Bench press - correct form?

[Kieran]

The most effective and widely taught form for raw bench pressing is to tuck slightly towards the bottom of the movement and then flare as the bar comes several inches of the chest causing the bar to move in a j-curve. If you're tucking through out and not pressing in a j-curve then you're sacrificing a lot of weight by not using the joint at it's optimal line of pull, and it's only really effective for when wearing a bench shirt. If you're flaring throughout the movement then it's a shoulder injury waiting to happen. This video from Wendler is probably the best video around for teaching basic bench form (bench is first exercise):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-_vCDajd-0

 

[mcw78912]

- I keep the elbows parallel to my body, is this the correct form?
- is a narrower hold supposed to be less strenuous on the shoulder joints?

No, the elbows should not be flared out to "isolate the chest." That puts a ton of stress on the shoulders and will lead to injury.

The narrower grip stresses the triceps more and can relieve shoulder pain. However, it also involves a great amount of shoulder rotation, so it's a temporary fix.

If you have to bench, do so with a moderate grip and make sure to balance it out with pulling exercises.

Thanks Truth Teller. I'll try with a moderately wide grip and with elbows not flaring out. The elbow part is a bit confusing as in one of the videos they say to rotate the elbows out while pushing up.

I think one of my big mistakes was to have my arms stay completely perpendicular to my body during the bench press.

 

[mcw78912]

The most effective and widely taught form for raw bench pressing is to tuck slightly towards the bottom of the movement and then flare as the bar comes several inches of the chest causing the bar to move in a j-curve. If you're tucking through out and not pressing in a j-curve then you're sacrificing a lot of weight by not using the joint at it's optimal line of pull, and it's only really effective for when wearing a bench shirt. If you're flaring throughout the movement then it's a shoulder injury waiting to happen. This video from Wendler is probably the best video around for teaching basic bench form (bench is first exercise):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-_vCDajd-0

Thanks for the post Kieren, and the video is very helpful. I kind of see what you mean regarding pressing in a j-curve. I have stayed stagnant at the current weight for about a year; maybe this will help me push harder.

I am only done watching the first 15 mins and this is very helpful for me. He goes into the very basics and explains each step thoroughly, which is exactly what I need to clean up my technique.

 

[mcw78912]

Just stop bench pressing altogether. It's a terrible exercise and it's going to destroy your shoulders if you keep at it.

Slow pushups, cable flies, dumbbell bench and pec deck will give you all the chest development you need. Standing overhead press, bent over rows, dips and pullups develop the rest of the upper body.

The barbell flat bench has got to be the worst exercise in existence. It literally kills people. It fucks up the shoulders of countless others every year. It's probably taken more men out of the gym permanently than injuries from every other exercise combined. What's worse is that doing it provides zero benefit that you can't obtain from other less dangerous exercises. So you have guys dying and maiming themselves needlessly. It's really stupid. Take care of your shoulders if you want to be lifting long term.

Thanks a lot scorpion for the alternative exercises I can work on. I have never tried dumbbell bench press but I want to try and get started.

Is this a good technique for beginners (2 min video) ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmB1G1K7v94

If not, and you're aware of a video with good dumbbell chest press technique, can you please post the link. Appreciate the help.

 

[mcw78912]

Just stop bench pressing altogether. It's a terrible exercise and it's going to destroy your shoulders if you keep at it.

Slow pushups, cable flies, dumbbell bench and pec deck will give you all the chest development you need. Standing overhead press, bent over rows, dips and pullups develop the rest of the upper body.

The barbell flat bench has got to be the worst exercise in existence. It literally kills people. It fucks up the shoulders of countless others every year. It's probably taken more men out of the gym permanently than injuries from every other exercise combined. What's worse is that doing it provides zero benefit that you can't obtain from other less dangerous exercises. So you have guys dying and maiming themselves needlessly. It's really stupid. Take care of your shoulders if you want to be lifting long term.

Just thought I'd update: I stopped (barbell) bench press altogether and switched completely to dumbbell press, starting at less than 1/2 the weight but maintaining the same volume through a larger number of sets, and gradually working my way up each month. Shoulder is now completely pain-free. Thanks for the advice, scorpion.

 

[SteezeySteve]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hgpyLrdWXs
Safest way to barbell bench press. You should be able to do (good form) pushups,and dips before worrying about it. If you have a history of shoulder issues go for dumbbell presses.
-Do you face pulls,cuban rotations and rows to balance it out though.
-Stretch the pecks,and lats out. Stretch the bicep.Have good overhead mobility before bench pressing.
-Don't try to develop a big upper body. Try to develop a strong healthy scapulae.
-Do your pulling work before your pressing work.I never understood why EVERY program has you do pressing before pulling.

Separate but relevant extrapolation on general shoulder health/ safety
I had to say this because someone brought up the supposed danger of bench pressing.

I'm not a fan of bench press,and its not necessary. Dips,plance presses, weighted pushups,hspu,ohp,are fine but the bench press is pretty damn effective for developing raw pressing strength and chest size for guys trying to look good. No denying that.

The reason why bench press is "known" to cause shoulder issues is because of the following reasons.
-poor form,flared elbows,and all that nonsense. People who do weird variations to try and "feel it in the chest man".
-lack of mobility. Tight pecks,bicep, front delts,and lats.
-Fucked up shoulders from overdevlopment of pressing muscles and lack of strength in smaller forgotten muscles that are important for a healthy scapulae.
-Not going through full ROM on pulling exercises. You want to go from protracted to retracted scapulae before even bending your arms to develop those small muscles. Also if you do farmers carries and deadlifts make sure you retract that fucking scapulae and have full thoracic extension while performing them.
-Using the "lat pulldown" as your main back developer. ESPECIALLY the way that personal trainers/body builders usually do it. It can be used to strengthen the scapulae if you want to but unless your overweight you should do chins instead.
-Specializing/obsessing over the bench press. Most dudes do it first in the gym,and all the time. If you're a competitive powerlifter that's one thing,but if your a normal guy who isn't competing in an athletic competition where your bench will be tested don't specialize in it and measure your overall progress by how much you bench. Do a variety of pressing exercises like I mentioned,and maybe some other activities if you have the time.
-Not moving the shoulder through multiple ranges of motion. The shoulder is such a complex thing that can do so much. You should stimulate it and move it through multiple ranges of motion. You can hang,do handstands,armcircles,and all kinds of crazy shit with it. At any one time you should make sure to use your shoulder to its fullest capabilities because other wise you will lose those abilities
-Steroids.......tendons take a long ass time to strengthen compared to muscle tissue. Steroids don't heal muscle tissue. (unless we're talking deca and peptides) If your muscles develop really fast (can happen during newbie gains aswell) compared to the tendons like when you take drugs you will get injured because the tendons just can't handle what the muscle tissue can.
-Smith machines. You're moving prime movers in absence of stabilizers.
-Retards who can't do a good pushup and are worried about how big their chest is. Bottom line there's something to be said about having a good base before loading up the plates.

Just to show everybody how fucked up there shoulders are try this.



Bench press is a very strong medicine. Strong medicine can be dangerous or it can be safe. It has side effects you need to account for, it has to be taken in the right dosages,and your doctor recommends living a healthy lifestyle in addition to taking it.

 

[mcw78912]

Thanks for the tips. I'll look into trying out some of the other exercises you mentioned. I think my technique was quite bad (flared elbows, bringing the weight down directly over the shoulder) for barbell press and that's what led to the problem. I never really looked into the problem earlier, as I simply assigned the issue to my currently higher than normal stress level.

For now though, I am content with the dumbbell press. Seeing some gains as well and shoulders feel much better. My goal is to move up 5 lbs a month if I am able to, as long as I can do it with good form.

 

[ThrustMaster]

I’m 6 months post op for a torn supraspinatus 8cm. Go see a doc. Could be as easy as some PT or as complicated as surgery.

 

[Christhugger]

Partially tore my wrist TFCC by using too close a hand spacing and going for 1RM bench. Happened 3 years ago and my wrist still ain't right, probably fucked for life. No more heavy bench for me and very slow reps.

 

[mcw78912]

The most common reason for this is that you are flaring your elbows too much. If a bird's-eye view of you while benching makes you look like a T, then you should focus on tucking your elbows closer to 45 degrees. The easiest way to do this is to touch lower on your chest.

Dude you were spot-on, that's exactly where I was going wrong.

 

[Richard Turpin]

Some great advice in this thread. Like many, I have a love/hate relationship with the Bench. One of the first exercises I ever did, the first that I could handle a decent amount of weight with, and the one I increased faster and easier than others.

But, and even though I've had no shoulder pain from benching, I still have my doubts over it. Mainly due to the type of body it creates; I definitely feel blocky and pec-heavy after I've focused too much on it. To the point that I actually feel and maybe even look 'fat' in a top. On occasions, I've dropped the bench for months and just used push-ups and running and ironically found that people have commented on my pecs more than when I was benching away like a maniac! Dips are good, but I feel they are similar to the Bench in that they grow the lower pec too much. I'm experimenting now with incline benches and push-ups in my routine. Trouble is, I find that inclines do give me shoulder pain!

 

[redonion]

The most common reason for this is that you are flaring your elbows too much. If a bird's-eye view of you while benching makes you look like a T, then you should focus on tucking your elbows closer to 45 degrees. The easiest way to do this is to touch lower on your chest.

Dude you were spot-on, that's exactly where I was going wrong.

Really happy to help. Glad things are feeling better.

By the way, I highly recommend this video series for anyone looking to improve their bench. It's meant for powerlifters, but if you have a bodybuilding focus I still think the videos have a lot of good value in them. There's a huge emphasis on getting into a starting position that is tight, safe, and will improve your numbers.

Here's the first vid:

 

[Jetset]

Since you've already made the (smart) move to DBs, to take more stress off the joint you can try a hammer/neutral grip and a slight incline.