Horizontal push
Bench press
The foundational chest and triceps lift. The most weight you can move with your upper body.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Intermediate
- Primary muscles
- Pectoralis major, Triceps
- Secondary muscles
- Front deltoids, Serratus anterior
- Working range
- 4–10 reps · RIR 2
Step by step
- 1Lie so your eyes are under the bar. Five points of contact: head, upper back, glutes and both feet.
- 2Grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Wrists straight, bar on the heel of the hand, not the fingers.
- 3Pull your shoulder blades together and down, as if tucking them into your back pockets. Hold that all set.
- 4Unrack and bring the bar over your shoulders.
- 5Take a breath and lower to the lower chest, elbows about 45 degrees from the torso.
- 6Touch the chest without bouncing and press back to over the shoulders.
What makes the biggest difference
- Retracted shoulder blades are the foundation of the whole lift — nothing else matters without them.
- Train with a spotter or in a rack with safeties. There is no third option.
Common mistakes
Elbows flared straight out
A 90-degree flare is the most common cause of front shoulder pain. Keep the elbows closer to the torso.
Shoulder blades losing contact with the bench
The shoulder loses its stable base. Set the blades before unracking and check between reps.
Bouncing the bar off the chest
A fake boost that ends in sternum or rib injury with heavier loads. Pause briefly instead.
One side pressing ahead of the other
Spend a few weeks on dumbbells — they force symmetry and reveal which side lags.
What to do instead
Front shoulder pain
Low-incline dumbbell press
Dumbbells allow natural wrist rotation and the incline reduces shoulder extension at the bottom.
Training without a spotter
Dumbbell bench press
Dumbbells can be set down safely at any moment. A loaded barbell cannot.
No bench or barbell
The same horizontal push pattern; scale the load with foot elevation or a band.
Contraindications
- A rotator cuff injury — get assessed before returning to pressing.
- A recent sternum or rib injury — avoid bar contact with the chest.
- Uncontrolled hypertension — consult a doctor before heavy pressing.
This is not medical advice. If any of these apply to you, or the exercise causes pain, talk to a doctor or physiotherapist before returning to training.
Similar exercises
Log your sets and watch the progression
You enter weight, reps and RIR — the app computes your estimated 1RM, plots the strength curve and suggests the next session’s load along with the reasoning.
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