Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Lie on the bench with eyes directly under the bar, feet flat on the floor, and retract your scapulae firmly into the bench to create a stable arch.

2. 2

   Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width with wrists stacked over elbows, and unrack by pressing the bar to full arm extension over your mid-chest.

3. 3

   Inhale and lower the bar under control to your lower sternum, keeping your elbows at roughly 45-75 degrees of abduction from the torso.

4. 4

   Pause briefly with the bar touching your chest, maintaining full-body tension through leg drive and retracted scapulae.

5. 5

   Press the bar explosively back to the start position by driving through the chest and triceps, exhaling through the sticking point.

6. 6

   Lock out at the top without protracting the scapulae, and repeat for the prescribed repetitions before reracking.

Common Mistakes

• Flaring the elbows to 90 degrees of abduction, which increases subacromial impingement risk and reduces pectoral leverage.

• Losing scapular retraction during the press, causing the shoulders to protract and shifting load away from the chest.

• Bouncing the bar off the chest to generate momentum instead of using a controlled touch-and-go or pause.

• Lifting the glutes off the bench or losing foot position, destabilizing the kinetic chain and reducing force transfer.

About This Exercise

The barbell bench press is a compound horizontal push that primarily loads the pectoralis major through shoulder horizontal adduction, with significant contributions from the triceps brachii and anterior deltoid. Proper scapular retraction and depression create a stable base that maximizes pectoral recruitment while reducing shoulder impingement risk. It remains the gold standard for upper-body pressing strength assessment and is a cornerstone of hypertrophy programming.