Compound upper-body push

Barbell Bench Press

The barbell bench press lowers a bar to the chest and presses it back to lockout, training the chest, front delts, and triceps. It is the standard measure of upper-body pressing strength.

Primary muscles: Chest (pectoralis major)
Equipment: Barbell, Bench, Rack
Difficulty: Intermediate

Secondary muscles worked

Front deltoids, Triceps.

Setup

Lie back with your eyes under the bar and feet flat on the floor.
Pull your shoulder blades down and together and hold that arch.
Grip the bar roughly 1.5x shoulder width with a wrist-stacked grip.
Unrack to a position directly over your shoulders.

How to do the Barbell Bench Press

1
Lower with control
Bring the bar to your mid-chest with elbows tucked to about 45-75 degrees.
2
Touch lightly
Touch the chest without bouncing; keep the shoulder blades pinned.
3
Press up and back
Drive the bar up and slightly back toward the rack to lockout.
4
Stay tight
Keep glutes and upper back on the bench the entire rep.

Common mistakes

Flaring the elbows straight out to 90 degrees.
Bouncing the bar off the chest.
Lifting the hips off the bench to cheat the press.
Losing scapular retraction mid-set.

Notes by experience level

Beginner

Use a spotter or dumbbells while you learn the bar path.

Intermediate

Progress in small increments and keep a consistent touch point.

Advanced

Add paused or tempo reps to build chest drive off the bottom.

Compare this lift

Barbell vs Dumbbell Bench Press

Program the Barbell Bench Press into an adaptive plan and let Kova set your next target.