Barbell California Press
A step-by-step form guide from the Ægir Iron exercise library: how to do the lift, what to watch for, and the muscles it trains.
- Equipment
- Barbell
HOW TO PERFORM
- Lie on a flat bench and unrack the bar with a grip about shoulder width, arms straight over the chest.
- Lower the bar by bending the elbows and the shoulders together, so the upper arms travel only part of the way down while the forearms tip back toward you.
- Stop with the bar a few inches above the lower chest and the elbows pointing out to the sides.
- Press back up along the same path to straight arms.
FORM TIPS
- It sits between a close grip bench press and a skull crusher: more elbow bend than a bench press and more shoulder movement than an extension, which is why the triceps do most of the work.
- Use safety pins and a weight well under your close grip bench. The bar finishes close to the body with the elbows in a weak position.
TARGET MUSCLES
Primary
- Triceps
Secondary
- Chest
- Shoulders
Log it in Ægir Iron to track your PRs and estimated 1RM, and to see the sets each muscle gets every week. Free for individual lifters.