Today I'm going to explain how to set up and perform seated pin presses when equipment limitations prevent you from using the standing lift. If you're training at a gym that's not a Starting Strength gym or a Starting Strength affiliate, you might not have the proper equipment to do standing pin presses. So, you might have to improvise a little bit. You're just going to have to change a few things and pay attention to a couple of things whenever you're actually getting tight for the actual press to initiate.
What Rusty, coach at the Wichita Falls Athletic Club, likes to do is he likes to use a seat without a backing because you want your abs to do work during this lift. So, you're going to go ahead and get seated. The height is going to be normal height, right at forehead level. Some pin presses are at eyebrow, and some are at top of the head. You don't have anything to support your back, which is what you want because your abs are going to have to do a whole lot of work. But this is also a key difference whenever you're doing seated pin presses: where your feet are going to be. Coach Rusty likes to position his feet back closer to his hips than normal because he still wants to initiate a little bit of leg drive whenever he's starting his pin press.
So, you're seated nice and upright. Bar against your forehead. Your legs are back by you. You're actually pushing down into the ground. Big chest. Big breath. Tight abs. And it's that simple. Like, so you just have to change a few small things to get in a better position for a seated pin press.
So again, if you're at a gym that doesn't have the proper equipment to do standing pin presses and you're far enough into your programming to where you're going to have to add some heavier pressing, this is a good option if you have this equipment so you can do a seated pin press. I hope that helps.
Bibliographic references:
- Starting Strength. (2026). How to Do Seated Pin Presses [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/C4BjCb0FwKY?si=mYIXnZm5yQ2cxNII
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