The bench press is the most popular pushing exercise in the gym, and also one of the most often done badly. A few setup details completely change how much you can lift and how comfortable your shoulders feel.
Safety first
- Use a bench with safety bars set at chest height, or ask someone to spot you.
- Don't put collars on the bar if you're training alone without safeties: if you get stuck, you can tilt the bar and let the plates slide off.
Step by step
- Lie down with your eyes right under the bar.
- Pull your shoulder blades together and down: draw them back and down, as if you wanted to tuck them into your back pockets. Your chest sits higher and your shoulders are better protected.
- Feet planted: put your feet flat on the floor, under or slightly behind your knees. They give you stability.
- Grip: a little wider than shoulder-width, with straight wrists, not bent back. The bar sits at the base of your palm.
- Unrack the bar with straight arms and bring it over your shoulders.
- Lower it with control until it touches your lower chest, roughly at the level of your sternum. Your elbows are neither fully flared nor tucked against your body: somewhere in between.
- Press the bar up and slightly back, until your arms are straight over your shoulders.
Most common mistakes
- Bouncing the bar off your chest: touch and press, without using your chest as a trampoline.
- Fully flared elbows: they overload the shoulder. Tuck them a little.
- Lifting your glutes off the bench: they stay in contact the whole time.
- Bent wrists: you lose strength and they may hurt.
- Losing your shoulder-blade position: keep them back and down for the whole set.
How much weight to use
Start with the empty bar or light dumbbells to learn. Do 3 sets of 8 leaving two or three reps in reserve and add weight gradually: 1–2.5 kg every week or two will take you a long way in the first few months.
What about the arch?
A small natural arch in your back, keeping your glutes on the bench, is normal and fine. You don't need to force it when you start.
A word of caution
If you feel pain at the front of your shoulder, check your grip and elbow position. If it persists, have a physiotherapist look at it.
If you want to keep going with the other basics, read the technique for the deadlift for beginners and how to improve your squat.