How to Bench Press – Benefits, Variations, Common Mistakes

Introduction

The Bench Press is one of the foundational and compound exercise along with deadlifts and squats to include in your training program

This article will give details on how to perform the traditional barbell bench press as well as dumbbell bench press and how it can increase upper body strength

How to Barbell Bench Press with Proper Form

Step 1 —  The Setup

• Starting Position: Lie on a flat bench with your feet flat firmly planted on the floor and eyes facing directly at the bar
• Grab the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder width with your wrist and knuckles facing the ceiling

Step 2 — Shoulder blades

• Retract your shoulder blades down and back, extending your chest out creating a small arch in your upper back

Step 3 — Unrack the bar

• Squeeze glute muscles, take a deep breath and unrack the bar
• Bring the bar slightly forward so that it is at shoulder level

Step 4 — Lower the bar

• Lower the bar, ensuring elbows are not flared out, towards lower chest (or nipple line)

Step 5 — The Push

• Once bar has touched lower chest, squeeze your chest muscles to push the bar back up to starting position

How to Dumbbell Bench Press with Proper Form

Dumbbells can be used as a substitute to the traditional barbell bench press if you don’t have access to a barbell bench press, or you just prefer using dumbbells over barbells

Dumbbells allow a greater range of motion and can help out with any muscle imbalances, but more stability is required if using more weight.

You can find the best dumbbells here

Step 1 – The Setup

• Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit on a bench
• Kick the dumbbells up one at a time while rolling back to lie on the flat bench
• Dumbbells should now be at lower chest, with feet flat on the ground firmly

Step 2 – Shoulder blades

• Keep your shoulder blades down and back, extending chest out creating a small arch in upper back

Step 3 – Elbow Position

• Keep elbows slightly tucked in and not flared out

Step 4 – The Push

• Squeeze glute muscles and chest to push dumbbells up bringing them closer together but don’t allow them to touch each other

Step 5 – Lower the dumbbells

• Lower the dumbbells slowly, controlling the eccentric portion (imagine you are pulling the weights down), back to starting position

Muscles worked by a bench press

The main muscle worked in a bench press is the pectoral muscles with some assistance from the shoulders and triceps.

Benefits of Bench Press

What is a bench press good for?

The bench press is an excellent exercise for building muscle strength in your muscles because it targets your nervous system as well as your muscular system. It improves upper body strength. The exercise is bilateral, meaning both hands must be engaged, which allows you to work with much more heavy weights. The combination, bilateral, and high loading potential is essential to gaining the best strength possible.

Bench Press Variations

There are several bench press variations, with each bench press variation emphasising different muscle groups.

Incline Bench Press

The Incline Bench Press emphasises the upper part of your chest muscles and based on a study, a 30–45-degree bench angle is best for targeting the upper chest.

• Set your bench at preferred angle (within 30-45 degrees). Ensure the bench is secured and stable
• Starting Position: Lay back on the bench with your head, shoulders and hips in contact with the bench
• Grab the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width, with your wrist and knuckles facing the ceiling
• Keep shoulder blades down and back, creating a small arch in your upper back and contract your glutes
• Take a deep breath and lift bar off the rack. The bar should be above the chest with the arms fully extended
• Lower the bar towards upper chest and squeeze armpits and chest to push bar back up
• Repeat until you’ve performed the prescribed number of reps and sets while maintaining good from throughout each rep

TIP: Keep elbows slightly tucked in when lowering the bar.

Decline Bench Press

The Decline Bench Press emphasises the lower part of your chest muscles and uses a decline angle of 15-30 degrees.

• Set your bench at the desired angle (15-30 degrees)
• Starting Position: Lay back on the bench with your head lower than your hips and feet firmly planted on the floor.
• Grab the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width, with your wrist and knuckles facing the ceiling
• Keep shoulder blades down and back, and contract your glutes
• Brace by taking a deep breath and lift the bar off the rack
• Lower the bar slowly towards your lower chest and squeeze chest muscles to push bar back up

Repeat until you’ve performed the prescribed number of reps and sets while maintaining good from throughout each rep

Close Grip/Narrow Grip Bench Press

A close grip or narrow grip width bench press form allows you to target more of the triceps, mainly the lateral and medial head.

While there may be some activation of the chest, a narrower grip width will mainly place more tension on the triceps

To perform this exercise, lay on flat bench like in a normal bench press

• Next, grab the bar with an overhand grip and close grip, with your wrist and knuckles facing the ceiling
• Brace by taking a deep breath and lift the bar off the rack
• Lower the bar slowly until bar touches lower chest and explosively push the bar back up using your triceps

Bench Press Machines

Bench Press Machines are a great substitution to using free weights. Machines allow more stability and safety, and you can progressively overload more safely.

Examples of bench press machines include Plate Loaded Chest Press Machine, Converging Chest Press and chest fly/pec deck machines.

These machines can target the upper, mid, and lower chest muscles depending on the angle of the bench

Smith Machine Bench Press

More people have started using Smith Machine for various exercises, such as squats, bench press, and overhead press

Using a Smith Machine to Bench Press allows you to train safely and requires less stability.

Floor Bench press

A Floor Press or Floor Bench Press is not a common exercise but if you don’t have access to a bench, you can always use the floor! (Yes, you read that right)

A floor press may seem odd, but it is similar to the regular bench press

To perform this exercise, lay flat on the floor with your knees bent

• Keep your head, shoulders, and hips in contact with the floor
• Just like a regular bench press, keep your shoulder blades down and back, contract your glutes
• Lift the bar off the rack and lower the bar towards your chest
• Push bar back up by squeezing chest while keeping the shoulder blades down and back

The main limitation of this exercise is that you may not get enough extension of the elbows, reducing the range of motion

How to Increase Your Bench Press at the Beginner Level

It’ll take practice to get better. It is important that you develop your technique and form before moving to lift heavier weights.

The standard barbell weights 20kg or around 45lb. Start with a standard barbell and increase the wight on the barbell over time.

Increase the weight in smaller increments such as 5kg (around 10lb) (or even smaller) instead of heavier weights to reduce the risk of injury and to lift with good form

Common Bench Press Mistakes

Not setting your shoulder blades

This is probably the most common mistake every beginner makes.

To ensure maximum chest activation and not letting the shoulders do the work, keep your shoulder blades down and back.

By setting your shoulders blades down and back, you are keeping your chest out which is what you want when performing a bench press, whether that’s using dumbbells or barbells.

Hand Position

The hand position or grip width, as mentioned before, should be just slightly wider than shoulder width.

Not keeping your feet on the floor

The position of your feet plays an important role in bench press.

Keep your feet firmly planted on the floor, and imagine you are pushing the ground down with your feet.

This leg drive will assist you as you push the barbell back up.

Way Down

When lowering the barbell, ensure the barbell is lowered in an arc like path instead of a straight line.

This means, once unracked, lower the barbell to your lower chest instead of mid chest.

Thumbless Grip

AVOID THUMBLESS GRIPS!

If you want to avoid a wrist injury, make sure you don’t use a thumbless grip.

Instead, keep your wrists and knuckles facing the ceiling (Imagine as if you are going to punch the ceiling.)

Raising Your Butt off The Bench

Keep your butt on the bench!

This is important as squeezing your glutes can help you in pushing the barbell back up

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do I Get Shoulder Pain From Bench Pressing?

It is common for a person to suffer shoulder pain when they are bench pressing.

This is most likely due to an incorrect bench press form. A proper setup is key to avoid shoulder pain and injuries

Why Do I Get Elbow Pain From Bench Pressing?

Elbow pain during bench press is commonly due to flared elbows.

When you lower the bar, keep your elbows slightly tucked in at about 45 degrees

What is the proper grip width for the bench press?

There is no ‘perfect grip width.’

The grip width varies from person to person, but the usual grip width is just slightly wider than shoulder width to ensure maximum chest activation.

Should You Pause With the Bar on Your Chest, or “Touch and Go”?

The difference between pausing with the bar on your chest versus the “Touch and Go” method is that the touch and go keeps constant tension on the chest whereas when you pause, the tension is slightly lost.

When are you ready to start bench pressing?

You can start bench pressing at any time. It is a compound exercise and more importantly, a foundational exercise to grow your chest muscle mass and upper body strength.

The key aspect to remember is the bench press form.

Without a good bench press form, your likelihood of an injury increases.

Why is my bench so weak?

There could a variety of reasons why your bench press could be weak

Firstly, your bench press form may be incorrect. For example, your shoulders may be rolled forward resulting in the shoulders doing the work instead of the chest.

Secondly, you may be lacking in strength. If you do not do strength training on a regular basis, it could lead to a decreased level of strength in your shoulders, triceps and chest.

Thirdly, your recovery is poor. Without proper recovery, your muscles won’t have enough time to heal which could slow down progress. Sufficient recovery is needed for muscle growth and strength progress.

Lastly, your nutrition is poor. Eating a balanced diet with high protein intake is needed to recover and fuel your workout and improve performance.

Summary

This article has explained how to bench press with proper form using barbells and dumbbells, and the benefits of introducing bench press in your training routine.

The main takeaways from this article are:

• The different variations of bench press
• Regular bench pressing can lead to increased strength and muscle growth in chest over time
• Prioritize good technique when bench pressing with barbells and dumbbells to minimize injuries

Related Posts

Top 5 Best Dumbbells to Build Muscle at Home

10 Cheap Foods to build Muscle Quickly As Possible

Chest Workout – Build a Powerful Chest With Dumbbells