How to do it
- Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width, retract your shoulder blades and set a small natural arch.
- Unrack and lower the bar to the lower half of your chest with the elbows at roughly 45-75 degrees.
- Drive the bar back up in a slight arc towards your shoulders and lock out.
Cues that matter
- Push your feet into the floor to create full-body tension.
- Keep your shoulder blades pinned to the bench from first rep to last.
Common mistakes
- Bouncing the bar off the chest, which robs the pecs of the hardest part of the rep.
- Letting the elbows flare to 90 degrees under heavy load.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Chest
- Mid chest
Also works
- Triceps
- Front delts
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Barbell Bench Press in a session, with 150 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 4–6 reps
- Build muscle
- 6–10 reps
- Endurance
- 12–20 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the chest with different equipment — for a day the barbell is taken, or a gym that does not have one.