Bench Press
A barbell press for your chest, front delts and triceps that you can load heavy and progress in small steps. It rates tier A, a strong pick.
Tier for muscle growth
Tier A: Strong pick
Loads the chest, front delts and triceps heavily and progresses in small steps. The bar stopping at your chest limits the stretch compared with dumbbells or cables.
- Stretch under load
- 3 out of 5
- Stability
- 3 out of 5
- Easy to progress
- 5 out of 5
- Low fatigue cost
- 3 out of 5
Tiers are our own evidence-informed ratings, not a published standard. How tiers work
Muscles worked
Primary
- Chest
- Front delts
Secondary
- Triceps
For muscle growth
- Sets
- 3–4
- Reps
- 5–10
- RIR
- 1–3
- Rest
- 2–4 min
- Tempo
- 2-1-1-0
How to do it
- Lie with your eyes under the bar, feet flat, shoulder blades pulled back and down.
- Grip just wider than shoulder width and unrack with straight arms.
- Lower the bar under control to your mid-chest, elbows 45–70° from your torso.
- Touch lightly, then press up and slightly back until the bar is over your shoulders.
Cues
- Keep your upper back pinned to the bench
- Squeeze the bar and drive your feet into the floor
Avoid
- Bouncing the bar off your chest
- Flaring the elbows straight out to 90°
Track your bench press.
Estimated 1RM, rep maxes and progression for every exercise you log.
