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Bench press
The most-done and worst-done exercise in any gym. There's no mystery to it, but there are four details that separate pressing well from ending up with a sore shoulder.
What it works
- Pecs, which do most of the work
- Triceps, especially in the last stretch, when you straighten your elbows
- Front delts, the front of the shoulder
How to do it
- 1Lie down and set up
Eyes right under the bar, feet flat and firm on the floor. Your back isn't completely flat: there's a natural arch in your lower back and it stays there, neither exaggerated nor squashed against the bench.
- 2Pull your shoulder blades together
Squeeze your shoulder blades back and down, as if you wanted to tuck them into your back pockets. That gives you a stable base and it's what protects your shoulder; without it, your shoulder rolls forward on every rep.
- 3Grip and unrack the bar
Hands a little wider than your shoulders. Wrists straight, with the bar over the bone and not in your fingers. Bring the bar out until it's over your chest, not your face.
- 4Lower it under control
To your breastbone, roughly level with your nipples, with your elbows at about forty-five degrees from your body. Let the bar touch, or nearly, without bouncing.
- 5Press
Up and slightly back, finishing with the bar over your shoulders. Keep your shoulder blades squeezed until the set is over.
The mistakes you see most
- Flaring your elbows all the way. Elbows at ninety degrees, in a cross, is the fastest way to a sore shoulder. Forty-five degrees is the benchmark, although everyone has their own.
- Bouncing the bar off your chest. The bounce does the work of the hardest part for you. On top of that, it's not unusual to take a serious knock to the breastbone.
- Lifting your butt off the bench. It's cheating and puts your back at risk to move a weight you shouldn't. If you have to do it, take a plate off.
- Training alone with the bar over you. If you're going close to failure, either have someone spot you or set the safety bars at chest height. The bench press is one of the few exercises where getting pinned is a real problem.
Variations
- With dumbbells. More range, and each side works on its own, so a weak side can't hide. You move less weight, and that's normal.
- Incline. A bench at thirty or forty degrees loads the upper chest more. Careful not to go higher, because past that it's almost a shoulder press.
- Close grip. Hands at shoulder width: more triceps, and it usually feels better for people with shoulder discomfort.
- On a machine or Smith machine. The bar is guided, so you can go close to failure without a spotter. You lose the stabilizing work.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I bench?
There's no number that works for everyone: it depends on your weight, your height, your leverage and how long you've been training. What's useful isn't comparing yourself with anyone else, but with your own progress — and for that, knowing your estimated one-rep max is enough.
How many sets and reps?
To build muscle, most people do fine with three or four sets of six to twelve reps, leaving one or two reps in the tank on almost all of them. For strength, shorter sets with more weight.
My shoulder hurts when I do it. What should I do?
First, stop doing it with pain. Try a slightly narrower grip, a shorter range or switching to dumbbells, which let your wrists rotate on their own. If the pain continues, that's for a physical therapist to look at, not an article.
Do I have to touch my chest with the bar?
If your shoulder allows it with your shoulder blades squeezed, yes: full range is better. If you can't get there without your shoulder rolling forward, go as low as you can while keeping it in place.
And to keep track of what you lift
In the Reverfit Workout app every exercise comes with its animation, and you log the weight and reps set by set, with what you did last time right in front of you. Free and with no ads.
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