Bench Press

Muscles Worked

Primary

• Chest
• Front Deltoid

Secondary

• Triceps

Instructions

• Lie on the bench, pull your shoulderblades together and down, with a proud chest.
• Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
• Take a breath and hold it, and unrack the bar.
• Lower the bar with control, until it touches your chest somewhere close to the sternum.
• Push the bar up while exhaling.
• Take another breath in the top position, and repeat for reps.

Commentary

The bench press is one of the most classic upper-body exercises, and a competitive event in the sport of powerlifting. The exercise can be done with a marked stop at the chest, or by reversing the movement immediately upon contact with the chest.

Another common point of variation is the grip width, where a wider grip generally is a little stronger and uses the chest muscles more effectively, whereas a closer grip let’s the triceps take on more of the work.