7 Ways to Improve Your Bench Press Technique

The Bench Press- it’s the one strength training exercise everyone thinks they know (“it’s easy, just lay on the bench and move the bar up and down, right?” Short answer: no), but many a person royally screws it up. There is an art and technique to mastering bench press form and you won’t intuitively know it unless someone shows you how. Implementing these 7 technique cues will improve not only the safety of the bench press (no, the bench press does NOT destroy shoulders, it’s your crappy form that destroyed your shoulders), but you’ll also lift more weight. And who doesn’t want to do that?

Pinch Shoulder Blades Together

Once you sit on the bench, your first step should be to sit up straight and tall and pinch your shoulder blades together. You also want your shoulders as far back in the shoulder socket as possible. Keep you shoulder blades pinched together throughout the entire movement. Doing so will increase shoulder stability and tightness in the joint. You’ll also lift more because you won’t be so loosey-goosey.

Arch Your Lower Back

With your shoulder blades still pinched together, create an arch in your lower back. Then lay down on the bench (watch your head). Your entire lower back should be off the bench, with your shoulders and butt in contact with the bench. This technique cue will create a super tightness and rigidness in your body, and thus more support for the lift you’re trying to complete.

Spread the Floor

Make sure your feet are spread wide (one foot on either side of the bench). Do NOT put your feet up on the bench next to your butt. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by doing that. Once your feet are placed properly, focus on “spreading the floor with my feet”. The tension throughout your legs due to pushing into the ground will create a ton of stability. Don’t let the bench press be just another upper body exercise. Your lower body should be there too, at least for support.

Tip: if you’re shorter and you have a hard time applying ample pressure with both feet into the ground, place a weight plate on each side of the bench, where your feet should go. Place your feet on each weight plate. Problem solved!

Squeeze Your Butt

The final cue for setting up the body before the press. And pretty self explanatory. Once you’ve applied the cues above, simply squeeze your glutes together. All of these cues combined create a really stable structure from which you can perform a successful and safe bench press.

Correct Hand Placement

Unless you’re training a specific grip (i.e. close grip), make sure you are using the right grip for your body type during the bench press. This will vary from person to person. Someone with a very wide shoulder girdle and a lot of musculature in the shoulders will want to go wider. Someone with a narrow shoulder girdle who’s still in need of muscle development will want to have a more narrow hand placement. Going too wide or too narrow for your structure will put you at a disadvantage. Play around with it and see what works best for you.

Once you’ve placed your hands, wrap your thumb around the bar, squeeze the bar tight, and focus on turning your “elbow pits” towards your face. This simple tweak externally rotates the shoulders and takes the slack out of the shoulder joint capsule. Not only does this decrease the chance for injury, but you’ll get a better lift from the increased torque. In fact, most people who ruin their shoulders from bench pressing are usually benching with their elbows all flared out and bringing the bar down way too high. Benching heavy weight with your shoulder in a compromised position like this (internally rotated and loosey-goosey in the socket) is n-o-t a g-o-o-d t-h-i-n-g.

Squeeze Your Lats on the Descent/Stay Tight

While you’re taking the bar down to your chest, don’t just wildly drop it and bounce it off your sternum (ouch), which is very common. You want to deliberately stay tight and move the bar much more slowly. Focus on squeezing your lats all the way down. You want control of the bar and of the bar path. Squeezing your lats will help the bar stay in position. If you lose position and the bar tries to slide down your body, even if it’s just a tiny bit, then you’ll more than likely miss the lift once the weight gets really heavy.

Touch the Bar to Your Sternum

Last but not least- please, please, please actually touch the bar to your sternum. Many people do a half-ass bench press and only come within 6 inches of their chest. That’s all fine and dandy if you’re deliberately trying to train a shorter range of motion, usually through board pressing (and there is a lot of value from doing that), but if you’re actually trying to do a bench press, then actually do a bench press. Which is all the way to your sternum and back up with the elbows locked out. Also, touch the barbell to your sternum, below your nipples (ladies, right beneath your boobs), NOT your clavicle, or worse yet, your neck. You’re just asking for injuries by lowering the bar real high like that.

Ha, I just managed to use the word nipples and boobs in a blog post, and for an actual productive and explanatory reason. 10 bonus points for the day! And yes, I am quite mature actually, thanks for asking 🙂

What bench tips would you want added to the list? Let me know in the comments below!

Home