Bench Press

How to do the Bench Press, step by step

1. Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar, feet planted firmly.
2. Grip slightly wider than shoulder-width and pull your shoulder blades together.
3. Unrack the bar and hold it over your shoulders.
4. Lower the bar under control to your lower chest, elbows about 45 degrees from your body.
5. Press the bar back up until your arms are locked out.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Elbows flared way outtuck your elbows a bit closer to your body
• Butt comes off the benchkeep your butt down, drive your legs into the floor
• Bouncing the bar off your chestlower under control and touch lightly
• Going heavy without safetyuse a spotter or safety bars

How to scale the Bench Press

If you can't do the movement cleanly yet or the workout is too heavy, use one of these variations:

• Dumbbell bench press
• Push-up
• Bench press with an empty bar

What's a good Bench Press?

A rough reference for your 1RM relative to body weight. At 80 kg body weight, "1.25 ×" means 100 kg.

Compare all strength standards

Also known as

Bench

Benchmarks with Bench Press

• Linda10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1: Deadlift 1.5 × body weight, Bench Press 1 × BW, Clean 0.75 × BW
• Lynne5 rounds for max reps: Bench Press at body weight, Pull-ups. Score: total reps

These descriptions are general guidance and don't replace a coach. Have someone at your box show you new movements, and stop if anything hurts.