Bench without the leg drive. Pure pressing power for a stronger lockout.
Let your elbows rest briefly on the floor, kill the bounce so it stays honest.
With your upper arms stopping on the floor each rep, the press starts from a dead pause in the mid-range, exactly where most bench presses go to die. The chest still drives the movement but the shortened range and killed bounce shift a heavy share of the work to the triceps at lockout. It earns its keep as a lockout builder and as a press that many lifters find friendlier on the shoulders than a full-range bench.
The floor cuts the range at the point your triceps touch down, removes the stretch reflex and the leg drive, and makes you press from a dead stop. That builds pure top-half pressing strength and exposes anyone who relies on the bounce.
Either is fine, the steps allow both. Straight legs remove any temptation to use leg drive, bent knees can feel more stable. Pick the one that keeps your back flat and your setup solid.
Let the triceps settle for a genuine beat, long enough that the bar is motionless, then press. A touch-and-go floor press is just a short bench press and wastes the dead-stop benefit.
