equipment

Barbell, Bench

sets

3-4

reps

6-12

rest

2-3 min

1. Set the bench to an incline of roughly 30 to 45 degrees.
2. Sit back so your head, upper back and hips rest against the pad.
3. Plant both feet flat on the floor.
4. Retract your shoulder blades and hold them down against the bench.
5. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width and unrack it over your upper chest.

1. Lower the bar under control toward your upper chest, near the collarbone.
2. Keep your elbows moderately tucked rather than flared level with your shoulders.
3. Lower until the bar lightly touches your upper chest, or as far as your shoulders allow comfortably.
4. Press the bar upward and slightly back so it finishes over your shoulders.
5. Extend your arms fully at the top without letting your shoulder blades come forward.

Inhale on the way down, exhale as you press up. Brace your midsection before each repetition on heavier sets.

• Keep the bench angle moderate — steeper angles shift more work to the shoulders.
• Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down.
• Touch the bar high on the chest, not on the sternum.
• Keep your head resting on the bench rather than pushing it forward.
• Control the bar speed on the way down.

• Setting the incline too steep, turning it into a shoulder press.
• Lowering the bar too low toward the stomach.
• Letting the elbows flare straight out to the sides.
• Lifting the hips off the bench to push heavier weight.
• Losing upper-back tightness as the set goes on.

From full arm extension down to a light touch on the upper chest. Use the fullest range you can control while keeping your shoulder blades retracted.