Muscles worked
The bench press is mainly a chest exercise: your chest does most of the work, with the front of your shoulders and your triceps helping to press the bar up. Your back and legs work too, mostly to keep you stable on the bench. Grip width changes the balance: a narrower grip gives your triceps more to do, while a wider grip shortens the movement and puts more on the chest. An incline bench shifts work towards the upper chest and the front of the shoulders.
Common mistakes
- Your hips lift off the bench. When the press gets heavy, many people push their hips up for help. Drive through your feet, but keep your bum on the bench for the whole set. If it still comes up, the weight is too heavy.
- Your wrists bend back. The bar should sit low in your palm, directly above your forearm. If it rests towards your fingers, your wrists fold back and you lose force. Squeeze the bar hard and point your knuckles at the ceiling.
- Your elbows flare straight out. With your upper arms at right angles to your body, your shoulders take much of the load. Tuck your elbows in a little on the way down. Seen from above, aim for an arrow, not a T.
Variations and alternatives
- The dumbbell bench press lets each arm work on its own, useful if the bar feels awkward on your shoulders.
- The incline bench press when you want more focus on the upper chest.
- The close grip bench press moves more of the work to your triceps.
- Push-ups train the same muscles at home, with no bench or bar.
Sets and reps
For strength, 3 to 6 reps is common, often over 3 to 5 sets with two to three minutes' rest. Use a spotter or the safety arms in a rack for heavy sets. To build muscle, 6 to 12 reps over 3 to 4 sets works well. For endurance, 12 to 20 reps with a lighter weight is fine, but end the set when your form slips. The guide to sets and reps explains how to choose.
Add reps first and weight second, and keep the steps small: 2.5 kg in total, so 1.25 kg per side, is plenty once progress slows. That is progressive overload in practice. Log every set so you know what to beat next time.