How Iridium Programs This

Iridium analyzes sub-muscle-group fatigue to program this exercise when your anterior deltoids or chest require relief from the deep stretch of full-range pressing. The algorithm counts this work toward your Middle Chest volume targets but adjusts fatigue scoring to reflect the heavy tricep bias of the lockout. To drive strength gains, Iridium tracks 1RM estimates and RPE distinct from your standard bench press to ensure progressive overload within this specific range of motion.

Form Cues

Retract your shoulder blades and keep them pinned against the floor.
Lower the barbell with control until your triceps lightly graze the ground.
Pause completely at the bottom for a split second to kill momentum.
Drive the weight back up explosively to full elbow extension.
Keep your knees bent and feet flat to stabilize your torso.

Don't

Don't slam your elbows into the floor; control the descent.
Don't lift your hips into a bridge position to cheat the weight up.
Don't flare your elbows out to 90 degrees; keep them tucked around 45 degrees.
Don't bounce the weight off your arms at the bottom.

Common Mistakes

Bouncing elbows off the floor
Bridging hips to change the angle
Skipping the dead-stop pause
Flaring elbows too wide
Letting the bar drift over the face

Muscles Worked

This exercise places significant demand on the triceps (specifically the lateral and medial heads) due to the emphasis on the top lockout portion of the press. It also recruits the middle chest and anterior deltoids to drive the weight, though with less pectoral stretch than a standard bench press due to the reduced range of motion.