Pin Press: Muscles Work and More

The pin press is a variation of the bench press that involves a reduced range of motion – mainly due to the use of the safety pins of the barbell rack.

However, despite its advantages, the pin press is very situational and may not be suitable as the main horizontal press in a training program.

Pin Press at a glance

Equipment requirements

Rack/cage with safety pins, barbell, weights, bench

The main muscles of the target

Triceps brachii, pectoral muscles, anterior deltoids

Difficulty

Expanded

Recommendations for sets, repetitions and load

3-5 sets of 5-10 repetitions with a heavy load

How to do a pin press

1. To replicate the pin press, the lifter will begin by first adjusting the safety pins to the correct height. This largely depends on the lifter’s stance and proportions, but ideally should be just below the point of stumbling or weakness in their bench press technique.
   For example; if the lifter has trouble locking out completely, the bar will rest on the pins a few inches below full elbow extension.
2. With the safety pins now at the correct height, the lifter will lie on the bench with the scapula retracted, the lower back arched and the glutes pressed against the bench as they place their hands along the bar about shoulder width apart.
3. Now in a proper stance, the lifter removes the bar and slowly lowers it toward the pins, allowing the bar to come to a complete stop as it makes contact.
4. After the bar is held by the pins, the lifter explosively punches through the palms of their hands and presses the arms to full extension as quickly as possible.
5. The arms are now fully extended and the bar is back at its original height, the rep is considered complete.

Additional tips:

The height of the pins should be adjusted to take into account deficiencies in the bench press technique. Instability or weakness in the chest area will require a lower pin setting than mid-range or lockout problems.

Outside of bench press technique adjustments, the pin press can also be used to limit range of motion in cases where the injury is aggravated by the full ROM of the regular bench press.

What muscles work when pressing pins?

The pin press is a complex exercise that targets more than one muscle group throughout the range of motion. It’s pretty much the same as the other chest abs exercises, which are the triceps brachii, pectorals, and heads of the anterior deltoid.

However, the degree to which each muscle is worked will depend on the height of the stilettos.

As a general rule, the higher the stilettos, the more the triceps will be emphasized. The lower, the more involved the chest and anterior deltoid muscles.

Common mistakes to avoid

To get the most out of each re-click, avoid the following common mistakes.

Improper safety pin adjustments

The most important aspect of pressing pins is the placement of the pins themselves.

Setting them too high will defeat the purpose of the exercise and fatigue the triceps without much benefit.

Likewise, setting the pins too low can expend more energy than necessary, limiting the amount and time the lifter can spend in the required range.

When performing a bench press, the pins should be several inches below the lifter’s point of lag or instability.

Absence of retraction of the shoulder blades

As with most other variations of the bench press, failure to retract the shoulder blades can significantly increase the risk of shoulder injury – along with a host of other stability and safety issues.

Before starting each set of the bench press, the lifter should fully retract the shoulder blades before pressing them and pressing the upper back against the bench. This should ensure their position throughout the set and provide excellent stability to the entire trunk.

Using a narrow grip

Whether an athlete is bench pressing to correct technique, focus on the triceps, or to work around an injury, using a narrower grip than a normal bench press negates many of the benefits of the bench press.

By placing the hands closer together along the bar, the athlete increases the range of motion of the exercise, as the arms must move further to reach the top of the repetition.

In addition to losing specificity and moving to the bench press, this will only further distance the pectorals and deltoids from the movement pattern.

Inability to stop the bar completely

The pin press is most effective when the bar comes to rest along the safety pins, requiring maximum engagement of the chest and triceps to push back into lockout.

Bouncing the bar off the pins – or worse, failing to touch them entirely – will not only negate much of the speed and power development that comes from pressing the pins, but will also affect your overall form, as the arms will absorb more momentum than necessary.

Each repetition of hitting the pins should ideally include the top of the bar resting on the pins for 1-2 seconds, completely stopping any momentum that may be present.

Who should do the pin press?

The pin press is considered an advanced exercise simply because of the specialized situations in which it is intended to be used.

In reality, it’s safer and slightly less difficult than the regular bench press, but it’s also much less complete and less effective for overall muscle growth.

If you are a powerlifter with issues with your bench press technique, someone who suffers from shoulder problems, or a bodybuilder who needs an alternative hard grip bench; pin for you.

Links

1. Benedict Mitter, Lei Zhang, Pascal Bauer, Arnold Baca and Harald Tshan (2023) Modeling the relationship between load and repetitions to failure in resistance training: a Bayesian analysis, European Journal of Sports Science, 23:7, 1203-1213, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2022.2089915