Strength Training · Bodybuilding · Powerlifting
Barbell Bench Press
The barbell bench press trains your chest, shoulders, and triceps by pressing a bar from your chest while lying on a flat bench. This version includes a brief chest pause before each press.
Higher injury risk. Read the safety notes before adding weight.
- Intermediate
- Compound
- Higher injury risk
- Rest 2 min
How to do it
- Lie on the bench with your eyes beneath the bar and your feet flat on the floor.
- Draw your shoulder blades together against the bench.
- Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width with your thumbs wrapped around it.
- Unrack the bar to straight arms directly above your shoulders.
- Lower the bar under control to your lower-to-mid chest.
- Pause briefly with the bar motionless against your chest.
- Press the bar upward and slightly back toward your shoulders until your elbows straighten.
- After your final repetition, guide the bar into both rack hooks.
Form cues
- Stack your wrists over your forearms.
- Keep your buttocks on the bench.
- Push through your whole foot.
- Inhale before lowering; exhale as you press.
Common mistakes
- Elbows flared straight sidewaysKeep your upper arms roughly 45–75 degrees from your torso, with your forearms vertical at the bottom.
- Forcing an extreme back archUse a comfortable lower-back curve rather than pushing into a position that causes pressure or pain.
- Uneven bar tiltUse the bar markings to check that your hands are equally spaced from the center.
Safety
A failed repetition can trap the bar against your chest or neck. Excessive load or loss of control can also strain your shoulders or chest.
- Use a capable spotter or rack safeties; never bench alone without correctly positioned safeties.
- Test safety height with an empty bar: it should allow chest contact while catching the bar when you flatten your arch.
- Set the hooks low enough to unrack without reaching your shoulders forward, and secure the plates with collars.
- Warm up with lighter sets and increase weight gradually.
If you have shoulder, elbow, wrist, or back pain, choose a comfortable lighter variation and seek advice from a physiotherapist before loading heavily.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Barbell Collar
- Lifting Belt (optional)
- Olympic Flat Bench
- Powerlifting Barbell
- Weight Plate
- Wrist Wraps (optional)
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 3–4
- Target
- 6–10 reps
- Rest
- 2 min
Choose a weight that leaves about two controlled repetitions in reserve.