# Barbell Bench Press: how to do it

- Main muscles: chest
- Also works: front delts, triceps
- Equipment: barbell, bench
- Level: intermediate
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/barbell_bench_press/6ca2a31f90/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Lie on the bench with eyes under the bar and feet flat.
2. Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders.
3. Pull your shoulder blades back and down, then unrack the bar.
4. Lower the bar slowly to your lower chest, elbows at about 45°.
5. Press back up over your shoulders without locking out hard.

## Cues

- Shoulder blades down and back
- Bar to the nipple line
- Wrists straight over elbows

## Common mistakes

- Bouncing the bar off the chest; lower slowly and touch softly.
- Flaring elbows straight out; keep them about 45° from your body.
- Lifting hips off the bench; keep buttocks and feet planted.

## Starting position

Flat bench, standard gym height about 45 cm, pad about 30 cm wide (Bartolomei 2024 used 45 cm × 30 cm). Bar in J-hooks or uprights at the head end, roughly over the avatar's eyes when lying down. Five contact points stay fixed for the whole rep: head, upper back and shoulder blades, buttocks on the bench, both feet flat on the floor. Shoulder blades pulled back and down; natural low-back curve, no exaggerated arch. Overhand (pronated) closed grip, thumbs round the bar, about 1.5 × shoulder (biacromial) width, which for a 40–42 cm biacromial avatar puts the hands about 60–65 cm apart. Wrists straight, bar sitting low in the palm over the forearm bones.

## The movement

Only the arms move. The bar travels in a shallow diagonal: from over the shoulders down and slightly towards the feet to the lower chest, then back up and slightly towards the head to finish over the shoulders again. The bar stays level (both hands at the same height). Elbows stay under the bar in the side view and keep the same 50° flare all the way down and up. Torso, hips, legs and head stay still.

## End position

(turnaround point): Bar at the lower–mid chest, on the nipple line / lower sternum, touching lightly or 1–2 cm above it. Upper arm about 50° from the torso (45–65°). Forearms close to vertical, wrist stacked over the elbow from both views. Elbows end just below the level of the bench top (ACE). Shoulder blades still pinned; buttocks and head still on the bench.

## Tempo

Lower 2 s, no pause and no bounce at the chest (a 0.2 s soft touch is fine), press 1.5–2 s, hold 0.3 s at the top.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Grip width (between hands) | 1.5 × biacromial | 1.3–1.7 × |  |
| Elbow angle at top (included) | 172° | 165–178°, no snap |  |
| Upper arm to torso at bottom | 50° | 45–65° |  |
| Bar height above chest at bottom | 0–1 cm | touch to 2 cm |  |
| Bar touch point | nipple line / lower sternum | lower to mid chest |  |
| Bench height / width | 45 cm / 30 cm | 42–46 cm / 26–30 cm |  |
| Tempo down / up | 2 s / 1.75 s | 1.5–2.5 s / 1.5–2 s |  |

## Sources

1. [[ACE: Chest Press (barbell)](](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/5/chest-press/)
2. [[NASM: Barbell Bench Press](](https://www.nasm.org/resource-center/exercise-library/barbell-bench-press)
3. [[Rodríguez-Ridao et al. 2020, Int J Environ Res Public Health (Europe PMC full text)](](https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC7579505/fullTextXML)
4. [[Bartolomei et al. 2024, J Strength Cond Res (Europe PMC full text)](](https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC11188622/fullTextXML)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/barbell-bench-press