Exercise library
Bench Press
The five-point setup that makes the bench press strong and safe, why the bar does not travel straight up, and how to fix shoulder pain before it starts.
How to do the bench press
- 01Lie back with your eyes under the bar. Set five points of contact: both feet flat, glutes and upper back on the bench, head resting.
- 02Pull your shoulder blades down and together and hold them there. This is the shelf you press from and it does not move during the set.
- 03Grip so that at the bottom your forearms are vertical — usually a little wider than shoulder-width, not as wide as you can reach.
- 04Unrack, bring the bar over your shoulders, then lower under control to your lower chest with elbows at roughly 45 degrees from your torso.
- 05Touch the chest without bouncing, then press up and slightly back so the bar finishes over your shoulders again.
Coaching cues
- Bend the bar in half. It fires the lats and locks the shoulder blades in place.
- Push yourself away from the bar rather than pushing the bar away from you.
- Elbows at 45 degrees, not flared to 90. Flared elbows are where shoulder pain comes from.
Common mistakes
FaultShoulder blades loose and rolling forward
FixRetract and depress them before you unrack and hold that position for every rep. A loose shoulder is an unstable one and it is the main source of bench-related pain.
FaultElbows flared straight out to the sides
FixTuck to around 45 degrees. Full flare puts the shoulder into internal rotation at end range under load, which is the impingement position.
FaultBouncing the bar off the chest
FixTouch and pause for a beat. Bouncing borrows energy from your ribcage and hides how much you can actually press.
FaultHips lifting off the bench
FixThe weight is too heavy, or your feet are too far forward. Drive your feet down and back, and keep your glutes in contact.
The bench press is a full-body lift that people perform lying down and thinking only about their arms. Almost everything that goes wrong with it — stalled progress, shoulder pain, a bar path that wanders — traces back to the setup rather than the press.
The shelf you press from
Before the bar moves, pull your shoulder blades down and together and clamp them there.
That retracted, depressed position creates a stable platform. It shortens the distance the bar travels, it puts the shoulder joint in a packed position rather than a loose one, and it lets your upper back rather than your shoulder capsule absorb the load.
Lose it mid-set and two things happen at once: the bar has further to travel, and your shoulder is now supporting weight in a position it is not built to support. Almost every bench-related shoulder complaint starts here.
The bar does not go straight up
Watch a strong bench from the side and the bar travels in a shallow arc — down and slightly toward the feet, then up and slightly back toward the face.
That is not a flaw. The bar has to finish over the shoulder joint, because that is the only position where the joint is stacked under the load. It starts over the shoulder at the top and touches lower on the chest at the bottom, so the path is necessarily diagonal.
Trying to press in a perfectly vertical line either pushes the touch point too high, which is hard on the shoulder, or leaves the lockout in front of the shoulder, which is hard on everything.
Elbow angle is the safety dial
Elbows flared to ninety degrees from the torso is the position most people adopt naturally and the one most associated with shoulder problems. It maximises external moment on the shoulder in internal rotation.
Elbows tucked hard to the sides turns the movement into a triceps press and takes the chest out of it.
Around forty-five degrees is the compromise: enough abduction to load the chest properly, not so much that the shoulder is at end range. If you are unsure, aim for the bar touching at the lower chest rather than the collarbone — the touch point largely sets the elbow angle for you.
Legs are part of the lift
The feet are not decoration. Driving them into the floor and slightly back creates tension through the hips and upper back that stabilises the whole system.
Keep the glutes on the bench — lifting them is a sign the load is too heavy or the feet are too far forward — but do not treat the lower body as passive. A bench press with dead legs is a weaker bench press.
Common questions
How do I bench press with proper form?
Set five points of contact, pull your shoulder blades down and together and keep them there, grip so your forearms are vertical at the bottom, lower to the lower chest with elbows at about 45 degrees, and press back up and slightly toward your face. The shoulder blade position is what everything else depends on.
Why does my shoulder hurt when I bench press?
Most often flared elbows combined with loose shoulder blades. That puts the shoulder in internal rotation at end range under load — the impingement position. Tuck the elbows to roughly 45 degrees and retract the blades before you unrack.
Should the bar touch my chest?
Yes, if you can reach it without your shoulders rolling forward. Touching gives a consistent range and a reference point for progress. If touching forces your shoulders out of position, use a board or a slight pin and work on the mobility separately.
How wide should my bench press grip be?
Wide enough that your forearms are vertical when the bar is at your chest. That is usually one to one and a half hand widths outside the shoulders. Very wide grips shorten the range but load the shoulder joint considerably more.
Is the bench press bad for your shoulders?
Not inherently. Done with a stable scapula and tucked elbows it is well tolerated. Done with flared elbows and loose shoulders, week after week, it is one of the most reliable ways to accumulate shoulder problems in a gym.
Swap it out
Same training effect, different demand on the joints.