How to Perform a PERFECT BENCH PRESS

The flat barbell bench press is one of the 3 major lifts tested in a powerlifting competition and the definitive test of upper body and pectoral strength! It is also one of the most mis-executed lifts in the weight room. So here' show to actually do a bench press the right way. 

Bench press execution can be broken down into 5 parts:

1. Setup
2. Unrack
3. Descent
4. Off the Chest
5. Lockout

1. Setup

First, you want to set your foot position. There are two ways you can do this: either your feet are flat on the ground or only your toes touch the ground. The former method would use a wider foot position compared to the latter. Either way, the reason for this is the maximize leg drive, which is essentially the force of your legs pushing against the ground. Maximizing leg drive will create stability in the lift and will allow your upper body to stay more tight. Some lifters find that using heeled weightlifting shoes helps here. Ultimately, you will have to experiment with which foot stance works best for you.

Next, you want to arch your back. Do this by retracting your shoulders blades AND pinching them DOWN. This will create and arch in your lower and thoracic spine. You should make this arch as large as possible WHILE keeping your butt on the bench. Your butt and upper back should always be in contact with the bench during the entire duration of the lift, other than during the unrack. Squeezing your glutes can also help with this.

Next, set your grip width. For almost all people, the strongest width will be outside of shoulder width. A good guideline for general strength is that when the bar is on your chest, your arms should be completely vertical and parallel with gravity. However, some strength athletes choose to go way outside of this grip width. Again, this is personal preference. You should keep your width consistent with all your sets.

A final note here. If you are bench pressing in a power rack, PLEASE use the available safety arms. These safety arms are an invaluable tool when doing heavy bench presses, and they WILL stop you from killing yourself under heavy weight!

2. Unrack

Once you have your arch and width set up, position you head so that your eyes/forehead is directly under the barbell. Take a deep breath of air and unrack the barbell and move it forward until your arms are vertical. Your grip should be solid and firm here. A loose grip could mean dropping the barbell mid-set ie. killing yourself. 

3. Descent

Take in a huge breath of air into your gut. This breath is referred to as the Valsalva maneuver, and will create intra-abdominal pressure. Then, you can begin the descent.

The bar should move in a forward and down motion until it touches your chest. The exact contact point should be on the sternum, right below the nipple line. You can decide to pause on the chest for however long you life, but this will depend on your individual goals. I recommend you pause every rep for a 1 count. No matter your pause length, the descent should ALWAYS be controlled. Do NOT divebomb the weight, ever.

4. Off the Chest

Now, you PUSH! The push of the barbell of the chest should be synchronized with your legs pushing as hard as they can into the floor (this is the leg drive I mentioned earlier). The Bar should first be pushed BACK towards the face and THEN up. This creates optimal bar path and will allow for the most weight to be lifted. Remember the breath that you breathed in at the start? Yeah, that breath should still be in your gut. The breath should only be released around 2/3 of the way up, which is usually after a sticking point in the lift. Failing to maintain core stability will limit your strength.

5. Lockout

Continue the press until your elbows are fully locked out. This should be the easy part for most raw lifters. Then, begin your next rep by taking in a fresh breath of air or rerack the weight.

So there you have it! The Cavern Of Creatures Gym method of executing a perfect bench press to help you lift the most weight!

Enjoy!