Lie on a flat bench and press a barbell from your chest to straight arms. It's the classic upper-body pushing lift for building chest, shoulder and triceps strength. Because the bar travels over your face and chest, you need two habits from day one: thumbs wrapped around the bar, and either safety pins or a spotter to catch a missed rep.
Set up
Set your safety first, with an empty bar. In a rack, put the safety pins or arms slightly below where the bar touches your chest, and check the height before you load any plates. If a spotter is helping, agree on a lift-off count and how you'll signal for help before the set.
you know exactly what happens if a rep gets stuck.
Lie down and set five points of contact: the back of your head, your upper back and shoulders, and your butt on the bench, plus both feet flat on the floor. Keep all five in place for the whole set.
Pull your shoulder blades back and down, and keep them there. In one study this lowered load on the shoulder joint and the rotator cuff. Your lower back keeps its natural curve, but don't force an arch, and your butt stays on the bench.
shoulders pinned back, chest up, body tight.
Grip & unrack
Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width, with your thumbs wrapped all the way around it. Never use a thumbless ("suicide") grip. With nothing under the bar, it can roll out of your hands. Very wide grips raise the load on your shoulders, so don't go wider than you need.
the bar is locked in your hands, not balanced on them.
Sit the bar low in your palm, wrists straight, knuckles toward the ceiling. Your wrists should stack over your forearms, not bend back.
Plant your feet, press your hips into the bench, and lift the bar out until it's over your shoulders with your arms straight. If a spotter is helping, they lift it out with you on the count you agreed.
Lower with control
Take a breath and lower the bar slowly to your lower chest, around nipple level. Don't let it drift up toward your neck or down onto your belly.
the bar comes down to the same spot every rep.
Keep your elbows partway in, not flared straight out at 90 degrees. A common starting point is about 45 to 70 degrees from your torso, with your forearms roughly vertical at the bottom. Treat that as a guide, not a rule. One study found elbow angle mattered less for shoulder load than grip width and shoulder-blade position.
elbows under the bar, not winging out to the sides.
Touch your chest lightly. Don't bounce the bar off it.
Press
Push your feet into the floor and press the bar up and slightly back toward your shoulders, finishing with straight arms over your shoulders. Keep your head, shoulders and butt on the bench. Breathe out as you get through the hardest part of the rep.
the bar moves back toward your face as it leaves your chest, then straight up.
Finish the set with straight arms, then move the bar back into the hooks. If a spotter is there, they help you guide it in.
If a rep stops moving, don't fight it. With a spotter, give your signal and keep pressing while they help you finish the rep. In a rack, lower the bar onto the pins and slide out from under it. Don't bench heavy alone without pins or a spotter.
Feel it
Your body stays tight and still on the bench. The bar comes down slowly to the same spot on your lower chest, touches without bouncing, and goes up and back over your shoulders. Your elbows stay under the bar and your wrists stay straight. If the bar wanders, bounces, or your butt lifts, the weight is too heavy for now.
Fix-its
- Your elbows flare straight out to the sides Bring them partway in so your forearms stay roughly vertical under the bar. Lighten the weight until you can hold that on every rep.
- The bar bounces off your chest Lower it slowly and touch lightly. If you can't control it, the bar is too heavy.
- Your butt or head lifts off the bench Reset the five points of contact before each set. Push through your feet without lifting your hips.
- The bar drifts toward your belly or your neck Pick one touch point on your lower chest and hit it every rep, then press back toward your shoulders.
- Your wrists bend back and ache Move the bar lower in your palm so your wrists stack over your forearms, knuckles to the ceiling.
Drill
- Pin check: with an empty bar, set the pins, lower to your chest and make sure the bar clears them on a good rep. Then let your chest drop until the bar rests on the pins, so you know how to get out. Note the hole number for next time.
- Empty-bar setup: run through all five points of contact, shoulder blades back and down, thumbs around, straight wrists, then slow reps to the same touch point.
- Slow lowering: with a light weight, take your time on the way down and hold the bar still on your chest for a moment before you press. This trains a steady touch point and removes the bounce.
- Film from the side: check that the bar touches your lower chest, moves back toward your shoulders as it rises, and finishes over your shoulders with straight arms. Add weight only while every rep looks the same.
Sources
- NSCA — Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning, Module 3: Exercise Technique (2013)
- ACE Exercise Library — Chest Press (barbell bench)
- NASM — Bench Press Elbow Pain: How Trainers Should Assess and Adjust (2022, updated 2026)
- Noteboom et al. — Effects of bench press technique variations on musculoskeletal shoulder loads and potential injury risk, Frontiers in Physiology (2024)
- Barbell Logic — Complete Guide to Barbell Safety
Last checked 2026-10-25.