The bench press is a fundamental exercise for building upper-body strength and muscle mass. It is widely recognized as one of the most effective barbell exercises for developing the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts alike have long relied on the bench press to enhance their upper body strength and aesthetics.
The Benefits of the Bench Press: Gaining Strength and Muscle Mass
One of the biggest advantages of the bench press is its ability to help gain upper-body strength and muscle mass. The bench press is a compound exercise that engages multiple muscle groups, making it an efficient way to target different areas of the upper body. With the ability to add progressively heavier weights, it provides a continuous challenge to the muscles, promoting growth and strength development.
The Bench Press Technique: A Comprehensive Guide
To perform the bench press effectively, it is crucial to master proper technique. The correct technique ensures optimal muscle activation, minimizes the risk of injury, and maximizes the benefits of the exercise. Start by lying flat on a bench with your feet firmly on the ground and your eyes aligned with the barbell. Grip the barbell with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and keep your wrists in a neutral position.
Tips for Improving Your Bench Press: Increase Your Strength and Avoid Injury
While the bench press is a highly effective exercise for building upper-body strength and muscle mass, it is important to perform it safely and with proper form to avoid injury. To increase your bench press strength, it is recommended to use progressive overload by gradually increasing the weight lifted over time. Other tips include incorporating accessory exercises to target the supporting muscle groups, and allowing sufficient rest and recovery between workouts.
This comprehensive guide provides you with all the information you need to perform the bench press effectively and achieve a larger, stronger, and more muscular chest.
- How to Do the Bench Press
- Bench Press Mistakes to Avoid
- Benefits of the Bench Press
- Muscles Worked by the Bench Press
- Who Should Do the Bench Press
- How to Program the Bench Press
- Bench Press Variations
- Bench Press Alternatives
- Frequently Asked Questions
How to Do the Bench Press
The bench press is a fundamental exercise that can benefit lifters of all levels, but it is important to use proper technique to avoid injury and maximize results. While some lifters may overemphasize the bench press, it can be a valuable tool for building muscle and strength when performed correctly.
To start, position yourself on the bench with your feet firmly planted on the ground and your shoulder blades retracted. Grip the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and slowly lower it to your chest while keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body. Push the bar back up explosively while maintaining tension in your chest muscles.
It is crucial to avoid common mistakes, such as arching your back excessively or flaring your elbows out, which can put unnecessary strain on your body. Gradually increase the weight you lift to avoid injury, and consider using a spotter or weightlifting equipment to assist you if needed.
Step 1 — Initial Setup Tips
Getting Started
The bench press is a foundational exercise for building upper body strength and muscle mass. To get started, lie flat on the bench with your head beneath the bar, and place your feet up on the bench. Grab the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip, and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Form Tip: Your grip width can play a role in targeting or emphasizing certain muscles during the bench press.
Maintaining Proper Form
Maintaining proper form is essential for maximizing benefits and minimizing the risk of injury. To ensure proper form, feel a strong connection to the bench through your entire body. Maintain your shoulder blades in a retracted position, and squeeze the bar with both hands to ensure tightness.
Foot Placement
Proper foot placement is also important for maximizing benefits and reducing injury risk. Place your feet on the ground with your knees bent. Shifting your heels towards the bench will allow for more lower body tension and force production.
Form Tip: Begin training with a shoulder-width grip to build muscle coordination and reduce joint strain. Implement some slight changes in your grip as you become more experienced.
Step 2 — Lift Off From Rack
Creating Tension and Lifting the Barbell
To properly unrack the barbell, the first step is to actively press your feet into the ground, trying to get your heels flat on the floor. This creates tension throughout your lower body, providing a solid foundation for the lift. With your feet in position, take a deep breath and hold it to create intra-abdominal pressure. This helps stabilize your spine and protect your lower back.
With your body in the correct position, straighten your arms to lift the barbell off the rack. It’s important to make sure the barbell is positioned directly above your shoulders with your arms locked out. This ensures that the weight is properly balanced and that you’re in a good starting position for the exercise.
Avoiding Shoulder Blade Protraction
When lifting the barbell off the rack, it’s crucial to avoid pushing the bar upward out of the hooks. This can cause your shoulder blades to protract, putting your shoulder joints into a weaker position. To avoid this, make sure the bar is set at a height that allows your arms to remain only slightly bent before unracking.
Additionally, the rack position should be adjusted based on your arm length. Those with longer arms should use a higher rack position, while those with shorter arms should use a lower rack position. This ensures that your body is properly aligned during the exercise and that you can maintain the correct form throughout the movement.
Step 3 – Descend with Control
As the barbell is directly over your shoulders, break at the elbows and begin lowering the bar towards your mid-chest. Tuck your elbows slightly towards your feet, and make sure to keep your forearms vertical. While holding your breath at the bottom, avoid letting your forearms collapse towards your head or feet. Each rep should touch the bar to the same point on your chest.
Form Tip: When lowering the bar, it’s important to remember that it should move down and slightly away from your shoulder level. Do not try to bring the bar down in a straight line to your upper chest. This can increase joint strain and decrease power output. Instead, aim to perform a very slight arc when descending the bar.
Step 4 of the Bench Press: Press to Lockout
When the barbell touches your chest, you should briefly pause before driving it back up towards the starting position. This step is known as the press to lockout. To perform this step correctly, it’s essential to release your breath as you press up, and keep your butt in contact with the bench. Additionally, it’s important to drive into the floor with your feet, which will engage your lower body muscles and help you lift heavier loads.
When pressing up, the barbell should move up and back towards your head. Your shoulders, elbows, and wrists should end up in vertical alignment, which is referred to as being “stacked,” at the completion of the rep. By mastering the press to lockout, you’ll be able to lift heavier weights and increase your overall strength.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Doing the Bench Press
The bench press is a popular exercise, but many people make mistakes that can hinder their progress and potentially cause injury. Here are some common errors to avoid in order to get better results more efficiently.
No Upper Back Tightness
Keeping your upper back tight is crucial for a safe and effective bench press. To achieve this, maintain retracted scapulae (shoulder blades) throughout the entire set. This will activate the muscles of the upper back, such as the traps, rear delts, and rhomboids, which work with the chest and triceps to transition smoothly and powerfully into the press.
To avoid this mistake, make sure to “puff up” your chest prior to gripping the bar to adequately activate your scapulae.
No Leg Drive
Many people believe that lifting their feet off the ground during a bench press will provide added benefits. However, this actually decreases stability and hinders the ability to lift heavier weights, which can increase the risk of injury. To maximize stability, set your feet closer under your hips and maintain steady foot pressure into the floor.
Driving your feet into the floor will also increase overall stability, much like how a table with four legs on the ground is more stable than a table with only three.
Weak Wrists
Having a firm grip and strong wrists is often overlooked in the bench press. Neglecting to properly stack your wrists creates an unstable wrist position and a weaker grip. To avoid this mistake, vertically stack your joints under the bar by pressing your thumb back into the bar and taking a firm grip without bending your wrist backwards. This will create a stronger overall position to lift from.
Benefits of the Bench Press: The Ultimate Upper Body Workout
The bench press is the king of upper body exercises for a reason. It offers a multitude of benefits that can help you achieve your fitness goals more efficiently than any other exercise.
Maximizing Chest Strength and Growth: Build a Bigger, Stronger Chest
One of the most significant benefits of the bench press is its ability to activate and strengthen the entire chest musculature. Research has shown that the bench press maximizes chest activation, making it a must-have in any program focused on building muscle and getting stronger.
Time Efficient: Get More Done in Less Time
The bench press is a time-efficient exercise that targets multiple muscle groups at once. Its high level of muscle activation and engagement of multiple muscles make it an ideal choice for anyone looking to make the most out of their limited training time. If you want an exercise that targets several muscle groups simultaneously, the bench press is the way to go.
Muscles Worked by the Bench Press
The bench press is a foundational movement for beginners and a reliable exercise for experienced lifters looking to maximize strength and muscle. It works multiple muscle groups on the upper body, making it an effective exercise for overall upper body strength.
Pectoralis Major
The pectoralis major is the main “chest” muscle and has two heads, the sternal (mid and lower chest) and the clavicular (upper). Both heads are active during the bench press, as the primary function of the pectoralis major is to adduct the shoulder in the transverse plane – bring the elbows in closer to one another.
Anterior Delts
The entire shoulder muscle is recruited during the bench press, but the anterior (front) head to the deltoid is most prominently recruited during the exercise. The anterior deltoid’s primary function is to raise your arm up toward your head, as performed during the bench press motion.
Triceps Brachii
The triceps brachii is responsible for extending the elbow and taking the arm from a bent to straightened position. During the bench press, the triceps are most involved during the lockout portion of the exercise.
Latissimus Dorsi
The latissimus dorsi, one of the largest muscles of the back, brings the shoulder joint into a neutral position. When your shoulder is in a stretched position at the bottom of the bench press and your upper arm is “behind” your back, your lats help to bring your arms back in line with your torso to resume the press.
Upper Back
The muscles of the upper back – the trapezius, rear deltoids, and rhomboids – work together to support shoulder stability during the bench press and allow a full range of motion at the shoulder joint in both the bottom and top positions. The upper back muscles are essential for proper form and preventing injury during the bench press.
Who Can Benefit From the Bench Press?
The bench press is an exercise that can be beneficial for people of all fitness levels and goals. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned athlete, incorporating the bench press into your workout routine can help you improve your overall strength and performance.
Training for Strength
For those looking to increase their strength, the bench press is a movement that requires repetition and practice. Competitive powerlifters who need to lift maximum weight in the bench press, for example, should prioritize this exercise in their training to see the best results and improve their strength in this specific movement.
Training for Muscle
The bench press is also an effective exercise for building muscle. Its ability to recruit multiple muscles, relatively long range of motion, and overall muscle-building stimulus make it a unique and significant muscular stress compared to other upper body exercises. Incorporating the bench press frequently into your workouts can help you increase your muscularity.
Training for Sport
Athletes in nearly any sport can benefit from building power, strength, and speed throughout their upper body, and the bench press is often incorporated into training programs for sports with high physical demands, such as football or rugby. By improving the pushing power of the chest, shoulders, and arms, athletes can better meet the demands of their sport.
Programming the Bench Press: How to Optimize Your Workouts
The bench press is a versatile exercise that can be programmed with a variety of set and rep schemes. To maximize the benefits of this movement, it’s important to perform the bench press early in your workout, when your body is minimally fatigued and focused.
Maximizing Strength
If your goal is to maximize strength, focus on heavy weights and low repetitions. Start with four to six sets in the three to six rep range, using a weight that leaves you with at least one rep left “in the tank” to avoid reaching muscular failure. Rest for three to five minutes between sets to lift with maximum effort.
Building Muscle
For those who want to build a bigger chest, working with moderate weights and moderate repetitions is the way to go. Aim for three to four sets in the six to 12 rep range to increase training volume, which is beneficial for muscle building. This also allows you to develop your bench press technique without excessive fatigue from heavier weights.
Explosive Power and Speed
To build explosive power and speed, use a submaximal weight that can be moved at fast speeds while maintaining that speed during each rep of each set. Aim for six to eight sets of two to five reps, using a weight that does not push you close to muscular failure. This method should be a staple for athletes or those training for sport.
It’s important to note that performing the bench press for higher repetitions (12 to 20 or more) is more appropriate for dumbbell or machine variations done later in the workout. This allows you to maximize the muscle-recruitment and heavier loading benefits of the standard barbell bench press when you are fresh at the start of your training.
Bench Press Variations: A Comprehensive Guide
If you’re just starting your weightlifting journey or have joint issues that prevent barbell training, don’t worry. There are effective bench press progressions and variations that can help you train the associated muscles safely and progressively.
Bodyweight Push-up: The Fundamental Exercise
One of the most fundamental bodyweight exercises is the push-up, which you can perform on your hands and toes while keeping your body in a straight line. You can also start on your knees or perform elevated push-ups by placing your hands on a bench or plyo box.
Resistance Band Push-up: The Added Challenge
Using a resistance band during push-ups increases the challenge to your chest, shoulders, and triceps while also creating a high level of upper pec activation. The band adds resistance throughout the entire range of motion, increasing intensity as it stretches, and minimizes joint strain.
Weighted Push-up: More Resistance, More Control
To increase the resistance of basic push-ups, wear a weighted vest, a loaded backpack, or balance a weight plate on your mid-to-lower back. Maintaining a controlled tempo throughout each rep not only ensures that the weight stays in place but also increases the overall time under tension.
Machine Chest Press: Mimicking the Bench Press
Using a chest press machine at the gym can challenge your muscles in a way that’s similar to a bench press, as you can add a greater amount of load. It’s crucial to use a pronated (palms down) grip to mimic the grip used in the bench press and recruit muscles in a similar way.
Dumbbell Bench Press: Targeting Each Side Individually
The dumbbell bench press is a great variation that allows you to work each side of your body individually. As you perform the exercise, focus on maintaining proper form and control while engaging your core.
Incline Bench Press: Focusing on the Upper Chest
An incline bench press is an excellent variation that focuses on your upper chest while also engaging your shoulders and triceps. By adjusting the angle of the bench, you can increase or decrease the difficulty of the exercise.
Decline Bench Press: Targeting the Lower Chest
A decline bench press targets your lower chest while also engaging your triceps and shoulders. It involves lying on a bench with your feet higher than your head, which increases the difficulty of the exercise.
Close-Grip Bench Press: Activating the Triceps
A close-grip bench press involves placing your hands closer together than in a regular bench press. This variation increases the activation of your triceps, making it a great exercise for strengthening and building muscle in that area.
Alternatives to the Bench Press: Enhance Your Strength Training Regimen
As one of the most popular strength-training exercises, the bench press has a range of benefits, but it’s not the only exercise that can provide the same results. Fortunately, there are a few related exercises that can support the muscles involved in the bench press, enhance your strength development and deliver additional benefits.
Floor Press: A Great Partial-Range Movement
The floor press is an exercise that does not require a bench, and instead, is performed on the floor. This exercise creates a partial range of motion, which can be beneficial to lifters who experience shoulder pain in the lowest range of motion of the bench press when the bar touches the chest. The floor press allows you to take your elbows to the floor, making it a safer alternative.
Barbell Floor Press: An Effective Choice for Lockout Strength
By focusing on the upper half of the range of motion, the barbell floor press places more emphasis on triceps recruitment, as the triceps are significantly involved in that portion of the movement. This makes the exercise an effective choice for lifters who need to improve lockout strength in the full bench press.
Pin Press: Perfect for Building Lockout Strength
The pin press is another exercise that emphasizes lockout strength in the top position by using partial range of motion. Lifters can load as much as 10-30% of the weight normally lifted on the full bench press, making it a great exercise for building strength in the lockout position.
Bench Pin Press: An Effective Tool for Muscle Support
The bench pin press is a variation of the pin press exercise that allows you to come to a complete dead stop without at the bottom, resting on the pins instead of supporting the weight with your muscles or joints. This effectively avoids adding extra pressure at the bottom of the standard bench press and can be used as an effective tool for building overall muscle support.
Smith Machine Bench Press: A Great Alternative for Joint Pain
The Smith machine bench press is nearly identical to performing a barbell bench press, but due to the machine’s design and limited recruitment of stabilizing muscles, the weight used in the Smith machine will not directly carryover to the weight used with a barbell. However, the Smith machine can be a useful tool if you experience any minor joint pains that may be aggravated when performing the free weight version, since the bar path is set in place, allowing for a smoother transition of the movement.
FAQs: Bench Press
Q: What should I do if I feel pain in my shoulders during the bench press?
A: If you experience pain in your shoulders during the bench press, it’s essential to address it with a medical professional and temporarily stop performing the exercise until you have an accurate diagnosis. In most cases, shoulder pain during the bench press is due to a breakdown in technique, incorrect setup, scapular instability, excessive load, or excessive volume. Reviewing each of these parameters is essential to identify and address the root cause of the issue. In some cases, switching to the floor press instead of the barbell flat bench press may also be beneficial.
Q: How many bench press variations should I perform in a workout?
A: The number of bench press variations you should perform in a workout depends on your training level and goals. Beginner lifters developing their base of strength and muscle can benefit from focusing only on the classic barbell bench press without any similar movements. This exercise recruits a wide range of body parts and puts them under significant muscular stress. Experienced lifters training for muscular size may benefit from incorporating more variety into their overall program while keeping the bench press as part of their routine. If you are focused on increasing your bench press strength, it’s essential to keep the exercise highly featured in your workout.
References
- Barnett C, Kippers V, Turner P. Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles. J Strength Condit Res. 1995;9(4):222–7.
- Schick EE, Coburn JW, Brown LE, et al. A comparison of muscle activation between a Smith machine and free weight bench press. J strength Cond Res. 2010;24(3):779-784. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181cc2237.
- Alberton CL, Lima CS, Moraes AC De. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKLOAD AND NEUROMUSCULAR ACTIVITY IN THE BENCH PRESS EXERCISE. 2013;17(1):1-6.
- Wilson GJ, Elliott BC, Kerr GK. Bar path profile characteristics for maximal and submaximal loads in the bench press. International Journal of Sport Biomechanics; 5: 390-402. 1989
- Schoenfeld BJ, Contreras B, Krieger J, et al. Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(1):94-103. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764
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