Exercise of the Month: Flat Bench Press

Now the Flat bench press has to be the most talked about exercises in the gym and it also seems to be on the tip of everybody’s tongue. When guys talk about training the first question is always ‘How much can you bench press? Etc and I too have been one of those people.

Over my time in the gym I have seen so many different techniques, some good and some crazily dangerous. So this is why I have chosen the Bench Press as this months exercise of the month so I can go over my technique I use.

How to do it…

Now after picking a weight for your individual goals you should lie down on the bench under the bar ready to start your set up. The set up is so important while bench pressing to make sure you don’t injure yourself and so that you can maintain a tight technique while pressing. Start with your feet position, I like to take my feet nice and wide and push my feet hard on the floor to create good stable stability. Next try to drop your shoulders by squeezing your back against the bench, this will help protect your shoulders as your back will be contracting and helping out with the movement especially on the way down. Once you have selected your grip which could be close neutral or wide you will then grip the bar like your life depended on it so that your forearm muscles will be contracting and ready to work.

Ideally you will have a spotter to help unload/reload the bar to the bench and to get you out of any sticky situation but again it’s optional. You will then unload the bar until it’s directly above your chest, hold for a second and squeeze your back again while pumping out your chest.

Slowly lower the bar until it touches lightly against your chest (nipple line) and press powerfully to the start position.

If your goals are mainly strength building or powerlifting I would pause at the bottom for a second rather than the touch and go method. If you’re training for size both methods are ok but try not to lock out as you will lose tension on your chest muscles.

This technique can be used on incline and decline presses too but your alignment may change for example, on an incline press you may want to bring the bar down to your upper chest rather than nipple line.

Overall most struggle with this exercise because their set up is wrong but after a few small changes you may see a massive improvement.