Bench Press

Bench Press

The Bench Press is the most popular lift in the gym. It's the upper-body exercise that lets you lift the most weight. This exercise focuses on both the chest muscles Pectoralis Major and Minor, hence can be regarded as a complete exercise for chest workout. This exercise is not recommended for females.

Method

1.    Lie on an upright support bench or a bench inside a Power Rack.

2.    Un rack the weight & lower it to your chest. 

3.    Press it back up until your arms are straight upwards.

4.    Lower weight to sides of upper chest until slight stretch is felt in chest or shoulder.

5.    Repeat again.

Who can do it

This exercise is recommended only for males and for females there are other versions of bench press which can be executed through dumbbells.

Ideal Weight

The weight that you should lift in this exercise must be as per your efficiency. Do not try to lift very heavy weights forcefully.

Breathing technique

·         Breathe out while lifting weight against the gravity on the upper side

·         Breathe in while coming downwards with weight.

Points to remember

·         Always remember to avoid jerky movements.

·         Don’t bend your wrists. This will give you wrist pain. Put the bar in the palm of your hand. Close to your wrists, not close to your fingers. Squeeze the bar so it doesn't move.

·         Too high is bad for your shoulders. Too low is inefficient. Put your elbows between perpendicular to & parallel with your torso.

·         Don't let your shoulders roll forward. Its bad posture, bad technique & a guaranteed way to get shoulder injuries. Keep your chest up, shoulder-blades back & down and upper-back tight.

·         Make sure that your glutes are on the bench.  It puts pressure on your back, especially when the weight gets heavy. You're more stable when your glutes are on the bench.

·         Your grip should not be too wide. It will give injuries to your shoulders.  It should not be too narrow also as you’ll lose your strength.

·         Use a wide foot stance to increase stability on the bench. Feet flat on the floor, weight on the heels, lower leg perpendicular to the floor. This prevents extreme arching of your lower back.

Advantages of Bench Press

·         It helps in building chest muscles. It also works on your front shoulders and on triceps too.

·         It builds up your strength. The Bench Press is the strength training exercise that lets you lift the most weight using your upper-body muscles.

Posted in: Chest exercises