How to Perform a Proper Barbell Bench Press

As most of our society has begun the hard road to eating healthy and staying fit, many have turned to weight training for help. Weight training requires proper techniques to get the most out of the hard work that is done in the gym and to keep from hurting ourselves in the process. One of the main stays of building the upper body is the bench press. Here's how to perform this exercise.

Instructions

  1. Preparing to Lift

    • 1

      Stretch out before you begin. This will warm up your body before the hard work begins. It will loosen the muscles and help prevent injury due to forcing tight muscles perform.

    • 2

      Put on an amount of weight that you know you can lift. Think of this as an amount to warm you up. You should begin below your current weight limit and work up to your current amount in a couple of sets of repetitions. Finally, you can end your set with attempting a few reps at a higher weight if you think you can make it.

    • 3

      Sit on the bench. Your position should be with your eyes at the level of the bar or with the bar at the level of your chin. This will be a bit of personal preference to what feels right. Another personal preference will be whether you have your feel flat on the ground or with your knees bent flat on the end of the bench.

    • 4

      Position your hands on the bar. Many place their hands about a thumbs width past the hatched region on the bar. This is a good start. Adjust your hands based on where you are feeling the greatest impact on the muscles from the lift. Move your hands further apart to increase the amount of work your chest is doing or move them closer together to make your triceps and front deltoids do more.

    Executing the Lift

    • 5

      Use a spotter to protect yourself from fatal injury when attempting to lift more than you can. A spotter is to assist you in pumping out that last rep and to help if the weight ends up being too much for you.

    • 6

      Lower the weight to your chest. You should lower the bar to nipple level, just in contact with your chest. Then pause for 1 second and then push the weight back up. Avoid bouncing the bar on your chest as this may lead to injury and take away from the effectiveness of the exercise.

    • 7

      Raise the bar to near full extension. Do not raise your back off the bench. Stop just before full extension to avoid the injuries that can come from locking the joints and pivot points.

    • 8

      Repeat Steps 1 to 3 until muscle fatigue is reached.