10 Best Board Press Alternatives for Triceps Strength

What can I do instead of Board Press? Choose barbell close-grip bench, floor press, pin press, JM press, or weighted dips to preserve the lockout-focused triceps stimulus. Cue: keep elbows tucked to bias the lateral and long heads, and extend the elbows explosively while maintaining scapular retraction to protect the shoulder and transfer force efficiently.

Original Exercise: Board Press

Board Press
Primary Muscle
Triceps
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Advanced
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Chest, Forearms, Lats, Shoulders
How to Perform Board Press
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
Pro Tips
  • Category: Powerlifting
  • Force: Push
  • Movement type: Compound

Ranked Board Press Alternatives

Best Match
Floor Press

1. Floor Press

99.9% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the j-hooks so they are at the appropriate height to rack the bar. Begin lying on the floor with your head near the end of a power rack. Keeping your shoulder blades pulled together; pull the bar off of the hooks.
  2. Lower the bar towards the bottom of your chest or upper stomach, squeezing the bar and attempting to pull it apart as you do so. Ensure that you tuck your elbows throughout the movement. Lower the bar until your upper arm contacts the ground and pause, preventing any slamming or bouncing of the weight.
  3. Press the bar back up as fast as you can, keeping the bar, your wrists, and elbows in line as you do so.
Pin Presses

2. Pin Presses

99.4% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Pin presses remove the eccentric phase of the bench press, developing starting strength. They also allow you to train a desired range of motion.
  2. The bench should be set up in a power rack. Set the pins to the desired point in your range of motion, whether it just be lockout or an inch off of your chest. The bar should be moved to the pins and prepared for lifting.
  3. Begin by lying on the bench, with the bar directly above the contact point during your regular bench. 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.
  4. You can take a standard bench grip, or shoulder width to focus on the triceps. The bar, wrist, and elbow should stay in line at all times. Focus on squeezing the bar and trying to pull it apart.
  5. Drive the bar up with as much force as possible. The elbows should be tucked in until lockout.
Floor Press With Chains

3. Floor Press With Chains

98.7% Match
Triceps Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the j-hooks so they are at the appropriate height to rack the bar. For this exercise, drape the chains directly over the end of the bar, trying to keep the ends away from the plates.
  2. Begin lying on the floor with your head near the end of a power rack. Keeping your shoulder blades pulled together, pull the bar off of the hooks.
  3. Lower the bar towards the bottom of your chest or upper stomach, squeezing the bar and attempting to pull it apart as you do so. Ensure that you tuck your elbows throughout the movement. Lower the bar until your upper arm contacts the ground and pause, preventing any slamming or bouncing of the weight.
  4. Press the bar back up as fast as you can, keeping the bar, your wrists, and elbows in line as you do so.
Barbell Jm Bench Press

4. Barbell Jm Bench Press

95.4% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
  4. Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Barbell One Arm Floor Press

5. Barbell One Arm Floor Press

92.2% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on your back on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
  2. Hold the barbell with one hand, palm facing up, and extend your arm straight up over your chest.
  3. Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbow close to your body.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push the barbell back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch arms.
Barbell Lying Close-grip Press

6. Barbell Lying Close-grip Press

92% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing towards your feet.
  3. Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
  4. Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  5. Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest, then push it back up to the starting position.
Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press

7. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press

92% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
  5. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Reverse Triceps Bench Press

8. Reverse Triceps Bench Press

92% Match
Triceps Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie back on a flat bench. Using a close, supinated grip (around shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked extended in front of you and perpendicular to the floor. This will be your starting position.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
  5. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press

9. Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press

91.4% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the ez barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
  4. Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press

10. Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press

91.2% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie on a flat bench with an EZ bar loaded to an appropriate weight.
  2. 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.
  3. Now lower the bar down to your lower chest as you breathe in. Keep the elbows in as you perform this movement.
  4. Using the triceps to push the bar back up, press it back to the starting position by extending the elbows as you exhale.
  5. Repeat.

Why You Might Need a Board Press Alternative

You might substitute the board press for several valid reasons: lack of equipment (no boards or rack), shoulder or elbow pain with partial ranges, or a need to shift the overload point for a weak lockout. Alternatives let you change range of motion, joint torque, and muscle emphasis. For example, the floor press reduces humeral extension to offload the shoulder while increasing isometric triceps demand, cue: drive through the palms and stop with elbows on the floor to maximize lateral-head activation. Pin presses let you set different start heights to overload specific sticking points, and JM presses or dips place more stretch on the long head when you allow slight shoulder extension.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Pick a substitute by matching the movement pattern, desired ROM, and joint stress to your goal. If you need lockout strength, choose pin presses or close-grip bench with a controlled pause, cue: keep wrists stacked over elbows and lock without hyperextension to recruit medial and lateral triceps. If shoulder pain limits you, use floor presses or machine triceps work to limit humeral extension and reduce shoulder torque. For hypertrophy, use JM presses or weighted dips with controlled eccentrics to load the long head under stretch. Always check that you can maintain scapular retraction and neutral wrist position to optimize force transfer and minimize compensations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does Board Press work?

The board press primarily targets the triceps brachii, especially the lateral and medial heads, by emphasizing elbow extension in a shortened range. It reduces pec stretch, so the triceps do more of the work; cue: tuck the elbows to ensure triceps, not pecs, drive the lockout.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Board Press?

Weighted dips are the top bodyweight substitute because they train elbow extension and the long-head stretch when performed with an upright torso. Cue: lower to about 90° of elbow flexion and press up through the palms while keeping shoulders depressed to maximize triceps activation.

Can I build muscle without doing Board Press?

Yes. You can build triceps size with close-grip bench presses, floor presses, JM presses, dips, and targeted extensions by applying progressive overload and adequate volume. Focus on elbow-tuck technique and controlled eccentrics to ensure strong triceps activation across the range.

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