Bench Press : Technique, Variations and Load

The bench press is the reference exercise for building the chest, shoulders and triceps. Done poorly, it loses much of its value and becomes uncomfortable for the shoulders. This sheet covers the recommended technique, the three most common variations (barbell, dumbbells, push-ups) and how to adjust the load to your level, based on your rep max. If you feel pain during or after the exercise, stop and see a healthcare professional : this sheet describes an execution technique, not medical advice.

Video demonstrations

▶ How To Get A Huge Bench Press With Perfect Technique — Jeff Nippard

▶ How to Bench Press — Alan Thrall

Proper bench press technique

Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar, shoulder blades pulled together and pressed lightly into the bench, feet flat on the floor. This stable position protects the shoulders and transfers force from the legs to the torso more effectively.

Lower the bar in a controlled way toward the lower chest, with elbows at roughly 45 to 75 degrees from your torso, neither tucked in nor fully flared out. The exact angle depends on your build : test a few positions to find what stays comfortable through the full range of motion.

Press the bar back up while keeping your shoulder blades pulled together, until your arms are fully extended without locking out abruptly. The bar's path isn't perfectly vertical : it moves down toward the chest and slightly back up toward the shoulders.

Variations

Barbell bench press

The heaviest-loaded variation : the barbell allows precise, incremental load progression. It's the reference exercise for building maximal strength on the movement, ranking alongside the squat and deadlift as one of the three classic barbell lifts.

Dumbbell bench press

Each arm works independently, which demands better control and engages the shoulder's stabilizing muscles more. Range of motion is also greater than with a barbell, since dumbbells can descend further. In exchange, the total load you can move is generally lower than with a barbell.

Push-ups, the bodyweight variation

With no equipment needed, push-ups work the same muscle groups using bodyweight as the only load. To keep progressing once standard push-ups feel easy, you can elevate your feet, slow down the descent, or add load (weighted vest, backpack).

Adjusting the load to your level

Load is set relative to your rep max (RM), the maximum weight you can lift once with correct technique. It's usually estimated from a set taken close to failure over several reps, rather than testing a true one-rep max directly. That approach is riskier technically, especially for beginners.

The closer the load gets to your RM, the fewer reps you can complete : a load around 85-90% of RM generally allows 3 to 5 reps, while around 65-70% allows more, roughly 12 to 15. The right choice depends on your current goal (strength, hypertrophy, technique); it's worth discussing with your coach if you have one, or adjusting gradually on your own while always keeping 1 to 2 reps in reserve before failure.

Muscles worked

The bench press primarily works the chest (the main driver of the movement), the front shoulders, and the triceps (elbow extension at the top of the movement). The upper back plays an important stabilizing role by keeping the shoulder blades pulled together throughout the movement, and pairs well with pull-ups to balance the push/pull ratio of the upper body.

Common mistakes

Shoulder blades lifting off the bench. This reduces shoulder stability and force transfer : keep them pulled together from start to finish.

Bouncing the bar off the chest. Using momentum to drive back up reduces actual muscle work and increases joint stress; a brief, controlled pause at the bottom works better.

Adding load too fast. Progressing load too quickly at the expense of technique is the most common cause of shoulder discomfort on this exercise, a risk shared with the overhead press, where the shoulder joint carries even more of the load.