the Targeted muscles it's the same movement pattern
It will since there's a 10% weight reduction and the ROM is deeper so hits the pecs harder
Gonna try this, I’m a novice but I think this could help me master my form
Doing these with chains and a pause would be killer! could even use the neutral grip bar.
I saw your post earlier and decided to try Larsen press today. I was looking forward to you making a video on this. I am a novice and rn I do my usual bench sets with 1 plate. I tried the Larsen press with 1 plate as well and the difficulty was similar to my normal bench and I managed to get similar number of reps. I was surprised that the Larsen press wasn't much harder than my regular bench. Could this be a sign that my normal bench bench technique isn't using enough leg drive? On paper this should have been harder but I still managed to do 3 sets of 10 like I did with regular bench last week.
It's a sign that your regular bench technique isn't optimized. However.. keep in mind this is also different for novices, as the ratio will get more skewed with greater experience and that has to do with the 10% reduction being bigger overall. So 10% of 400 is 40lbs. Whereas 10% of 100lbs is only 10lbs, so you can see why it wouldn't make as much of a difference for beginners.
Larsen Press is only useful if you have a grasp of leg drive. Your problem is pretty common among beginner lifters that don’t have their mechanics down.
Larsen press would be pretty useless in your case. Close grip bench or long pause bench is a better option until you learn and master leg drive
@@AlexLeonidas Thank you for the reply. I'll definitely look into optimizing my technique and getting the movement down. I feel like I could definitely be pushing more but I'd like to get my technique down first to avoid building bad habits before adding more weight to the bar.
@@BaldOmniMan Thank you for the reply. Does close grip bench have additional benefits to learning technique or am I just doing it for the better tricep gains? I think my arch could also use work as it's very shallow. I feel like I'd have to lift my butt off the bench to get a greater arch but I suspect there is something else to it. Maybe I require more mobility to be able to arch more.
@@kenansabic2901 Give it a try. Leg drive doesn't cheat the movement or anything, it actually gives you a better/more stable base. Sounds counterintuitive but it works. The Larsen press/no leg drive removes that stability and makes the movement more difficult for people who can't just push maxes anymore. At beginner levels it makes the lift a bit safer and lets you press more, which means more stimulus (beginner lifters not generating enough fatigue to be super problematic).
I started doing Larsen presses after I did a 180 degree backflip
Alex I'm still having trouble feeling my pecs in the Larsen Press.. maybe because I'm still new to it. And how do you keep yourself so stable while performing it? And would it be ok to perform it 3x a week, heavy day, medium day, light day? Appreciate it brother!
interesting to find i been doing this type of press without even knowing about it, glad to know its really a thing though.
I'm waiting for the RDL vs good morning video. I'm the guy that originally suggested it 😉.
Ayeeeee stay tuned brother
Yeah man we need it!
You heard of a Buttler press? Some Monica Lewinsky told me that adding a slight incline to the Larsen makes it even more chad-like
That variation requires to shave your head though
Does larsen barbell bench press have less motor unit recruitment?
This is my "regular" form 🤣🤣🤣. I've always done it like this. Cause feet on the floor give me lower back pain.
Dutch gyms are in lockdown again so my shitty home set up basicly has me doing these because leg drive makes me slide through the room xD
I can only do the Larson press because my legs are too short and I cant adjust my home bench.
Funny, I never knew there was such an exercise but thats what im doing, i train at home and i dont have room for a bench and a rack, i press dumbbells while lying on my bed and i put my head on a chair that is at the end of the bed so i could press with full range of motion, currently lifting 72 lbs dumbbells for around 16 reps (3 sets overall), wonder how much i could lift on an actual bench press.
I’m at 175 for 3 sets of 15 at 165BW, is that decent for Larsen press?
Nice work bro
YO BALD OMNI MAN WHERE YOU AT 🗣🗣🗣
How would you program this would it be something you do after flat bench press or in lieu of bench press
Like any other accessory, it's really no different. I like staying in the 6-12 rep range while sometimes including singles, triples, and fives.
You're getting your mass back nicely 💪🏼
Muscle memory is a wonderful thing
he looked 10x better lean