Whether you’re a seasoned fitness enthusiast or a beginner, the image of a person lying on a bench lifting a weight is the first thing that runs through your mind when thinking about workouts or gyms.
This image is not only an unofficial mascot of fitness but a vital workout called bench press, which is effective in building muscles and increasing strength.
While it may look as simple as lifting a weight, however, it is much more complex than that, which is why we have compiled a complete guide on not just how to do a bench press but perfect all its forms, and variations and recognise the common mistakes.
- What is a Bench Press?
- How to perform bench presses?
- Benefits of Bench Press
- Variations of Bench Press
- Common mistakes
- Conclusion
What is a Bench Press?
Bench press aka chest press, is an excellent weight training exercise that is focused on building muscles and increasing strength by targeting the chest, shoulders, triceps and upper back.
This workout routine involves lying on a bench and pressing weights upwards either using a barbell or dumbbells. A bench press has several variations that target different muscles and can be done lying flat, or by placing your hands together on a barbell.
Effects of Bench Press on the muscles may vary depending on the variation you perform for a specific workout regimen, the muscles targeted by bench press include:
- Pectoralis Major (large muscle in upper chest)
- Anterior Deltoid (muscle on the outer shoulder in a triangular shape)
- Triceps brachii (upper arm)
- Biceps Brachii
- Serratus Anterior
A study was conducted to investigate muscle activation during a bench press while using a stable load. The subjects had electrodes attached to 5 muscles and performed the bench press. It was found that all five muscles showed a significantly greater activation by up to 80% in a bench press. (1)
How to perform bench presses?
Step 1: Lay flat on the bench, pull your elbows back about 90 degrees and then tuck them in until your thumbs line up with your chest.
Step 2: Now create a slight curve in your upper back by tucking your shoulder blades in while puffing your chest up for powerlifting
Step 3: Grab the bar while keeping your hand’s shoulder-width apart (a wider grip will target more chest and a closer grip will target the tricep)
Step 4: Press the bar up and arc it forward while keeping your elbows locked until your arms are pointed straight up.
Step 5: then tuck your elbows slightly in so they can move about a 45-degree angle on the negative
Step 6: move the bar back down and slightly forward while keeping light contact with your chest and press up while pushing your feet onto the floor.
Benefits of Bench Press
· Improved upper-body strength
When you are lifting weights in a bench press you’re lying down on a specialised bench press rack that helps prioritise the upper body and effectively develops the chest, shoulders, and arms building excellent upper body strength.
· Enhanced Muscle Mass & Endurance
With regular bench pressing your body not only develops immense upper body strength but also increases muscle mass and endurance making it easier to perform other workout routines.
· Improved Bone Health & Density
The bench press isn’t limited to building upper body strength, it’s also crucial for bone health as a regular bench press workout regimen can enhance bone strength and density.
Improved bone strength can help reduce the likelihood of osteoporosis and fractures.
· Boosts Metabolism
Recent studies have shown that bench presses can help enhance your metabolic performance which leads to heightened vitality and improved stamina.
Variations of Bench Press
· Incline Bench Press
Incline bench press is a variation of the traditional bench press that is focused on building muscles of the chest while indirectly involving the triceps and shoulders as well.
Incline Bench Press helps target the upper portion of the chest which can be a neglected part for a lot of lifters.
· Decline Bench Press
In the Decline Bench Press variant, the bench press is set about 15-30 degrees on a decline, placing your body on a downward slope that activates the lower pectoral muscles as you push the weights against your body.
· Close Grip Bench Press
The difference between the traditional bench press and close grip bench press is that you perform this press with a closer or narrowing grip. This is an excellent position to emphasise building the triceps and the chest.
· Wide Grip Bench Press
The wider grip in this variation of bench press creates a greater emphasis on the pectoral muscles when compared to the narrow/close grip bench press.
It also allows you to lift more weight than usual and is a better choice for those who lift to compete in Powerlifting.
· Dumbbell Bench Press
This is a relatively more advanced bench press and usually is recommended only after you’ve perfected your strength with a barbell bench press to avoid any injuries to the pectoral muscles and shoulders.
However, with a dumbbell bench press, you can achieve greater stability in your shoulder muscles which will help build the size of your chest muscles.
· Swiss ball Bench Press
This bench press involves a Swiss ball which can create an unstable position that helps in actively engaging the core throughout the range of motion to achieve better results.
· Dead Bench Press
With a dead bench press, you lose all the tension at the bottom, and it is performed with the safety pins of a rack or power cage.
The bar is lifted from a dead start from the pins with elbows in a bent position and then returned to the pins pausing the next rep.
· Paused Bench Press
As the name suggests, there is a temporary pause in the bar that helps make every rep more challenging and introduces progressive overload to the workouts without having to add any more weights.
· Feet Elevated Bench Press
When you have your feet on the bench rack during a bench press it helps shorten the hip flexor and allows the abdominal muscles to maintain a stronger flexion that helps in keeping the bar reinforced.
It also allows your blood to circulate back to the heart without fighting gravity, which helps reduce the stress on the heart and mitigate any swelling or muscle injuries.
Common mistakes
· Elbow angle
This is the most common mistake with a lot of people as they don’t know how to angle their elbows next to their body while lifting which can cause strain to the shoulders.
The right way to position your elbows is by keeping them as close to your body as possible. Flaring out the elbows makes it more difficult to lift as there is an unnecessary increase in the range of motion.
· Positioning feet right
The stability for lifting relies on the positioning of your feet. If they aren’t firmly planted to the ground you won’t have the stable structure to perform a bench press.
The nudge of strength from your feet on the ground helps power your upper body to lift without causing strains or injuries.
· No bouncing the bar
For some, bouncing helps lift more weights, but that still doesn’t make it okay or safe to continue doing so.
When you incorporate a bounce at the bottom of each rep you are potentially setting yourself up for rib cage injury. If you have difficulty lifting a weight, try to lower it instead of bouncing it off your chest, and gradually increase the weight.
· Not enough arching
Arching is essential to achieving the ability to lift better, with a slight arch in your back while benching with your shoulders and hips firmly planted on the bench will help perfect your form and lift without any strain every time.
· Head lift
Lifting your head while bench pressing can be dangerous and can cause a lot of strain during the lift. Your full body must be positioned flat on the bench as you complete a rep.
Conclusion
The bench press is an amazing beginner exercise that can be gradually advanced once you perfect your form and all the variations for strength training.
If you have pre-existing shoulder injuries and experience discomfort doing a set, refer to your healthcare provider before pushing ahead with the workout routine.
FAQ
1. How to bench press with proper form?
Some key points to maintain a proper form:
- Maintain a proper arch while lifting
- Do not lift your head
- Use your triceps to extend the bar, not your chest
2. What are some common mistakes people make when bench pressing?
Some of the common mistakes that people make while bench pressing are:
- Lifting weight beyond their ability
- Have incorrect grip
- Bending the elbows too much
- Lifting the bar too high
3. How to do bench press variations?
Some variations of the bench press that you can do are:
- Incline bench press- using an inclined bench press rack
- Decline bench press- using a declined bench press rack
- Dumbbell- using a dumbbell in each hand while doing a lift in the press
4. How should I structure my bench press?
The proper way to structure your bench press is by:
- Arching your back
- Keeping your butt on the bench
- Raising your chest
- Using wrist wraps
- Focusing on proper muscle groups
5. What is a bad bench form?
- Flared elbows
- Bounce the bar
- Wrong arm angle
- Knees up
- Lack of anchor