Bench press

Everyone loves the bench press. It’s the international hallmark of lifting weights — if you’ve ever mentioned to someone during a conversation that you like to The reputation of the bench press may precede it, but only barely. It is, for good reason, one of the most popular and versatile exercises you can do for Table of Contents • How to Do the Bench Press • Bench Press Variations • Bench Press Alternatives • Bench Press Tips • Benefits of the Bench Press • Muscles Worked by the Bench Press • Who Should Do the Bench Press • Common Bench Press Mistakes • FAQs Bench Press Video Guide Multiple IPF World Champion BarBend Training Editor, Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: [Related: The The bench press is for everyone, but certain athletes approach the movement differently. If you’re a bodybuilder or just Step 1 — Get Set Before you even initiate the press, you need to Coach’s Tip: Your legs and body should be rigid, and you should feel engaged and tense from head to toe. Step 2 — Brace and Unrack Establish Coach’s Tip: Avoid “pushing” the bar upward out of the hooks. You may inadvertently protract your shoulders, ruining your scapular pinch. Step 3 — Lower Under Control With the barbell directly over your shoulders, break at the elbows and lower it down toward your chest. The point of contact Aim to touch at the same point on every rep, and keep your elbows directly under the bar at all times as you descend. Coach’s Tip: The barbell should drift down and sl...

There are 6 primary foundational movements that must be trained in fitness - Push, Pull, Squat, Lunge, Hinge, and Rotation. All 6 are equally vital, but today we will just focus on push, and thus, bench press, as BENCH PRESS is the KING of PUSH. In order to excel in this essential movement pattern, it’s important to learn everything you can about it. As such, we've put together this complete bench press guide where we cover how to do the bench press (with right & wrong form cues), the inimitable benefits of benching and the muscles worked, the many variations of bench press (barbell and dumbbell chest presses) and how to program this principal functional strength movement into your routine. Table of Contents: • What is the bench press? • How to do the bench press correctly • Benefits of the bench press • Barbell vs dumbbells for bench press • Bench press muscles worked • 10 best barbell bench press variations • 8 best dumbbell bench press variations • Bench press programming tips WHAT IS A BENCH PRESS EXERCISE? The bench press, which is also referred to as a chest press, is an upper body exercise in which you press a barbell or dumbbells upward while lying on a weight training bench. The primary movers of the bench press are the pectoralis major, anterior deltoids and the triceps. The purpose of bench presses is to strengthen and increase the size of these muscles, as well as to improve stability for pushing movements. Note: The bench press is a powerful compound movement ...

Although deceptively difficult to excel at, Therefore, we’re laying out five bench press programs to help you build a bigger, stronger chest, as well as diving into some of the science behind sound program design. Best Bench Press Programs • Starting Strength • Block Periodization • 5/3/1 • Daily Undulating Periodization • Concurrent Starting Strength Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength is a great introductory strength training program designed to take advantage of a “young” training age. Being The Workout Starting Strength is a full-body, without adhering to classical periodization tenets that may be obtrusive to new trainees. Starting Strength Workout A: • • Bench Press: 3 x 5 • Deadlift: 1 x 5 Workout B: • Squat: 3 x 5 • • For example: Week 1 • Monday: Workout A • Wednesday: Workout B • Friday: Workout A Week 2 • Monday: Workout B • Wednesday: Workout A • Friday: Workout B The beauty of Starting Strength is in the simplicity. Warm up and complete the prescribed working sets as listed above. Each time you work out, Block Periodization A natural next step once newbie gains have been exhausted is to begin dabbling in periodization models. Periodization means that a structure behind set, repetition, and weight selection is in place to ensure you won’t get overwhelmed by increased workout difficulty that may outpace your The Workout One form of block periodization increases the weight lifted per session while decreasing the number of repetitions. This style requires a more exp...

Begin by lying flat on the bench, with your body in a natural and relaxed position. Make sure that you are not holding your shoulders in an awkward position. Be sure to have a natural spinal curve. You do not want to have your lower back flat on the bench, but you do not want to force it to curve too much either. Instead, opt for a comfortable and natural position. X Research source • You should have your feet flat on the ground, shoulder-width apart, and your shoulders touching the bench. • Do not lift on a "cushiony bench" if you are a heavy lifter. When the bar and plates weigh more than 200 pounds plus the weight of your upper body, your shoulders will disappear into the bench and cause neck strain. • Choose a proper bench that fits your shoulder width. A narrow bench is unstable and a wide bench prevents the upper arm from bending back. Put your arms straight out to either side of you, and then bend your elbows, bringing your hands up to touch the bar. This is where you should position your hands. They should be about shoulder-width apart. Use the smooth rings in the bar as a reference for even hand placement. X Research source • Where you position your hands will affect which muscle group you work most. Widen your grip slightly to increase the amount of pectoral muscles involved in this exercise, and bring your grip in slightly to increase your triceps involvement. For a standard bench press, opt for the normal grip. Begin with just the bar weight to warm up before h...

If your feet are not comfortably flat on the floor, use blocks or • Draw your shoulder blades back behind you to keep from pressing with rounded shoulders. • Grasp the barbell using an overhand grip, placing your thumbs on the outside of your closed fist. Your arms are slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and the angle of your upper arms is about 45 degrees to the body. • Remove the barbell from the rack, locking your elbows. (Don't move the bar in an arc from the rack directly to the chest position.) • Inhale while lowering the bar to your chest, at the nipple line. • Exhale as you press the bar above your chest, extending your arms. Don't watch the bar—focus on the ceiling. • Lower the bar so it is just above your chest. This is the starting position for the next bench press. • Sutton B. • Trombetti A, Reid KF, Hars M, et al. Osteoporos Int. 2016;27:463-71. doi:10.1007/s00198-015-3236-5 • National Council on Strength and Fitness. • Wolfley CN, DeFoor MT, Antosh IJ, Parada SA. Military Med. 2021;usaa422. doi:10.1093/milmed/usaa422 • Kuntz CR, Masi M, Lorenz D. Strength Cond J. 2014;36(5):96-102. doi:10.1519/SSC.0000000000000093 • Ronai P. ACSM's Health Fitness J. 2018;22(6):52-7. doi:10.1249/FIT.0000000000000432

Since then, I've spent a lot of years learning how to incorporate the correct muscle groups and focus on the proper execution of the movement itself. After learning how to improve my bench mechanics, not only did the movement become safer, but my numbers got a lot better. So, if you're ready to get bigger and stronger, watch the video. In it, I detail what I've learned from technique experts like Ben Esgro, Mike Zourdos, and USA Powerlifting coach Matt Gary so you, too, can bench like the pros. How to bench press Set Your Feet Although your foot placement isn't as crucial on the bench as it is for the deadlift or squat, it's still important. Your feet are the start of a strong base and are where you'll draw your power from. Try to keep your feet back toward your butt as far as you can while still keeping them flat on the ground. Depending on your height and body type, this is going to look a little different for everyone. The point, though, is to plant your feet firmly so you can generate power from the ground through your entire body. Position Yourself Under the Bar Like your foot placement, your back position is going to look unique to you based on your build and mechanics. Essentially, though, you should set up far enough under the bar that it's easy to unrack, but not so far under it that you hit the pegs on the way up. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to stay tight and protect your shoulders. Imagine trying to crush a grape between your shoulder blades, and push ...

• • • • The Bench Press can be a double-edged sword. It’s one of the best compound exercises to add into your workout, but it’s also an exercise that most people do wrong (including you). And hey, it’s not your fault because there are so many places in the lift that you can go wrong, especially if you’re using heavy bench press weight. Not to mention, most people are lifting way beyond their fitness level. One of my biggest concerns for you and my other readers is balancing the long-term safety of a movement as well as the risk-to-reward ratio of performing the lift. Despite the benefits of the Bench Press, there are plenty of things that can go wrong especially in the But this is assuming you aren’t performing the Bench Press with proper form and technique. The thing is that you WILL be performing it correctly because I’m going to teach you how to do it with perfect Bench Press form and proper execution. I’ve put together a Bench Press checklist that I’m going to go through step by step to ensure you nail each portion of this exercise. Not only will this checklist ensure you’re doing it right, but it’ll also help you with building strength in your bench. Let’s get started with the anatomy of the chest (pectoral) muscles. ANATOMY OF THE CHEST This breakdown of your Why? When you know EXACTLY which muscle is working, and when you have that strong mental image of the muscle working, you are going to perform better. Mindlessly moving heavy weights doesn’t do much. All elite l...

Whether your gym is uber luxe or stripped back and basic, there's one thing we can guarantee: somewhere inside Given it's versatility and convenience it's likely that the barbell bench press already plays a starring role in your weekly gym sessions, but if you're interested in going from lifting puny weights to real steel or if your training's plateaued and you're wondering whether there's a point to benching then we may be able to help. On the 'what's the point' question, Related Story • Chest Exercises and Workouts to Build Bigger Pecs On the question of how you can lift we more, we've sought some outside help. We got together with With MH's and Magee's help you too will be benching your own body weight in no time. How to Bench Press We understand that most of you will have been benching since you first walked into a gym, but everyone can do with brushing up their technique from time to time, right? So to make sure you're benching like a pro, we got Magee to explain his exact benching technique from the moment he lays eyes on a bench until he re-racks the barbell. This is how to bench press like a pro. Find the Right Bench Before you've even thought about lifting a weigh the first thing you need to do is fight the right bench to lift on. As Magee explains: "The wider the bench the safer it is for your shoulders. What you don't want is your shoulders hanging off the bench because your shoulders aren't protected, so I'd always try and find as wide a bench as possible." Wor...