Barbell Bench Press

oec:barbell-bench-press

A foundational upper-body compound barbell lift performed lying supine on a flat bench, pressing the barbell vertically to build chest, anterior shoulder, and triceps strength.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Bench Press, Flat Bench Press, Flat Barbell Bench Press, Barbell Flat Bench Press, Flat Bench, bench, barbell bench, Supine press

How to do it

Setup

Lie flat on the bench with your eyes aligned directly beneath the racked barbell.
Plant your feet firmly on the floor, retract and depress your shoulder blades, and establish a natural arch in your lower back.
Grip the bar with a full, pronated grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, ensuring your wrists remain neutral.
Unrack the bar by extending your arms and pull it forward over your shoulders to establish a stable starting position.

Movement

Inhale deeply into your belly and brace your core.
Lower the barbell under control toward your lower sternum, keeping your elbows tucked at roughly a 45- to 70-degree angle relative to your torso.
Touch your chest lightly without bouncing the barbell off your sternum.
Drive your feet into the floor and press the bar forcefully upward and slightly back toward your eye-line until your elbows are fully locked.

Breathing

Take a deep breath and brace at the top before descending, hold your breath through the descent and transition off the chest, and exhale past the sticking point near full extension.

Cues

Bend the bar in half to engage your lats.
Meet the bar with your chest.
Drive your feet through the floor.

Common faults

Flaring elbows out at a 90-degree angle to the torso, placing excessive stress on the shoulder joint.: Tuck your elbows to roughly 45 to 70 degrees during the descent to protect the shoulders and recruit the pectorals effectively.
Bouncing the bar off the ribcage to generate momentum out of the bottom position.: Lower the barbell with control and briefly touch the chest before reversing the movement with muscular effort.
Lifting the glutes off the bench to assist in driving the weight upward.: Keep your hips planted firmly on the bench pad while utilizing leg drive directed toward your shoulders.

Safety

Always use collars to secure the weight plates on the barbell.
Never use a thumbless 'suicide' grip when pressing without specialized supervision.

Muscles

Pectoralis major, sternal head prime mover
Pectoralis major, clavicular head prime mover
Front deltoid prime mover
Triceps brachii synergist
Latissimus dorsi stabilizer
Rotator cuff stabilizer
Rhomboids stabilizer

Joints

Shoulder: Horizontal adduction, Flexion
Elbow: Extension
Shoulder blade: Isometric stabilization
Wrist: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement: Horizontal push
Modality: Strength, Powerlifting, Hypertrophy
Mechanics: compound
Force: push
Laterality: bilateral
Kinetic chain: open
Level: intermediate
Equipment: Barbell; Flat bench; Power rack or Squat rack
Record: Repetitions and Load
Load: external, total

substitute for Dumbbell Bench Press
substitute for Machine Chest Press
substitute for Plate-Loaded Chest Press

Sources

wger: Bench Press, by sistab2 (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
wger: Supine press, by CptnFatbeard (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

barbell-bench-press.json