Spoto press and Larsen press
Two ways to make the bench harder without touching the weight on the bar — and what they cost.
A range, not a number — because the same variation costs one lifter 4% and another 14%. The app turns it into a single weight and remembers your coefficient.
Want the exact number?Set the pause and the eccentric, pick reps and RPE, get one weight — and the app learns your own coefficient.
Get the free appHow much weight for a Spoto press or a Larsen press?
A Spoto press is typically 88–96% of your competition bench and a Larsen press 87–96%. Both remove a source of free help: the Spoto stops an inch above the chest and kills the stretch reflex, while the Larsen takes the legs and the arch out of the press entirely.
What each variation removes
| Variation | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Competition bench | 100% | The reference |
| Spoto press | 88–96% | No chest contact, no rebound |
| Larsen press | 87–96% | No leg drive, flatter back |
| Larsen with a 2s pause | 83–93% | The two effects multiply |
| Both combined | 80–90% | Rarely programmed, very honest |
Two different problems, similar numbers
The Spoto press stops the bar an inch or two above the chest and presses back up from there. No contact means no stretch reflex and no chance to use the chest as a launchpad, so the press starts from a dead position in the weakest part of the range.
The Larsen press attacks something else: with the feet up on the bench, you lose leg drive and most of the arch. Range of motion increases and the press becomes purely upper body. For a lifter with a huge arch and aggressive leg drive, that can be worth 12% or more; for a flat bencher, almost nothing.
The two land in similar ranges but for opposite reasons, which means your own numbers on them can be very different from each other. A big arch lifter will find the Larsen much harder than the Spoto; a lifter who bounces the bar will find the opposite.
What moves your number
- How much of your bench comes from leg drive and arch (Larsen) versus the bounce off the chest (Spoto).
- Core stability: without leg drive, staying tight on the bench is its own skill.
- Where exactly you stop the bar on a Spoto — an inch and three inches are not the same lift.
- Whether you add a pause, which multiplies with the variation rather than adding to it.
How to find your own number
Three sessions and a bit of honesty are enough to replace the range with your own coefficient.
- Work up to a set of 3 on the Spoto or Larsen press and stop at RPE 8 — two reps left in the tank, honestly judged.
- Divide the weight you used by the weight you would have used for 3 reps @ RPE 8 on your competition bench. That ratio is your coefficient.
- Repeat it once or twice over a training block. If the number holds within a couple of percent, that is your number — use it instead of the range.
PRO What the app does with it
- Applies the pause and the eccentric on top of the variation, second by second — the first second costs the most, the following ones progressively less.
- Crosses it with the RPE chart, so you get the weight for 3 reps @ RPE 8 on that variation, not just a max.
- Learns your personal coefficient from a set you actually did, then remembers it for every future session.
- Works offline, in the gym, with the plates already worked out.
Stop guessing on your variation days
RPE Calculator for Android is free. The variation calculator — pause, tempo, deficit, boards — comes with the one-time Pro unlock. No subscription.
Get the free app Launching on Google Play — final testingFree download · Pro is a single one-time unlock · No subscription
Frequently asked questions
What is the point of a Spoto press?
It removes the chest bounce and forces you to press from the hardest position, which builds strength off the chest and exposes any dependence on the rebound.
Is the Larsen press harder than the close grip bench?
For most lifters they land in a similar range, but for opposite reasons. If your bench depends on a big arch and leg drive, the Larsen will be the harder of the two.
How do I program them with RPE?
Use the same RPE targets you use for your bench. Work out the max for the variation first, then read the RPE chart against that number.