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Bench Press — Technique Guide

Learn the bench press step by step, so your chest, shoulders and triceps get stronger without wearing out your shoulders.

The sets 4 sets × 6–8 reps · superset with Bent-Over Rows: after each set of bench, rest 1 minute, then do a set of rows

A lifter doing a bench press with good form, seen from the side and from above. Lying on a flat bench with the feet flat on the floor and the shoulder blades pinched, he lifts the bar out of the hooks with straight arms and brings it over his shoulders. He lowers it for about two seconds to a light touch on the lower chest, elbows tucked about 45 degrees from his body and wrists stacked over his elbows, then drives through his feet and presses it up and slightly back so it ends over his shoulders.A lifter doing a bench press with good form, seen from the side and from above. Lying on a flat bench with the feet flat on the floor and the shoulder blades pinched, he lifts the bar out of the hooks with straight arms and brings it over his shoulders. He lowers it for about two seconds to a light touch on the lower chest, elbows tucked about 45 degrees from his body and wrists stacked over his elbows, then drives through his feet and presses it up and slightly back so it ends over his shoulders.

Technique reference

The press

Tap a position to stop the lifter on it.

As you bench, think “Breathe, lower” on the way down, and think “Drive, press, breathe out” on the way up.

Setup
  • Lie flat with your eyes directly under the bar
  • Plant your feet flat on the floor and drive them down — they’re part of the lift
  • Pinch your shoulder blades back and down to build a stable shelf on the bench
  • Grip just outside shoulder width; the bar sits in the heel of the palm, not the fingers
  • Wrists stacked straight over elbows — never bent back
  • Going heavy? Set the rack’s safety arms just below chest height, or ask for a spot
Avoid — the press
  • Bouncing the bar off your chest
  • Flaring elbows to 90° — wrecks shoulders over time
  • Lifting your butt off the bench to cheat the rep
  • Pressing the bar straight up instead of slightly back

Before your first heavy set, ramp up: one set with the empty bar, one at about 70% of your working weight. For the first few weeks, leave 2–3 reps in the tank on every set. Mechanics first, then weight. If form breaks down on the last rep of a set, that was the right last rep.

No equipment? See the Feet-Elevated Push-Ups guide.

Progressive Overload

How to keep getting stronger on this lift, week after week

Add reps first, then weight. Live inside the 6–8 range. When you hit 8 clean reps on all four sets, make the smallest weight jump you can next session and reset to 6. Then climb back to 8 and repeat.

SessionLoadSet reps
1 135 lb 6 · 6 · 6 · 6
2 135 lb 7 · 7 · 6 · 6
3 135 lb 8 · 7 · 7 · 6
4 135 lb 8 · 8 · 8 · 8 ← top of range
5 140 lb 6 · 6 · 6 · 6 ← +5, reset

Example: bench press starting at 135 lb. Your numbers will differ — the pattern won’t. Reps climb, then load jumps, then reps climb again.

When it stalls. Log every session — weight, sets, reps. If a number drops two sessions in a row, that’s your body asking for a deload: cut the load about 10% for one week, then resume the climb. “Beat last time” is the whole game — same weight, one more rep; same reps, a little more weight.