Bench press: how to do it
Main muscles: Middle chest, Lower chest. Helpers: Front delts (anterior deltoid), Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Barbell
Reps
8–12
Rest
105 s
Muscle group
Chest
How to do it
- Lie so that the bar is over your eyes. Pull the shoulder blades together and into the bench, feet flat on the floor.
- Lower the bar to the lower chest, elbows at about 45° to the torso, do not flare them straight out.
- Press up to full lockout and keep the hips on the bench.
Common mistakes
Bouncing the bar off the chest, elbows straight out to the sides, arching with the hips off the bench.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Middle chest, Lower chest
- Secondary
- Front delts (anterior deltoid), Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Programs that use it
- Full body, 2 days3 × 8–12
- Full body, 3 days3 × 8–12
- Push, pull, legs — 3 days4 × 8–12
- Upper/lower, 4 days4 × 8–12
- 5-day split4 × 8–12
- Strength 5×5, 3 days5 × 5
- Lower body focus, 3 days4 × 8–12
Alternatives: similar exercises
Dips
Bodyweight · Lower chest, Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Dumbbell fly
Dumbbells · Middle chest
Dumbbell bench press
Dumbbells · Middle chest
Push-ups
Bodyweight · Middle chest
Cable crossover
Cable · Middle chest
Close-grip push-ups
Bodyweight · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
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