20 Common Bench Press Mistakes That Are Costing You Gains

The bench press looks simple: lie down, lower the bar, press it back up. But it’s also an easy lift to butcher.

My goal with this article is to help you become a better bencher by making the lift safer and better suited to your body. So, let’s walk through the most common bench press mistakes and, more importantly, how to fix them.

Let’s Get Started

I’m going to respect your time, so no “What Is the Bench Press?” sections to pad my word count. We’re jumping straight into the bench press mistakes.

Mistake 1: You Don’t Set Your Shoulder Blades

One of the more common bench press mistakes is letting your shoulders roll forward as the bar comes down. You lose power and (potentially) irritate your shoulders.

You don’t need to jam your shoulder blades, but you do need to control them. A good bench setup involves both scapular retraction and depression: you pull your shoulder blades together and keep them from shrugging toward your ears.

What does this do? It gives your upper body a stable base, and it prevents you from putting your shoulders into positions that tend to irritate them when you’re under a heavy bar.

The Fix

Think chest up, shoulders back, upper back on the bench. Keep that position as you lower the bar.

If your shoulders roll forward at the bottom, chances are you’re using too heavy a weight, your touch point is too high, or you’re losing tension in your upper back.

Mistake 2: Your Grip Is Too Wide

If you grip the bar wide, you get a shorter range of motion, which might let you press more weight. But wider is not automatically better.

For many lifters, a very wide grip increases shoulder stress because it places the upper arm in an abducted position under load and may increase the risk of shoulder injury.^{1 2}

That doesn’t mean wide-grip benches are “bad” for everyone. If you’re strongest with a wide grip (many are) and your shoulders can handle it, great. But it does mean that you shouldn’t automatically bench like your favorite powerlifter.

If you’re new to benching, a good starting point is to grip the bar so your forearms are roughly vertical at the bottom of the rep. For most lifters, that’s somewhere around a moderate-to-wide grip rather than an ultra-wide one.

The Fix

Film yourself from the front or have someone who knows their bench business check your bottom position.

At the bottom, your wrists should stack somewhere in the vicinity over your elbows. If your elbows are far inside your wrists, your grip might be too wide, and if they’re far outside your wrists, it might be too narrow.

And pay attention to how your shoulders respond when you adjust your grip. Don’t force yourself through discomfort.

Read more:

>> Bench Press Grip Width: Close-Grip vs Wide Grip Bench Press

Mistake 3: You Use a Suicide Grip

Speaking of grips, let’s not forget the suicide grip.

Or rather, let’s.

It’s when you bench with a thumbless grip, with your thumb on the same side of the bar as your fingers.

Bars have been dropped onto benchers’ faces, necks, and chests. Fatally, in documented cases.

There’s no technique benefit that justifies a suicide grip. Some lifters feel that it’s more comfortable, and I won’t argue with feelings, but comfort isn’t worth it in this case.

The Fix

Wrap your thumbs.

Mistake 4: You Keep Your Wrists Straight or Bend Them Back Too Much

If you cock your wrists backward under the bar, you’re creating an inefficient force line and making the bar harder to control. You want to make sure you press the bar straight through your forearm.

At the same time, you don’t want to listen to influencers who tell you to bench press with a perfectly straight wrist (they are out there, and they often look like they should know what they’re talking about).

Some backward tilt is normal and unavoidable, especially with heavier weights. If you try to force it away, you end up with less balance, a less secure grip, and a bar that wants to tilt forward instead.

The Fix

The trick is to tilt your wrists back just a bit, so you can rest the bar in your palm, close to the heel of your hand, where you can squeeze the bar hard.

A useful cue is “punch the ceiling.” You don’t want to press with limp, folded-back wrists.

Mistake 5: You Flare Your Elbows Too Much

I remember hearing and reading “tuck your elbows” a lot back in the day, but you don’t need to bench with your elbows glued to your ribs unless you’re actually going for close-grip benches and triceps focus.

The bigger potential problem is too much elbow flare, where your upper arms shoot out close to 90 degrees from your torso. That doesn’t necessarily hurt healthy, mobile shoulders and can even work well for bodybuilding, but it makes the bottom of the press less controlled. And if you don’t have the mobility (lots don’t), it can place your shoulders in an unsafe position.

A more powerful (and comfortable) position is right in the middle for most lifters: elbows angled down from the shoulders, not straight out to your sides, and not pinned tightly against your body.

The Fix

When you lower the bar, aim your elbows somewhere between 45–75 degrees away from your torso. Experiment to find your best fit; a good place to start is 45 degrees. And a common cue that works well is thinking “bend the bar”.

Mistake 6: You Touch the Bar Too High on Your Chest

If the bar touches near your collarbones or upper chest, your elbows can flare out too much, and your shoulders drift into a stressful position: one reason some feel their bench more in their front delts rather than their chest and triceps.

I suggest you touch it somewhere between the lower chest and the base of the sternum. The exact touch point depends on many things, including your grip width and arm length, so I’m not going to tell you to lower it to this or that precise spot, but the bar shouldn’t feel like it’s crashing into the top of your shoulders.

The Fix

Lower the bar, with control, to a touch point on your lower-to-mid chest. Then press slightly back toward the rack as the bar goes up. That way, you create the classic curved bench press path: down and forward, then up and back.

Mistake 7: You Press the Bar Straight Up

This one ties in with #6, and it’s one of the most common bench press mistakes beginners make, because it doesn’t always feel intuitive.

It’s easy to think the bar should move straight up and down, but you actually want a slight diagonal component to your bar path for a maximally powerful bench press.

If you press straight up, the bar drifts forward and the lockout becomes harder, and if you lower straight down, you end up high and might irritate your shoulders.

Lowering the bar to your neck is called a guillotine bench press, by the way, and can have a place in bodybuilding, but it’s not a strong position.

The Fix

Press up and back toward the starting position to keep the bar balanced over your strongest pressing line.

You don’t need to overthink things, but again, it’s a good idea to film yourself from the side to make sure you get a controlled descent to a consistent touch point, and then a press that moves up and slightly back.

Mistake 8: You Bounce the Bar

Bouncing the bar off your sternum is probably the most common of all bench press mistakes. It lets you handle more weight right here and now, but using recoil and momentum to blow past the sticking point cheats your pecs out of the work they should be doing.

Besides, it makes your reps harder to compare and track, and the force isn’t trivial once you’re strong enough to handle hundreds of pounds (fractured ribs have been reported).

No, you don’t need a long competition-style pause unless you’re looking to compete, but you should control the bottom position.

The Fix

Control the bar on the way down (not the other way around), touch your chest, and press.

If you’re training for powerlifting, include paused reps in your training. If you’re bodybuilding or just lifting for general strength, a touch-and-go is fine, but your chest shouldn’t launch the bar like a trampoline.

Mistake 9: You Use a Limited Range of Motion Without a Good Reason

Partial reps and anything less than a full range of motion (ROM) aren’t automatically useless things. You can use them to overload a specific range, train around injuries, or work on sticking points. But way too many lifters cut their ROM because they’ve put too many plates on the bar.

If your reps stop three inches above your chest, you’re not getting what you could and should out of them. Research shows that a full ROM is better for pretty much everything, including strength and muscle growth (admittedly, a small difference).³

More importantly, you build the most strength in the ROM you actually train, so if you want to get as strong as possible in the full bench press, you have to train the full bench press.⁴

And a short ROM also makes progress harder to track; if you’re already cutting it short, it usually shrinks more and more as the set gets harder.

The Fix

Make sure you get a full ROM (unless you’re limiting it for a legit reason).

If you have the mobility, that means lowering the bar to your chest and pressing to a strong lockout (if you’re a bodybuilder, not locking out is a legit way to do your reps, but you still want a full stretch at the bottom).

But if a full ROM bothers something, don’t force it.

Mistake 10: You Lift Your Butt Off the Bench

Lifting your butt off the bench during a lift is also up there with the most common bench press mistakes. And it’s far from only beginners doing it.

Whether lifting your butt is a problem depends on your goal.

For a powerlifter, the big downside is obvious: your lift doesn’t count. For a bodybuilder, lifting your butt on the last few reps isn’t really that big of a deal.

Probably the biggest issue for most lifters is that if your technique changes as the weight gets heavier, you’re no longer comparing like with like.

Here’s an example:

• Week 1: 150 lb with your butt planted.
• Week 4: 155 lb, but your butt lifts an inch above the bench.

Did your bench press really improve by 5 lb? Maybe. Maybe not. Who can tell, when your butt lift (and a shorter range of motion) probably helped, too?

Also, if you always lift your butt off the bench, you might never build full strength in the bottom part of the lift because you’re always working around it.

The Fix

The fix is easy: don’t lift your butt when you bench.

Kidding! Unless you’re doing it on purpose to lift more than you can really handle. Then, just stop. Lower the weight.

But if it happens automatically, try adding pauses to your reps for a few weeks. Use a weight where you can keep your butt down, and pause the bar on the chest before you press it up. If your hips pop up, the rep doesn’t count. You’ll get rid of the butt-lift habit fast.

If you’re a powerlifter or training for strength, I’d treat any butt lift as a failed rep and lower the weight until you can maintain position.

Mistake 11: You Move Your Feet During the Lift

The bench press salsa. This little foot shuffle during a set is super common among beginners, and I would say it’s more of a symptom than an actual mistake.

The reason might be many things, from overthinking “leg drive” to losing tension in the upper body and trying to compensate with the lower body. However, it almost always means you’re leaking tension somewhere in your setup, which, in turn, means less power.

The Fix

This problem almost always goes away with time and bench press practice, but you can speed the process up significantly.

One method I like is doing a few warm-up sets, focusing hard on making zero foot adjustments from unrack to rerack. Don’t worry about the weight. Most tap-dancing benchers clean up the habit in a session or two.

Mistake 12: You Unrack the Bar Poorly

Many a good bench press has been ruined before the first rep begins.

If you shrug forward or have to reach too far to unrack the bar, you lose your upper back placement and make the bar feel heavier or throw off your shoulder position. Or you might have to reset midair, which takes most of the oomph out of the lift.

The Fix

Set the hooks at a height where you can unrack with as little shoulder movement as possible.

If you can, use a spotter for your heavy sets. They should help you get the bar out, not upright-row it into your hands or yank it so hard that you lose tension.

Once you have the bar over your shoulders, let it settle for just a moment before you start the descent.

Mistake 13: You Max Out Too Often

Testing your limits in the bench press is a blast, but treating every chest day like it’s the powerlifting world championships is a fast track to a plateau. Testing strength and building strength aren’t the same thing.

Heavy singles have their place, especially if you’re a powerlifter, but the lion’s share of your gains comes from high-quality training volume you can do over and over.

Maxing out takes a big toll on your central nervous system that can take some time to recover from. Plus, if you spend most of your energy warming up for a heavy single, you leave little gas in the tank for your actual working sets.

The Fix

You want to spend most of your benching time and energy on weights and rep ranges you can control. That often means sets of 3–8 for strength and 6–12 or even higher for hypertrophy.

Leave a rep or two in reserve on most working sets, especially if your main goal is strength.

Mistake 14: You Choose Your Bench Press Variations Randomly

This bench press mistake matters more for strength than for bodybuilding-style training.

When you want to get stronger in the bench press, guess which lift should be your main lift? That’s right: the bench press. That said, including some bench press variations in your training can be very useful to get more volume in and work on weak points.

The problem is when you rotate exercises every week, with no reason.

The Fix

Pick your bench press variation based on your goals and keep them in your rotation long enough to adapt.

A good one lets you train hard with less joint irritation or improve a weak point. It makes it easier to build more muscle or add productive volume. But it shouldn’t be random. Random training often produces random results.

Variation should solve a problem. If you’re weak off the chest, try adding a pause at the bottom. If your lockout is weak, pin presses or board presses might be your go-to. And if your shoulders have an overuse issue with the straight bar, doing more dumbbell work might help.

Mistake 15: You Ignore or Work Through Pain

The bench press is one of the more common strength exercises for pains and aches, often in the shoulders, but sometimes the elbows or wrists. Common doesn’t mean serious, but it also doesn’t mean you should ignore it.

Any sharp pinches or pain that changes how you do the movement isn’t something you “just push through,” not if you want the pain to go away anytime soon.

The Fix

Adjust your bench first, then seek help if needed. Try changing your grip or position on the bench. Go lighter for a while or slow down the eccentric. Try switching to dumbbells.

If the pain doesn’t go away (or gets worse) or affects your daily life or sleep, it’s time to see a physio (your family physician is probably not your best option, unless they understand lifting).

Mistake 16: You Don’t Follow a Plan

One of the more common bench press mistakes is to train without a plan and expect to get where you want. Winging it is a great way to get frustrated with your progress.

If you walk up to the bench and lift whatever you “feel” like lifting that day, you lose track of the math. A good program calculates your sets, reps, and weight, so you don’t go too heavy or too light too often, or do too much or too little volume.

Without a plan, it’s also super easy to let motivation dictate your training rather than following a progression. And you might end up switching up exercises and rep ranges too often to adapt to what really works.

Note: not having a plan isn’t a mistake if you train for health and for the fun of it (perfectly legit reasons, by the way). As long as you don’t expect the best possible strength and muscle gains.

The Fix

Follow a proven bench press program.

If you’re new to the bench press, a program like our Beginner Bench Press Program will allow you to get stronger fast, usually from workout to workout.

And if you’re an intermediate or advanced bench presser, you’ll find proven programs built for your experience level, too:

>> 10+ Bench Press Programs to Increase Your 1RM Strength.

Mistake 17: You Copy Someone Else’s Setup

Some lifters use a big arch, some bench with their back flat. Some tuck their feet behind them, some keep them forward. And some can recover from a lot of benching, while some can’t.

Your setup should fit your body and your goals (and the rules if you compete). One program can be the best in the world for one lifter and still be suboptimal for you.

The Fix

Learn the basics, then fine-tune the details. Don’t copy the strongest bencher in your gym just because they’re the strongest bencher in your gym.

Start with a beginner program that gets the basics right, and build from that foundation.

Mistake 18: You Rush Your Warm-Up

Too little warmup means suboptimal lifting performance. Your muscles and joints are stiff, and your nervous system hasn’t woken up. Too much, and you’re already tired when you start.

A good warm-up lubricates your joints and gets your whole body ready to lift heavy. And you get a chance to assess how your body feels.

The Fix

Use your warm-up sets as practice.

Start with the empty bar. Add weight in sensible jumps. The heavier your first real set, the more jumps you need.

Your warm-ups should hit the same bar path and touch point you’re going for in your work sets. Keep your reps low and clean; save the real effort for when it counts.

Mistake 19: You Don’t Use a Spotter or Safety Setup

Bench pressing heavy without a spotter or safeties is both a common mistake and a risk. But it’s also one of the easiest risks to avoid.

A failed rep can pin the bar to your chest or neck if you’re not prepared. Getting stuck under it and having to roll it down your chest and stomach isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. And if it’s too heavy to roll and you’re using collars, you’re in trouble.

The Fix

Use the safety arms or bench in a rack. Or ask for a competent spot.

For your heavy sets, avoid using collars if you’re benching alone without safeties. Tilting the bar and dumping plates can be a last-resort escape. Better yet, set the safeties so you never need that option.

Mistake 20: You Use Too Much Weight

This one makes almost every other mistake worse.

To get strong, a heavy but controlled rep with good technique is more productive than barely surviving an even heavier, sloppy rep.

If you want to build muscle, heavy weight is usually a good thing, but not if it means letting the bar drop like a bomb down on your chest, bounce it back up through a weird bar path, and lift your butt.

And using more weight than you’re capable of shifts the load away from your powerful pecs to smaller, more vulnerable structures, which might not be able to handle it.

The Fix

Lowering the weight is step one. If you can’t control the weight or keep your butt on the bench, it’s too heavy.

However, just dropping the weight isn’t always the whole fix.

If you lower the weight but keep using the same sloppy mechanics, you’re just doing lighter bad reps.

Paradoxically, the longer you’ve been benching, the greater the chances that you need to rebuild your setup and form from the ground up. The more set you are in your ways, the harder they are to change. That’s one of the biggest benefits of getting your form down pat from the start and not letting your ego take charge.

Final Rep

The iron doesn’t lie, but your form might be telling you some tall tales. If your bench press has stalled or your shoulders are barking at you, it’s time to audit your technique and your programming. Or both.

Pick one or two mistakes that really apply to you and focus on them for the next few weeks.

You might be surprised at how much power a small tweak can transfer into the bar.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your bench!

Want more?

Listen to episode 62 of The Strength Log podcast, where Big D and Big P talk about this iconic lift and how to master it:

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Last reviewed: 2026-06-03

References

1. Strength and Conditioning Journal 29(5):p 10-14, October 2007. The Affect of Grip Width on Bench Press Performance and Risk of Injury.
2. Front Physiol. 2024 Jun 21;15:1393235. Effects of bench press technique variations on musculoskeletal shoulder loads and potential injury risk.
3. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 3(1), 2023. Partial Vs Full Range of Motion Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
4. J Strength Cond Res. 2022 Jan 1;36(1):10-15. Bench Press at Full Range of Motion Produces Greater Neuromuscular Adaptations Than Partial Executions After Prolonged Resistance Training.