What you'll gain
Builds raw horizontal pressing strength for sport and lifting.
Develops chest mass, triceps thickness, and front-delt size.
Reinforces full-body stability and bracing under heavy load.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Lie on the bench with your eyes directly under the bar and your feet planted flat on the floor.
- 2
Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench to create a stable pressing platform.
- 3
Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width with wrists stacked over elbows, then unrack to full arm extension.
- 4
Lower the bar slowly to your lower chest with elbows tracked at about 60 to 75 degrees from your torso.
- 5
Pause briefly with the bar touching the chest, keeping full-body tension and a tight upper back.
- 6
Drive the bar back up explosively by pressing through the chest and triceps until the arms lock out.
Common Mistakes
Letting the elbows flare to 90 degrees, which strains the front shoulders and reduces chest engagement.
Losing the shoulder-blade squeeze mid-rep, causing the shoulders to roll forward under load.
Bouncing the bar off the chest to use momentum instead of a controlled touch or pause.
Lifting the glutes off the bench for leverage, which destabilizes the lift and risks back strain.
About This Exercise
The barbell bench press is the most recognized strength exercise in the world. It builds the chest, triceps, and front shoulders through a controlled horizontal press, and it remains the gold standard for measuring upper-body pressing strength in both training programs and powerlifting competitions. For any fitness app or coaching platform, the bench press isn't optional inventory — it's table stakes. Users expect to see it in any push-day workout, every strength program, and any beginner-to-advanced track. Ship this clip in your core library and use it as a recognizable thumbnail or hero piece for your strength content.
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Barbell Bench Press
The classic horizontal press for chest, triceps, and front-delt strength — the cornerstone of every push day.
Need more than one animation?
Choose a focused 104-exercise pack or unlock all 412, with commercial licensing included.
Specifications
Built for
- Push-day workout flows in strength training apps
- Hypertrophy program assets for coaching platforms
- Beginner-to-advanced strength education modules
- Hero clips and thumbnails for chest and pressing content
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
Barbell Floor Press
$4.99A supine barbell press from the floor that stops the elbows at ground level, cutting range and loading the lockout.
Barbell High Incline Bench Press
$4.99A steep-incline barbell press around 60 degrees that pushes most of the load into the upper chest and front shoulders.
Barbell Incline Bench Press
$4.99The 30-to-45-degree incline press that builds the upper chest, front delts, and triceps — the second pillar of any push day.
Decline Barbell Bench Press
$4.99Barbell press performed head-down on a decline bench, driving from just below the sternum to full extension.
Reverse-Grip Barbell Bench Press
$4.99Flat barbell press taken with an underhand grip, which shifts pressing emphasis toward the upper chest.
Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press
$4.99Flat barbell bench press taken well outside shoulder width, shortening the range and loading the chest hard.