Bench Press Foot Position. Does It Matter?
When the bar is fixed and the press is isometric, three common foot positions produced similar force and muscle activity in the upper body and legs.
So, where do you put your feet during the bench press? Competitive powerlifters have their own set-up that gives them a competitive edge, but what about the rest of us? Does it actually matter as much as people say? This study suggests that, at least in a controlled isometric setup, your foot position may not change how much force you can produce or how hard your upper-body muscles work.
What This Study Looked At
The thesis investigated how three common foot positions during an isometric bench press affect force output and muscle activation in trained men. The positions were:
Feet down on the floor (FD)
Feet up on the edge of the bench near the hips (FU)
Feet out on a second bench, so the body is straight and parallel to the ground (FO)
Twenty‑one recreationally trained males (average age 22.6 years, body mass 85.2 kg) who could bench at least their bodyweight (self‑reported 1RM 119.4 ± 26.4 kg; 1.40 ± 0.22 × body mass) completed one lab session of isometric bench press testing in all three positions.
Aim and Methods
The goal was to see whether changing foot position alters:
Peak force in an isometric bench press
Muscle activation of the main pressing muscles (pecs, front delts, triceps) and selected lower-body stabilisers (vastus lateralis/medialis, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius).
Key methodological points:
Single session, randomised order of the three-foot conditions.
Isometric bench press with the bar fixed to a rack (no horizontal bar path) and a force plate under the bench.
Three maximal 3‑second isometric efforts per condition, with 1–3 minutes rest.
Surface EMG recorded on the right side for pectoralis major (PM), anterior deltoid (AD), triceps brachii (TB), vastus medialis (VM; VL mentioned in abstract), biceps femoris (BF), and gastrocnemius (G).
Data analysed with repeated‑measures statistics; correlation between self‑reported 1RM and isometric peak force also calculated.
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Key Findings
Peak force
Average peak force (PF) across conditions:
Feet down (FD): 1134 ± 295 N
Feet up (FU): 1183 ± 247 N
Feet out (FO): 1162 ± 249 N
There were no statistically significant differences in peak force between any of the three-foot positions.
