Guillotine Press – One of the Most Effective Exercises for Developing Powerful Chest Muscles. Why is that? I’ll explain it to you today.
Guillotine Press: Why is it Extremely Effective?
The Guillotine Press is a variation of the bench press with one small difference: instead of lowering the barbell to your chest (at the nipple level, for example), you lower it toward your neck.
This is where the name “Guillotine” comes from.
But why would you do that and lower the bar to your throat? It seems strange, doesn’t it?
Yes, everyone thought so until one scientist, writer, fitness coach, and pioneer in the world of “smart bodybuilding”—Bret Contreras—analyzed the electrical activity of our muscles during various exercises using electromyography (EMG).
What does that mean in plain language? It means that Bret obtained data on the activation and involvement of our muscles depending on the technique and other factors in performing exercises.
In short, we now have the ability to select exercises based on their maximum effectiveness.
And that’s really cool because for a long time it was believed that to build your chest, you had to perform the classic bench press.
But Bret Contreras proved through electromyography that the classic bench press on a flat bench is one of the least effective exercises for developing chest muscles.
Quite the twist.
Additionally, Bret discovered that simply shifting the vertical load vector—i.e., moving the barbell’s path from the nipple level to the neck—makes chest muscle involvement several times more effective.
This is how he demonstrated the effectiveness of the Guillotine Press.
Guillotine Press
The Guillotine Press, or Guillotine Barbell Press, is an exercise invented by one of the greatest trainers, Vince Gironda.
Among his students was none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Before we discuss the technique of performing this exercise, let’s recall the anatomy of the chest muscles.
Here is the anatomy of the chest muscles:
We can see that the chest muscles consist of:
- Pectoralis Major:
- This muscle brings the arm toward the torso, rotates it inward (pronation), and the part attached to the clavicle helps to flex the arm, also playing a role in pulling the body upward when climbing.
- Pectoralis Minor:
- When contracted, this muscle pulls the scapula forward and downward.
- Serratus Anterior:
- Along with the rhomboid muscle, which also attaches to the medial edge of the scapula, the serratus anterior forms a wide muscular loop that encircles the torso and presses the scapula against it.
The pectoral muscles are unique in nature because they attach to the sternum and clavicles at different angles.
Visually, you can see the shape of a “T” when you look at their attachment points.
This is why they need to be trained at different angles to maximize the engagement of all the muscle fibers in the chest.
But the Guillotine Press is a unique exercise because it can engage almost the entire chest muscle group, and it does so very effectively.
The fact is, when studying the electrical activity of muscles using EMG (electromyography), it was found that the Guillotine Press is only 2-3% less effective for the UPPER CHEST than the flat bench dumbbell press, but for the middle and lower chest, it was proven to be the best exercise.
Moreover, Bret Contreras studied muscle fiber engagement specifically in terms of muscle growth, not strength growth, which is particularly relevant to us.
Guillotine Press: Technique
I’ve created two illustrative images for you to show how I perform the Guillotine-style press.
The difference between these two variations lies only in the position of the legs.
- In the first variation, we keep our feet on the floor.
- In the second variation, our feet are on the bench.
The advantage of placing your feet on the bench (or crossed above) is that it makes it EASIER TO CONTROL THE ABSENCE OF A “BRIDGE” IN THE LOWER BACK.
When there is no “bridge” in the lower back, our chest muscles receive a more targeted load, which allows for additional engagement.
Here’s how the Guillotine Press is performed in practice:
- Starting Position: Grip the barbell with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width.
- Grip: You can use an open grip if you’re an experienced athlete. For beginners, I recommend using a closed grip.
- Remove the Arch: Press your back firmly against the bench! You can additionally place your feet on the bench (as shown in the image below) to isolate the chest muscles. This will allow you to lift a lighter weight, but the load will be directed purely to the chest muscles, rather than being spread across the legs, front delts, triceps, and back.
- Begin Lowering the Barbell: Lower the bar strictly vertically above your neck, taking a deep breath as you lower it.
- Lower the Bar: Bring the bar down to a distance of 3-5 cm from your neck, feeling the tension and stretch in your chest muscles. You can also pause in this position for 1 second.
- Press the Bar Up: Then, with a powerful motion, press the barbell up above your neck while exhaling. Important: Do not fully straighten your elbows to keep the load on your chest muscles and prevent it from shifting to your elbow joints.
- Squeeze Your Chest Muscles: At the top of the movement, squeeze your chest muscles, applying peak contraction.
- Lower the Bar Again: Slowly lower the barbell back down to your neck, FEELING HOW YOUR CHEST MUSCLES CONTRACT AT EVERY POINT OF THE MOVEMENT! Simultaneously, inhale.
- Complete the Repetitions: Perform the number of repetitions prescribed in your program.
Important: Imagine that your arms, from the elbows to the shoulders, are just a connecting link, and your arms end at the elbows. PUSH WITH YOUR ELBOWS, NOT YOUR HANDS! This will focus the load on your chest muscles, relieving the front delts and triceps.
By the way, as promised, here’s the setup for performing the Guillotine Press with your feet on the bench to make it easier to control the arch in your lower back.
Guillotine Barbell Press: Conclusions
Let’s summarize everything I’ve discussed today:
- The Guillotine Press is one of the most effective exercises for chest growth, based on data obtained by Bret Contreras from EMG studies.
- The Guillotine Press effectively engages all parts of the chest muscles, only slightly losing out in training the upper chest to the incline dumbbell press.
- Placing your feet on the bench can help you better control the absence of an arch in your lower back.
That’s all for today, friends. Be sure to incorporate this exercise into your workouts, and your chest muscles will grow like never before.
