Here’s a brief guide on proper bench press technique:
- Start by lying on a bench with your feet on the floor.
- Unrack the bar with straight arms.
- Slowly lower the bar to your mid-chest.
- Press it back up until you’ve locked your elbows.
- Keep your butt on the bench
Proper bench press technique involves lying on a bench with your feet on the floor, gripping the bar with your hands at approximately shoulder-width apart, and lowering the bar to your mid-chest. You should retract your shoulder blades, drive your upper back into the bench, and tuck your elbows in slightly to create back tightness and reduce shoulder strain. At the bottom of the movement, you should pause the bar on your chest without bouncing, then press it back up until your elbows are locked, flaring your elbows out as you press. For safety, it is recommended that you bench press in a power rack or with a spotter.
As you become more comfortable with the standard bench press, it can be valuable to add some variety by adjusting the angle of the bench. Performing the same movement on an incline bench will target the upper chest muscles more directly whereas a decline bench will target the lower region of the chest. You can also experiment with different hand widths on the barbell. A closer grip focuses on the inner chest and recruits more assistance from the triceps whereas a wider grip focuses on the outer chest. Of course, none of these variations exclusively focus muscle stress and growth in the specified regions. But they can be good to incorporate to keep things interesting and to add a little more focus onto areas in need of improvement.