Bench pressing is probably the most exciting exercise I know of, and others must feel the same way because it’s received a spectacular amount of attention. Learning how to bench press properly is key to safety and also making great progress in strength and size.
Most important of all is knowing that every person has their own special technique which feels right for them. It is all about experimenting until you find what works best for you, and anyone telling you how to bench press in a set way without encouraging you to experiment to find your own technique is leading you astray.
The best anyone can do when teaching you how to bench press properly is to give you some guidelines and pointers for you to follow.
Here are my pointers…
- Plant your feet firmly on the floor for stability.
- Never bench with a thumb-less grip, it’s far too dangerous.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together as tightly as possible to form a steady base for you to bench from, and keep them pinched together throughout.
- Before lifting, align your eyes with the bar while it is on the rack.
- When you’ve taken the bar from the rack maneuver it over your chest before lowering it.
- Before lowering the bar, see if there is anything on the ceiling you can focus on with which the bar is aligned. This will help you to lift the bar back up to the same spot for your repetitions.
- Bench from the lower chest — the nipple or slightly below. And, keep the bar benching above the chest, don’t bring the bar over your eyes again until you rack it.
- For regular grip bench press, use a grip which when the bar is touching your chest allows your forearms to be perfectly vertical, allowing for maximum stability and power transfer from your muscles to your bones, to the bar.
- Never bounce the bar off your chest, it should always be a light touch.
These pointers should be enough to allow you to teach yourself how to bench press properly. Start out light to get a feel for it, and you’ll do just fine.