Bench Press

Setup

1. Lie on a flat bench with your eyes directly under the barbell. Plant your feet flat on the floor with knees bent at roughly 90 degrees.
2. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width. Wrists should be straight, with the bar sitting in the heel of your palm.
3. Retract and depress your shoulder blades — squeeze them together and press them down into the bench. Maintain this position throughout the lift.
4. Unrack the bar with straight arms and position it directly over your shoulders.
5. Lower the bar under control to your mid-chest (roughly nipple line), keeping elbows at 45–75 degrees from your body.
6. Press the bar back up to the starting position, driving through the chest and locking out the elbows.

Coaching Cues

What to feel:

• Shoulder blades pinched together and pressed into the bench throughout
• Chest and triceps doing the primary work
• Feet driving into the floor for stability (leg drive)
• A slight arch in the lower back — this is normal and protective

Common mistakes:

• Flaring the elbows to 90 degrees — this overloads the shoulder joint; keep elbows at 45–75 degrees
• Bouncing the bar off the chest — touch and press with control
• Losing shoulder blade retraction — if the shoulders roll forward, the bench becomes a front delt exercise
• Lifting the hips off the bench — maintain contact throughout
• Uneven bar path — the bar should descend to the chest and press back up in a slight arc toward the rack