Bodyweight Svend Press

The Bodyweight Svend Press targets the shoulders and upper chest using body weight for resistance.

  1. Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Hold your hands together in front of your chest, palms pressed against each other.
  3. Extend your arms straight out in front of you, keeping your palms together.
  4. Slowly return to the starting position while maintaining pressure between your palms.

How to perform the Bodyweight Svend Press

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Bodyweight Svend Press using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your pectoralis major.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your pectoralis major rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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