Now, ideally you'll want to use bumper plates for this exercise because they're easier to grip and designed to be dropped (though you shouldn't have to with this exercise if you're doing it under control).
The concept is pretty simple...you're doing presses with your palms flat under the weight plates.
The reason for this is to create more tension in the chest (that's what I find, at least) and to work the stabilizer muscles of the upper body. The open hand position coupled with the instability of the plates sitting on your hands without being gripped really activates a lot of muscles fibers in the pecs.
I like this one for when my upper body is a bit "beat up" but I still want some good chest work that doesn't overload the shoulder joints too much.
How to Get Into Position For The Waiter Bench Press
You can have a spotter hand you plates or you can do as I do in the video where I'm first lifting them up onto my lap while pressed together.
Clap them together then, stick your fingers through the center holes. This will help with control as you're lying back.
Lie back, set your palms flat on the outside surface of the plates.
Now let them come down and out to the sides (under control). You may need to provide a little nudge tipping them in one direction to get one started then tipping the other side after the other tils.
Bring them down into the bottom of a press.
The press is done very controlled as the plates require balance, not explosion. Bring the plates together at the top. The size of the plates prevents your hands from coming in too close, keeping tension on the pecs nicely.
The thing to remember is do these under full control with a weight you CAN control. 45 lbs is very light for me but when done with this style, you can make it up with tension, which is what makes it useful as a relatively easy exercise that still provides excellent muscle tension.
When you're done the set, revers what you did to get them into position.
I DON'T recommend dropping them...they're round and they might roll, if you drop them just right. This is not something you want to do in a gym with other people around. If you're training at home without things that they can crash into, that's different.
Then just set them back down on the floor and you're done.
This exercise can also be very effective as a finisher for the chest, after you've done some heavier pressing work.
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