The barbell bench press is one of the most common chest exercises around. To perform it, you just need to lie with your back down on a barbell bench, grab the bar with both hands, and lift it up and down, moving it between your chest and the bench press rack.

How to Do Barbell Bench Presses

The only equipment you need to do barbell bench presses is a bench and a barbell. The process is pretty simple:

1. Lie on the bench and grip the bar firmly.
2. Lift the bar off the rack.
3. Lower the bar in the direction of your chest, descending with as much control as possible.
4. Press the bar back up and either place it on the rack again or continue making up-and-down motions.

Once you’re done, place the bar in the rack again, and don’t forget to stretch!

Things to Keep in Mind

As with all exercises involving weights, performing barbell bench presses can be dangerous and potentially lead to injury. So, to do it right, there are some thing you should keep in mind.

Bench Positioning

Positioning is key to performing barbell bench presses correctly. It’s essential to pay attention to your back, feet, and hands:

• Your entire back, including your head and shoulders, should be in direct contact with the bench. Your core should be activated during pressing, just like when you’re doing abs exercises.
• Your feet should be entirely placed on the floor for added stability and to avoid injury. If the bench is too tall for you and cannot be adjusted, you can use some sort of footrest, even if improvised.
• You should use your hands to grip the bar on each side, paying extra attention to your wrists, which must be straight. The hands should be a little bit farther apart than shoulder-width. 

During lifting, don’t forget to lock your elbows out!

Must-Do’s During Lifting

Once you’re correctly positioned, you can start lifting the bar. Please make sure not to add too much weight to it, especially if you’re a beginner. During the lifting, these are the essential aspects you should be focusing on:

• Don’t arch your back or, at the very least, don’t do it excessively.
• Do your best to keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle.
• When controlling the bar’s descent, try to apply as much force as possible and never let the bar actually touch your chest (it’s ineffective from a workout’s standpoint, and can potentially hurt your chest).
• Don’t forget to breathe: ideally, inhale as you lower the bar and exhale when you’re pushing it back up!

By following these rules, you can avoid injury while performing barbell bench presses.

Keep It Extra Safe

To keep things extra safe, make sure you have someone around you who can assist you. Truth be told, the gym spotter is most needed in bench press exercises, helping the person working out to lift the heavy bar and prevent nasty accidents.

Finally, make sure you’re using proper weights and gym equipment, as DIY bench press alternatives can be quite risky to use.

Barbell Bench Press: How to Warm-Up

While there’s no one single way of warming up ahead of a barbell bench press session, the following exercises should be enough for keeping injuries at bay:

• Activate your shoulders with arm circles (around 30 seconds per each direction).
• Activate your chest by performing chest openers (just open your arms as far as you can as you squeeze your shoulder blades together).
• Warm-up your upper body muscles with a few pushups. This will help you avoid injury ahead of the barbell bench press, especially if you’re lifting some serious weight. Dumbbell exercises may also come in handy!

Finally, consider starting with lighter presses before progressing to heavier ones.

Barbell Bench Press Benefits

You now know how to perform barbell bench presses safely, but what are the benefits of this classic gym routine?

Well, these are some of the most evident advantages:

• It’s one of the best exercises to build upper body strength, affecting not only the chest but also the deltoids and triceps.
• It’s great for improving muscle mass, which makes it a must in shredded & muscular routines.
• While not core-focused, barbell bench presses are great for core development when performed correctly. This is one of the reasons why it’s essential to ensure your entire back is correctly placed in the bench.
• If you focus on the number of presses rather than weight, this exercise can be incredible for increasing bone density (after all, the barbell bench press can be considered a resistance workout as well).

Need Inspiration?

If you’re looking for great workout programs that integrate the barbell bench press and other great exercises, please don’t forget to take a look at our 6-day workout split!