Exercise Tutorial: Barbell Bench Press
Revised by Stephanie Zaban (Registered Kinesiologist & Masters of Kinesiology)Table of Contents
What’s The Barbell Bench Press?
The Barbell Bench Press is a horizontal pressing movement that enhances the major pressing muscles in the upper body. The Barbell Bench Press is a great exercise for overloading these muscles and is often used to improve upper body strength and size.
How to Barbell Bench Press
The Barbell Bench Press can be performed in multiple ways depending on the users goal. This tutorial will cover the correct form needed to maximize strength and preserve shoulder health:
Lie down on the bench with the barbell raised directly over your eyes.
Plant your feet in a comfortable position, the closer your feet are to your body the more hip mobility will be needed. Do not move your feet during the exercise, instead, push down through the feet for stability.
Having an arch in the spine is safe, however, it is best to arch in the upper back and not in the lower spine. Keep your core braced during the exercise. It is very important to make the entire body tight to minimize energy leaks.
The grip on the bar will affect the muscles required to bench press. To use all the muscles evenly, a medium grip should be used, as long as the hands are around or close to the ring of the bar, the grip will suffice. Make small adjustments and play around with which grip feels most comfortable.
Squeeze the bar hard throughout the entire lift and have the knuckles pointing up. Be sure to externally rotate the arms by imagining you are bending the bar towards the body to achieve proper form.
Inhale as the bar is lifted over the shoulders for the top position of the rep. A spotter to help you initially unrack the weight will help to keep the shoulder in a safe position.
Instead of lowering the bar to the chest, think about pulling the bar to the chest. This will allow your shoulder blades to retract and will help use the Latissimus Doris muscles which support the shoulders. Bring the bar to the sternum, do not let the sternum collapse down at any point.
To reverse the movement, press the weight back over the shoulders and keep the elbows right under the wrists.
Barbell Bench Press Muscles Worked
The Barbell Bench Press engages the muscles involved in the upper body. These muscles include:
Barbel Bench Press Alternative
The barbell bench press alternatives are incline and decline press. Read about the difference between incline and decline bench press.
Barbell Bench Press Benefits
The Barbell Bench Press is often a staple in most strength and muscle building routines due to its potential to overload the muscles involved in pressing. Due to the stable bench, you can press much more weight compared to a weighted push-up or dip. Massive amounts of muscle and strength can be developed when using the Barbell Bench Press.
Shoulder Health and the Barbell Bench Press
Shoulder health is often brought up during conversations about the Barbell Pench press, and for good reason. The human body is very adaptable and varies widely, therefore it is very difficult to label any exercise as good or bad; the Barbell Bench Press is no exception. The bench in the bench press pins the shoulders in place and the body begins to adapt to this position. Performing upper body mobility drills to counter-act the pinned position will help preserve normal shoulder mobility.
If no exercises are completed to mobilize the upper body, the shoulder will begin to get tight and lose range of motion. Some loss in the range of motion is helpful if the goal is to become a great bench presser, however, if you wish to be functional in other pressing exercises and even squatting movements beyond the bench press, mobility work will be needed to compensate the pinned shoulder blade position.
Often when the range of motion is severely lacking (which is common these days due to chairs and phones) the shoulders will shrug up and the head will pop off the bench at the bottom of the lift. This fault may lead to injury and should be avoided if shoulder health is a concern. Many muscles could be not working correctly which would cause the form fault. A general tip is to slow the movement down and use the weight of the bar to help lower through the tight ranges. For this technique lighten the load to approx.
50% of the maximal weight possible and lower the bar exactly where it needs to go without speeding up at all. The point is to own the entire range of motion. If there is pain, you do not own that range and it’s advised to start again from the top and slow down even more. It takes many years to bench press a lot of weight, patience is key with this lift.
Dumbbell vs Barbell Bench Press
The main difference between the Barbell and the Dumbbell Bench Press is the free range of motion the dumbbells allow. With more range of motion and lighter loads, the lifter will form a better connection to the movement and the muscles. With a barbell, the force production from both arms will be put into the stable bar and will allow for greater loads to be used. The goal of the exercise will dictate whether dumbbells or barbells should be used.
If the goal is to move the most amount of weight and create the most growth for the pressing muscles then the Barbell Bench Press is the best option. If the goal is to gain more range of motion or to have a better connection to the muscles then the dumbbells should be used.