10 Best Barbell Pin Presses Alternatives for Limited Equipment
If you can’t perform Barbell Pin Presses, use exercises that preserve the partial-range lockout and heavy triceps loading. Top options include close-grip bench press, board press, floor press, weighted dips, and the JM press. Cue: keep elbows tucked and press through the triceps to emphasize elbow extension.
Original Exercise: Barbell Pin Presses
How to Perform Barbell Pin Presses
- Set up a barbell on a power rack at chest height.
- Stand facing the barbell and position yourself underneath it, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Grip the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest, with your arms fully extended.
- Lower the barbell down towards your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
- Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Best Barbell Pin Presses Alternatives
1. Board Press
98.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Begin by lying on the bench, getting your head beyond the bar if possible. One to five boards, made out of 2x6's, can be screwed together and held in place by a training partner, bands, or just tucked under your shirt.
- Tuck your feet underneath you and arch your back. Using the bar to help support your weight, lift your shoulder off the bench and retract them, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Use your feet to drive your traps into the bench. Maintain this tight body position throughout the movement.
- You can take a standard bench grip, or shoulder width to focus on the triceps. Pull the bar out of the rack without protracting your shoulders. The bar, wrist, and elbow should stay in line at all times. Focus on squeezing the bar and trying to pull it apart.
- Lower the bar to the boards, and then drive the bar up with as much force as possible. The elbows should be tucked in until lockout.
2. Barbell Jm Bench Press
95.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
- Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
3. Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press
91.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the ez barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing forward.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
- Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
4. Barbell Close-grip Bench Press
91.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with a close grip, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
- Unrack the barbell and lower it slowly towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
- Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
5. Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press
91.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie on a flat bench with an EZ bar loaded to an appropriate weight.
- Using a narrow grip lift the bar and hold it straight over your torso with your elbows in. The arms should be perpendicular to the floor. This will be your starting position.
- Now lower the bar down to your lower chest as you breathe in. Keep the elbows in as you perform this movement.
- Using the triceps to push the bar back up, press it back to the starting position by extending the elbows as you exhale.
- Repeat.
6. Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press
91.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the ez barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
- Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
7. Barbell One Arm Floor Press
90.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on your back on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
- Hold the barbell with one hand, palm facing up, and extend your arm straight up over your chest.
- Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbow close to your body.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push the barbell back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch arms.
8. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press
90.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie back on a flat bench. Using a close grip (around shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
- As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest. Tip: Make sure that - as opposed to a regular bench press - you keep the elbows close to the torso at all times in order to maximize triceps involvement.
- After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your triceps muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
9. Barbell Lying Close-grip Press
90.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing towards your feet.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
- Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest, then push it back up to the starting position.
10. Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
90.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell with a reverse grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
- Slowly lower the barbell down towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Pause for a moment when the barbell is just above your chest.
Why You Might Need a Barbell Pin Presses Alternative
You might replace pin presses because of limited rack pins, shoulder pain at the bottom range, or a need to vary overload patterns. Substitutes let you replicate the same triceps-biased lockout and reduce stress on the pecs. For shoulder issues, select floor presses or board presses to shorten the eccentric and limit horizontal abduction; cue: stop the bar on the chest or board and drive with the triceps. When equipment is limited, weighted dips or close-grip bench press let you load elbow extension safely while preserving high triceps activation and similar torque at the elbow joint.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Choose a substitute based on your goal: strength, hypertrophy, or pain-free loading. For maximal lockout strength pick board presses or close-grip bench with a heavier load and short range — cue: set boards at the desired depth and press explosively while maintaining elbow tuck. For hypertrophy use controlled floor presses or JM presses with a 2–3 second eccentric to increase time under tension and triceps activation. If shoulder comfort is the priority, prefer dips with neutral torso angle and full elbow extension to bias the medial and lateral triceps heads.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Barbell Pin Presses work?
Barbell pin presses primarily target the triceps brachii by emphasizing elbow extension in the top half of the press. They also recruit the anterior deltoid and pectoralis major to a lesser degree; cue: lock the elbows at the top to feel triceps contraction.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to Barbell Pin Presses?
Weighted dips are the best bodyweight substitute for triceps-biased lockout work; add weight via a belt and keep your torso more upright to emphasize the triceps. Cue: descend until elbows hit about 90 degrees, then drive up through the palms and fully extend the elbows to maximize triceps activation.
Can I build muscle without doing Barbell Pin Presses?
Yes — you can build triceps size and strength with close-grip bench presses, JM presses, floor presses, and weighted dips, all of which load elbow extension effectively. Focus on progressive overload and technique cues like tight scapular retraction and elbow tuck to ensure consistent triceps activation.
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