LiftonicBarbell basics · Part 3 of 8
How to bench press
Pin your shoulder blades back and down, lower the bar to your lower chest with elbows at about 45 to 70 degrees, and press it back over your shoulders. Setup and safety matter more here than on any other lift.
What the bench press trains
The bench press works the chest, the front of the shoulders and the triceps. It is the upper body lift you can load the heaviest, and it pairs naturally with the overhead press, which trains the same muscles at a different angle.
Setting up on the bench
- Set the safeties. In a rack, set the safety arms just below your chest height when you're arched on the bench, so a missed rep lands on them, not on you.
- Lie down with your eyes under the bar. That puts the bar far enough from the hooks to clear them as you press, but close enough to unrack easily.
- Grip. Hands a little wider than shoulder-width, so your forearms are vertical when the bar touches your chest. Wrap your thumbs around the bar; never use a thumbless grip.
- Set your shoulder blades. Pinch them together and pull them down toward your back pockets. Keep them there for the whole set.
- Plant your feet. Feet flat on the floor, about as wide as is comfortable, slightly behind your knees if you can. Your upper back and glutes stay on the bench.
- Arch, a little. Squeezing the shoulder blades creates a natural arch in the upper back. That's all a beginner needs.
Doing the rep
- Unrack with straight arms and bring the bar over your shoulders. Pause there for a moment.
- Breathe in and lower the bar under control to your lower chest, around the bottom of the breastbone. Elbows sit at roughly 45 to 70 degrees from your torso, not flared straight out to the sides.
- Touch, don't bounce. Touch the chest lightly, then press.
- Press up and slightly back toward your shoulders. The bar path is a gentle curve, finishing over the shoulders where it started.
- Keep your feet driving into the floor and your butt on the bench throughout.
Useful cues
- "Bend the bar": try to snap it in half with your grip. It locks the shoulders in place.
- "Push yourself into the bench": rather than pushing the bar away from you.
- "Leg drive": push your feet into the floor and slightly toward your head, keeping your glutes down.
Common mistakes and fixes
- Flared elbows at 90 degrees put stress on the shoulders. Tuck them a little and touch lower on the chest.
- Bouncing off the chest. It moves more weight but hides weakness and can hurt. Make a light touch the standard.
- Butt lifting off the bench. Move your feet closer to your head or lower the weight.
- Wrists bent back. Let the bar sit low in the palm, over the forearm bones, not near the fingers.
- Losing the shoulder blades partway through the set. Re-set them before each set and keep the bar path consistent.
Benching safely
The bench press is the one barbell lift where a missed rep can trap you, so take setup seriously. Bench inside a rack with safeties, or ask someone to spot you. If you train alone without safeties, don't use collars, so you can tip the plates off one side at a time if you get stuck. Never bench with a thumbless grip.
Sets, reps and progress
Bench strength grows more slowly than leg strength. Start with 3 sets of 5, and add 1 to 2.5 kg (2.5 to 5 lb) per session. Small plates make the difference here: a 2.5 kg jump on a 40 kg bench is a 6 percent increase, which won't keep working for long. See progressive overload for microloading and what to do when you stall.
These guides are general education, not medical advice. If a lift causes pain, stop and talk to a qualified professional.
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