Anti-Gravity Press

What it is

This unique push movement targets your shoulders, engaging them as you press a barbell horizontally. You perform it lying face down on an incline bench, working against gravity in an unaccustomed plane. The exercise primarily strengthens your deltoids, with significant contribution from your middle back, trapezius muscles, and triceps.

Technique tips

• Establish a strong starting position by reverse curling the barbell to your chest.
• Maintain your arms parallel to the floor during the entire pressing motion.
• Control the eccentric phase; do not let the weight drop quickly.
• Keep your core braced to stabilize your body on the incline bench.
• Focus on driving the barbell straight out, not upwards or downwards.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.