The JM Press is a expert-friendly barbell strength exercise that targets the triceps, with the chest and shoulders working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesTriceps
Secondary musclesChest, Shoulders
EquipmentBarbell
LevelExpert
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the JM Press
Lie back on a flat bench with your eyes under the bar and your shoulder blades pinched down.
Grip the bar about fifteen to eighteen inches apart with your wrists stacked over your elbows.
Unrack the bar and hold it over the upper chest with the arms extended.
Bend the elbows and roll the bar back toward your throat, keeping the elbows forward of the torso.
Stop when the forearms meet the biceps, then drive the bar back up by extending the elbows hard.
Finish the set and return the bar to the rack with the elbows locked.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Loads the triceps heavily through the lockout range of the bench press.
Allows more weight than a skull crusher at a similar elbow-extension emphasis.
Trains the triceps when the chest and shoulders are already fatigued.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Loading it like a bench press, which loads the elbow before the triceps are trained.
Letting the elbows drop behind the torso, which turns the lift into a press and shifts load to the shoulders.
Gripping too narrow, which destabilizes the bar and puts the wrists in a compromised position.
Programming it as often as a main press, when it is commonly run once a week as an accessory.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the JM Press, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
