Bench Press: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The bench press works your chest as the main mover, pressing the bar up off your chest. Your shoulders help drive the bar up and your triceps lock your elbows out at the top, making the bench press the standard barbell test of pressing strength.
- Primary muscle:
- Chest
- Secondary muscles:
- Shoulders, Triceps
Muscles worked
Your chest is the primary mover in the bench press, pressing the bar up and together as you extend your arms from your chest.
Your shoulders (front delts) assist through the early part of the press, and your triceps take over to lock your elbows out at the top of each rep.
Log Bench Press in PR Streak
PR Streak's library has 873 exercises, each with photos and step-by-step instructions like this one. Log this move and see what you lifted last time right next to every set, with every PR caught automatically and a chart for every exercise.
How to do it
- Lie back on a flat bench. Using a medium width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
- From the starting position, breathe in and begin coming down slowly until the bar touches your middle chest.
- After a brief pause, push the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out. Focus on pushing the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position at the top of the motion, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: Ideally, lowering the weight should take about twice as long as raising it.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Form tips
- Set your shoulder blades back and down against the bench before you unrack the bar.
- Grip the bar at a width that creates roughly a 90-degree elbow angle when the bar touches your chest.
- Lower the bar under control to your mid-chest, keeping your elbows at about 45 degrees to your torso.
- Press the bar up and slightly back toward your face, finishing with your arms locked out.
- Keep your feet flat on the floor for a stable base to press from.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Barbell |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does the bench press work?
The bench press is led by your chest, with your shoulders and triceps assisting the press throughout the movement. It is the standard barbell exercise for building pressing strength and chest size.
How much should I be able to bench press?
It depends on your bodyweight, sex and training experience. Try an 1RM calculator from a recent working set to estimate your current bench press max and track it over time.
More chest exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
