Bench Press (Barbell)

The main upper body pressing lift. More technical than it looks.

Chest
Barbell
Weight and reps

What it works

Chest primarily, with the triceps and front shoulders taking a substantial share. Your upper back, glutes and legs all work to hold a stable platform, which is why a good bench press involves far more of you than your arms.

Setup

Lie back so your eyes are directly under the bar.
Set your grip so that at the bottom of the rep your forearms are vertical. For most people that is somewhere between shoulder width and a hand span wider.
Pull your shoulder blades back and down and hold them there. Think about pinching something between them and tucking them into your back pockets.
Plant your feet flat and pull them back slightly so you can push into the floor. A small natural arch in your lower back is correct and your backside stays on the bench.
Unrack by pulling the bar out rather than pressing it up, so you do not lose your shoulder position.

The movement

Take a breath and hold it. Brace your trunk.
Lower the bar under control to your lower chest, roughly at the base of your sternum. Your elbows should be tucked to about 45 to 70 degrees from your body, not flared straight out to the sides.
Touch your chest lightly. Do not bounce and do not sink the bar into you.
Press back up and slightly towards your head, so the bar finishes over your shoulders. The bar path is a shallow curve, not a straight vertical line.
Push your feet into the floor as you press. Lock out, breathe, and reset for the next rep.

Common mistakes

Losing the shoulder blades: if your shoulders roll forward, you lose your base and put the joint in a poor position. Reset them between reps if you have to.
Flaring the elbows to 90 degrees: hard on the shoulders and mechanically worse. Keep them tucked.
Bouncing the bar off the chest: you are borrowing from the hardest part of the lift and risking a rib. Touch and press.
Backside coming off the bench: an arch through your upper back is fine. Lifting your hips to shorten the range of motion is a different lift.
Wrists bent back: stack the bar over your forearm bones, low in the palm, with a straight wrist.

Failing a rep

Use a spotter, safety bars, or do not use collars so you can tip the plates off one side. Never bench heavy over an open collar with no spotter and no safeties. Rolling a stuck bar down your torso to your hips works but is unpleasant and should be a last resort you have practised.

Variations and alternatives

The incline bench press shifts more work to the upper chest and front shoulders. The push up trains the same pattern with your bodyweight and is far kinder to the shoulders. The chest dip covers a similar range with a different angle. Dumbbell pressing allows a longer range of motion and lets each side work independently.

If a movement causes pain rather than ordinary training effort, stop and speak to a qualified professional. Programming context for this lift is in how training programs are built.