bench press

The Bench Press is by far the King of Chest Exercises. This compound movement is appreciated for its ability to build strength, power and mass, in the chest, and other muscle groups, with no limit to how far you can take it.

Let's delve into the fundamentals of this empowering exercise. First we will look at the muscles worked in more detail, then we will demonstrate how to Bench Press, followed by its benefits, mistakes to avoid, reps and sets, progression techniques and alternative exercises that work similar muscle groups.

Muscles Worked When Performing the Bench Press

Pectoralis (Chest muscles): The primary muscles engaged during the Bench Press are the pec muscles. These are the large chest muscles that sit behind your breast tissue and they support the overall function of many everyday activities, as well as any chest exercise you do in the gym.

Anterior Deltoids: The front deltoid muscles (the front part of your shoulder) is also significantly activated during the bench press.

Triceps: The triceps, located at the back of the upper arm, play a supporting role during this exercise. You can place additional emphasis on the triceps with a narrower bar grip, but let’s master the regular grip position first, we can play around with that later.

You can use the muscle highlighted image at the top of this page for a visual guide of the muscles worked.

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How to Use the Bench Press

Start with a standard unloaded Olympic bar first; this weighs 45lbs/20kg’s.

If you don’t feel comfortable with that weight, Bench Press on a flat bench with a lighter fixed barbell, just until you build the strength to go heavier.

This is a big move, so let’s break the lift down into steps:

1. To begin the bench press; lay your back flat on the bench with the racked bar at eye level.

2. Press your shoulders back into the bench to stabilise your upper body. Arch your back slightly if you wish, just make sure that your shoulders and bum are in constant contact with the bench.

3. Grip the bar at around shoulder width apart. Use the knurling ‘notches’ on the bar to balance your grip. Also be sure to grip your thumbs around the bar so that it doesn’t slip.

4. Un-rack the bar and bring it up in fully extended arms directly over your chest. This is your start position.

5. Next; lower the bar down towards your chest, keeping it level with your nipple line. At the bottom, the bar should lightly touch your chest, before you press straight back up over your chest.

6. Pause for a second at the top, brace yourself, and go again for reps.

Benefits of the Bench Press

Chest Development: The Bench Press is the fastest chest builder by far, the reason for that is because it is performed in a rack so that you can utilise the Olympic barbell and load it with as much weight as you can safely manage. Then you simply unrack the bar, do your reps and re-rack the bar when you’re done.

Upper Body Strength: This exercise contributes to substantial upper body strength, impacting the chest, shoulders, and triceps. With that you will naturally progress other chest exercises much faster.

Check out our Boobs & Biceps workout category if you want to learn more about the benefits of stronger pecs.

Bench Press: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Form is Key: Correct form is paramount during the Bench Press to prevent potential injuries. Always ensure you are performing your bench press correctly before adding any significant load. If you don’t feel comfortable, or you’re not feeling the exercise through the target muscle groups, strip all weight and go back to basics.

Mind-Muscle Connection: Keep your focus on the chest muscles, this is to make sure that the target muscles are effectively engaged during the exercise. Again, if you’re not feeling it in the right places, go back to basics.

Safety: The Bench Press has the potential to be a dangerous piece of equipment if not used correctly. Use the safety bars and clips to secure the plates, particularly when lifting heavy weights. Ask someone in the gym to spot you if you’re not confident.

Reps and Sets

This is a powerful exercise, and the Olympic barbell can seem a little daunting at first, especially if you’re not sure if you’ll be able to lift it. Something to keep in mind is that the wider bar distribution of the weight does change things slightly, so always start with just the bar first so you can get a feel for it.

The number of reps and sets you perform depends on your current strength with this exercise.

Beginners: Start with simply mastering the move. Keep in mind that if you’re just starting out, 3 reps is a valid set.

To determine how many reps/sets of the Bench Press you should start with, you first need to figure out how many reps you can comfortably perform. Then add 2, and perform that number of reps for 3 sets.

For example; let’s say you can perform 4 reps comfortably. Add 2 to make 6 reps. Perform those 6 reps 3 times over, allowing yourself sufficient rest inbetween.

Experienced lifters: You know your body and its abilities better than anyone, use your own judgment.

We recommend that you avoid performing more than 12 reps per set. If you’re comfortably performing 12 reps for up to 6 sets, it’s time to make the exercise more challenging.

How to Make the Bench Press More Challenging

This is already a challenging exercise, and progression is almost always about adding more plates. There are some other Bench Press variations that you can use to challenge yourself, these include; Wide Grip Bench Press, Close Grip Bench Press, Incline Bench Press or a Decline Bench Press. You can switch up the grip and the incline/decline as you wish. Each variation hits the muscle groups differently, so pay attention to that as you go.

How to Incorporate the Bench Press into Your Workouts

The Bench Press belongs in your chest workout or upper body workout plan. It is one of the top 3 key compound exercises and should always be performed first (after a warm up of course).

Always start with the exercise that expends the most energy and uses the most weight, work your way down through barbell exercises, dumbbell exercises, cable/machine exercises and finish up with bodyweight exercises. You can learn more about the importance of exercise order here.

Exercises That Work Similar Muscles to the Bench Press

The Bench Press variations mentioned above are the perfect compound moves to help further strengthen your ability to Bench Press with maximum power. Compound exercises are crucial for muscle growth since they allow you to move more overall weight than isolation exercises, helping you build the muscle faster.

You can also pair this exercise with other exercises, such as the Dumbbell Chest Press, Chest Flys or Press Ups. If you’re looking for more chest isolation exercises, you can try the Pec Deck, Seated Chest Press Machine, or Cable Chest Flys. Incorporating a combination of compound and isolation exercises into your workouts is recommended for well rounded results.

You can find more Chest Exercises at the bottom of this page. Or you can check out our entire exercise database broken down by muscle group here.

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