How to Bench Press: Expert Guide to Proper Bench Press Form

Most individuals assume bench pressing is easy—simply lie down, seize the bar, and begin pushing, proper?

Incorrect.

Correct bench press kind is extra intricate than it seems, and even minor errors in your setup and execution can restrict your progress or, worse, trigger harm.

On this skilled information, you’ll learn to bench press with excellent method.

You’ll additionally uncover the way to heat up for the bench press, perceive the intricacies of bench press grip, learn to immediately enhance your bench press efficiency, and extra. 

Find out how to Carry out Correct Bench Press Kind

1. Set Up

Bench Press Grip

• Bench Press Grip Width: Many weightlifters tinker with their grip width on the bench press, considering it’ll subtly change which muscle groups you prepare. In actuality, it makes little distinction. The very best strategy is a medium grip, round 18-to-24 inches extensive, because it’s sometimes probably the most comfy and steady for lifting heavy weights safely.
• Bench Press Wrist Place: Wrist place for the bench press issues greater than most understand—get it incorrect, and also you’ll “leak” power that needs to be serving to raise the bar. To keep away from this, bend your wrists again barely, letting the bar relaxation within the base of your palms with out permitting them to fold again at sharp angles.

• Find out how to Grip the Bar: Wrap your fingers and thumbs across the bar and squeeze it as tightly as you possibly can. This grip prevents the bar from slipping out of your palms and likewise boosts efficiency.

2. Descend

3. Press

Find out how to Heat Up for the Bench Press

Working by way of a correct bench press heat up is important for acting at your finest. In accordance to research, warming up with heavy weights is one of the best ways to prime your physique to your “arduous” bench press units. 

Right here’s the protocol I like to recommend:

• Roughly estimate what weight you’re going to make use of for the bench press in your first set (that is your “arduous set” weight).
• Do 6 reps with about 50% of your arduous set weight and relaxation for a minute.
• Do 4 reps with about 70% of your arduous set weight and relaxation for a minute.

Then, start your arduous units.

Find out how to Enhance Your Bench Press: 5 Fast Ideas

1. Use the Proper Cues

• “Contact your chest to the ceiling”: Making an attempt to the touch the ceiling together with your chest retains your shoulders again and down and backbone arched and ensures your pecs do a lot of the work. 
• “Screw your toes into the ground”: Imagining screwing your toes into the ground creates rigidity in your legs which increases stability, rigidity, and steadiness.
• “Rip the bar aside”: Eager about ripping the barbell aside ensures your upper back stays engaged, offering a steady base to press off.

2. Use Leg Drive

Utilizing your legs to “drive” your physique up the bench as you press the burden benefits your efficiency in two methods:

1. It will increase lower-body stability
2. It facilitates a extra environment friendly bar path

Simply keep in mind, the purpose is to not push your hips as much as the ceiling, however to slip your physique towards the highest of the bench. Right here’s a diagram that can assist you visualize this:

To be taught extra about the way to maximize bench press leg drive, take a look at this text:

How to Use Leg Drive in the Bench Press to Build More Muscle

3. Squeeze the Bar

For a simple energy increase, grip the barbell as arduous as you possibly can, clench your jaw muscle groups, and push your tongue into the roof of your mouth. Several studies present that doing so boosts your energy and energy manufacturing. 

To be taught extra about this phenomenon, take a look at this text:

How to Use Remote Voluntary Contraction to Instantly Get Stronger

4. Use a Spotter

Having a spotter on the bench can increase the variety of reps you possibly can carry out and make you’re feeling extra assured in your skill to finish every set efficiently, which ought to assist efficiency over the long run.

5. Repair Your Bar Path

Research exhibits that many inexperienced persons battle with an inefficient bench press bar path, usually urgent the bar straight up and down.

This forces the entrance delts to work more durable to stabilize the burden and limits how a lot weight you raise. 

To press extra effectively: 

1. Begin every rep with the bar immediately over your shoulders.
2. Decrease the bar in a slight arc to your decrease chest.
3. Press the bar up and towards your throat.
4. End with the bar immediately over your shoulders. 

Right here’s the way it ought to look:

Advantages of the Bench Press

Higher Physique Hypertrophy

The bench press primarily trains the pecs, shoulders and triceps, however it additionally engages virtually each muscle group above the waist, which makes it extraordinarily efficient for gaining all-around higher physique mass. 

Power Acquire

It additionally lets you increase the load you raise in small increments, so you may make regular, manageable progress with out hitting plateaus or risking harm. 

Enhanced Athletic Efficiency

Research exhibits that the bench press boosts higher physique pushing energy, making it perfect for athletes who must throw, punch, jostle, or rapidly rise up off the bottom of their sport.

Muscle tissues Labored within the Bench Press

What Muscles Does Bench Press Work? An Evidence-Based Guide

The Greatest Bench Press Variations

1. Shut-Grip Barbell Bench Press

Whenever you slim your grip on the bar and hold your elbows near your ribs, you place extra of the load on the triceps and barely much less in your chest.

The close-grip bench press is only a common bench press carried out together with your palms a number of inches inside shoulder-width aside, or about 2-to-3 inches nearer than your regular grip. Aside from the grip modification, it is best to carry out the close-grip bench in precisely the identical method because the bench press.

2. Dumbbell Bench Press

The dumbbell bench press is much like the barbell bench press, besides you press one dumbbell in every hand as an alternative of a barbell. 

The 2 principal advantages of the dumbbell bench press are that it lets you enhance the range of motion past the usual barbell bench press and to make use of no matter wrist place feels extra comfy to you.

3. Incline Barbell Bench Press

The incline bench press works precisely the identical method because the barbell bench press, besides you lie on an incline bench as an alternative of a flat bench. 

When doing the incline bench press, the angle of incline within the bench needs to be 30-to-45 levels. The essential setup and motion of the incline bench press is simply as you realized for the common bench press, with a small exception: the bar ought to move by the chin and contact slightly below the collarbones to permit for a vertical bar path.

4. Reverse-Grip Barbell Bench Press

The reverse-grip bench press is much like the close-grip and incline bench press, in that it emphasizes the higher portion of your chest muscle. 

To do the reverse-grip bench press, flip your grip round on the bar (so your palms face you). Grip the bar in order that it crosses your palm diagonally, from the bottom of your index finger to the alternative fringe of your wrist. 

5. Decline Bench Press

The decline barbell bench press is in style amongst some individuals however I’m not a fan. Because of its lowered vary of movement, it’s simply less effective than incline and flat urgent. 

A standard argument made for doing decline presses is working the bottom portion of the pectoralis main, however there isn’t a lot proof that you should particularly prepare the “decrease” portion of the pecs (that are already skilled throughout the flat barbell bench press).

FAQ #1: Incline bench vs. Flat bench: What’s the distinction?

The principle distinction between the incline and flat barbell bench press is that the incline model emphasizes your “upper chest,” whereas the flat bench trains the mid and decrease pecs extra.

Since these workout routines complement one another, it’s a good suggestion to incorporate each in your routine to develop a fuller, extra balanced chest.

FAQ #2: Is the chest press the identical because the bench press?

Not precisely. Each workout routines prepare the identical main muscle groups—the pecs, front delts, and triceps—so the chest press is a viable various to the bench press.

That stated, analysis additionally exhibits that free-weight barbell presses have interaction extra stabilizer muscle groups than machine-based presses, which doubtless signifies that the flat barbell bench press is best for gaining all-around muscle than the chest press. 

For instance, a study revealed in The Journal of Power and Conditioning discovered that the free-weight bench press was superior to the Smith machine bench press for coaching the aspect delts:

Thus, if you wish to maximize general muscle development and construct practical energy, the flat barbell bench press is your only option. And if you happen to’re in search of a secure, easy train for gaining pec, shoulder, and triceps measurement, the chest press is very efficient. 

FAQ #3: Why is my bench not enhancing?

Increase Your Bench Press Max With 16 Science-Backed Techniques

FAQ #4: How a lot does a bench press bar weigh?

How Much Does a Barbell Weigh? A Comprehensive Guide

FAQ #5: Why do my arms damage from bench press?

In case your triceps really feel sore after bench pressing, it’s doubtless simply delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which is a standard a part of energy coaching.

Nevertheless, if you happen to really feel sharp ache in your biceps or elbows, there could also be a difficulty together with your kind. 

Benching with an excessively extensive grip can strain your biceps tendons, so narrowing your grip can ease biceps ache in some eventualities. 

Moreover, flaring your elbows too far out of your physique can enhance strain on the long head of the biceps, particularly throughout the reducing section of the raise. To keep away from this, tuck your elbows nearer to your sides—6-to-10 inches out of your ribs works nicely for many. 

If elbow ache is the problem, take a look at this text for steering on the way to repair it:

Have Elbow Pain? This Is Your 4-Step Guide to Fixing It

FAQ #6: How do you bench with one arm longer than the opposite?

Nevertheless, it’s often not a difficulty of arm size—it’s extra doubtless as a consequence of a strength imbalance. When one aspect of your physique is weaker, it struggles extra to complete every rep.

To appropriate this frequent difficulty, be sure to embody unilateral exercises (workout routines that prepare both sides of your physique independently) just like the dumbbell bench press in your routine. This helps even out energy variations since your robust aspect can’t make up to your weaker aspect.

Additionally, take note of your setup. In case your shoulders or grip is asymmetrical, it could create the phantasm of 1 arm being longer whereas benching.