Board Press vs Pin Press

[jwood]

Which do you guys think is better board press or pressing off of pins?

And is there much of a difference if when pressing off of pins you take it out of the rack like a regular bench come down and pause slightly on the pins and then press??

I think the biggest thing about pin press is that when you press starting at the bottom position you take a different bar path than your normal bench groove, but if you treat it like a regular bench and then just slightly pause on the pins, is it very different than board press??

What are your thoughts and experiences with each??

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by jwood

I think the biggest thing about pin press is that when you press starting at the bottom position you take a different bar path than your normal bench groove, but if you treat it like a regular bench and then just slightly pause on the pins, is it very different than board press??

What are your thoughts and experiences with each??

Your point above is a big one for me. I tried high pin presses (at the same height as 2-3 board press) with very heavy weight and I lost my groove each and every time I set the bar down. I didn't like this because it left too much room open for shoulder tweaks.

If I were to do them again I would simply lower the bar to the pin like a normal bench, but not set the bar down.

[gaspers04]

My 2 cents...

Board Press - Out of the rack like a bench press, touch the boards and explode up. Great way to overload. For me a major Triceps lift.

Pins or Rack Press - More difficult for me. Start the move with the bar on the Pins (starting from zero) and press hard, bring down at a full pause with no "bounce". As I mentioned that it is harder for me due to the increased stress on the Delts and overall involvement of the shoulders.

Im no expert by any means and this is just based on my experiences with these lifts.

[jwood]

Whenever I have done pin presses I have started from the bottom position and I like them, but it is very different from my regular bench press groove.

I think I am going to do some experimenting after this next cycle of 531, I am going to stick with dumbbells for now. I may do some lockout work at the end instead of tricep extensions.

One more question: How would you compare floor presses to the other two lifts?

[Bodybygamma]

Depends what your doing them for but typically I'd say the one that actually mimics the real movement more is always going to be more beneficial. Pin presses are good to do once and a while but I think overall you would get more out of board presses since you set up the same as you would normally bench and have the stretch reflex put into play. Plus its easier to vary the boards you use then the pins, but when you don't have training partners pin presses are safer.

Overall when in doubt to both, but I would do pin presses once a month and board presses once a week, or at least keep the ratio I used them similar.

[BendtheBar]

Off topic, but for those without training partners, try my board press method:

I bench in a rack with pins, and using a huge belt, I belt the boards to my chest. I set the pins at the right height, so if I fail, I can flatten my back and set the bar down on the pins.

I have my own boards though, and they don't have a handle. Which makes it easier.

[jwood]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I will keep the ratio that BBG was talking about and use board press for my 3 weeks of the cycle and do pin press on the deload week as assistance of course. Thanks for the set up advice btb, I was trying to think how to set up, I am going to use your method or I may just put the boards under my shirt, I think your way would be more comfortable.

What height board is best for raw power, I was going to start with 2 board press and then go from there.

[gaspers04]

Experiment with different board numbers.

BTB - Ive done the same, but used bands to secure the boards...lol

[jwood]

Two board is right at my sticking point so I thought that would be the best spot to start.

[jslep]

board preference could go with rep range also. for example......

if you want 2-3 reps at what is your normal 1RM try a 2 board

if you want 4-5 reps with something over your 1RM to work just strictly lockout then go with the 3 board