Understanding the 90-90 Position: Foundation for Success

The 90-90 position gets its name from the two critical 90-degree angles your body creates during the exercise. Your hips maintain approximately 90 degrees of flexion while your knees also bend at roughly 90 degrees. This positioning isn’t arbitrary—it serves a crucial biomechanical purpose that sets this exercise apart from traditional dumbbell pressing movements.

When you place your feet flat against a wall or stack of plyo boxes, you’re creating a stable foundation that allows your nervous system to relax while maintaining optimal spinal positioning. This setup naturally encourages a neutral pelvis position, which is often the missing link in many people’s training programs.

Equipment Setup: What You’ll Need

The beauty of this exercise lies in its simplicity. You’ll need just a few pieces of equipment to get started. First, find a sturdy wall or stack plyo boxes that can support your feet. The key is having a flat, stable surface that won’t move when you press your feet against it. You’ll also need two dumbbells of appropriate weight—remember, you likely won’t be able to handle as much weight as you would in a traditional bench press due to the unique positioning demands.

Step-by-Step Technique Breakdown

Beginning with proper positioning is crucial for maximizing the benefits of this exercise. Lie on the ground with your feet flat against your chosen surface, ensuring your hips and knees both maintain those important 90-degree angles. Take a moment to focus on your pelvic position—this is where many people miss the mark.

Rather than allowing your lower back to arch naturally, actively tuck your pelvis underneath you, creating a neutral spine position. This might feel unusual at first, but it’s essential for the corrective benefits of the exercise. Once you’ve established this neutral pelvis position, engage your feet by “dragging” them down the wall while keeping them flat. This action activates your hamstrings and slightly lifts your glutes off the ground while maintaining your flat back position.

With your dumbbells in hand using a neutral grip—palms facing each other—extend both arms toward the ceiling to begin the movement. The alternating nature of this exercise means you’ll maintain one dumbbell in the extended position while lowering the other to tap the ground, then pressing it back up before switching sides.

The Neutral Grip Advantage

The neutral grip positioning offers several advantages over traditional pronated or supinated grips. This hand position tends to be more shoulder-friendly, especially for individuals with existing shoulder issues or mobility restrictions. The neutral grip also allows for a more natural pressing path and can help reduce stress on the shoulder joint while still providing excellent stimulation for the chest, shoulders, and triceps.

Muscle Activation and Benefits

This exercise targets the primary pushing muscles—chest, shoulders, and triceps—while simultaneously engaging your posterior chain through the unique foot positioning. The hamstring activation from the “dragging” action creates a full-body tension that enhances stability and core engagement throughout the movement.

The corrective benefits are particularly noteworthy for individuals struggling with anterior pelvic tilt, a common postural issue in today’s sedentary society. By training the body to maintain a neutral pelvis position while performing an upper body pressing movement, you’re essentially re-educating your movement patterns and building strength in the correct alignment.

Programming Recommendations

For most individuals, this exercise works best as part of a corrective or restorative training program rather than as a primary strength builder. Two to four sets of six to ten repetitions per side typically provides an excellent training stimulus while allowing for proper form maintenance throughout each set.

The alternating nature means you’ll perform six to ten reps with your right arm, then six to ten with your left, rather than counting total repetitions. This approach ensures balanced development and allows each side to work independently, which can help identify and address any strength imbalances.

Modifications and Progressions

If you notice your knees tend to fall outward during the exercise, consider placing a small ball, foam roller, or yoga block between your knees. Squeezing this object engages your adductors (inner thigh muscles) and can help improve your overall pelvic positioning while reducing external rotation at the hips.

For those working with heavier weights, having a training partner to hand you the dumbbells can be extremely helpful, as getting into position with heavy weights can be challenging and potentially unsafe when attempted alone.

When to Use This Exercise

This movement shines as part of a warm-up routine, during corrective exercise sessions, or as accessory work following your primary training. It’s particularly valuable for individuals who spend long hours sitting, athletes recovering from lower back issues, or anyone looking to improve their pressing mechanics while addressing postural concerns.

The 90-90 alternating neutral grip dumbbell floor press represents a perfect marriage of strength training and movement correction, offering a safe and effective way to build upper body strength while simultaneously addressing common postural dysfunctions that plague many modern lifestyles.