How many sets and reps of bench press should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Three sets of 6 to 8 reps, twice a week, using a weight you could still lift two or three more times at the end of each set. Leave at least two days between bench sessions. Add about 2.5 kg (5 lb) once you hit the top of the rep range on all three sets with the shoulder blades pinned and no bounce. Set the safety pins just below the height of your chest at the bottom of the rep, or use a spotter, before any set you plan to push hard.

What can I do instead of the bench press if I have no barbell?

The dumbbell bench press is the closest match and lets each shoulder find its own path, which many people find more comfortable. A dumbbell floor press works when you have no bench, since the floor stops the elbows at a safe depth. With no weights at all, push-ups with your feet on a chair, done slowly with a pause at the bottom, load the same muscles.

What is the bench press good for and when is it a poor choice?

It is the main lift for upper-body pressing strength and chest size, and it lets you add weight in small steps for years. The bar path is fixed, so if your shoulder pinches at the bottom no matter how you set the elbows, dumbbells or a neutral-grip press will suit you better. It is also a poor choice when you train alone with no rack, spotter, or safety pins, because a failed rep has nowhere to go.

Intermediate

Barbell Bench Press

This is the movement most people mean when they say bench press, and it belongs in nearly every upper-body program. It lets you load heavy through a stable bar path, making it your best tool for raw pressing strength and overall chest mass. Once your shoulders and elbows tolerate the fixed groove, treat it as a core lift you progress for years.

Equipment: Barbell, Bench
Body part: Chest
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Pectoralis Major Sternocostal
Browse by movement: Horizontal Press

How to do it

1
Lie back on a flat bench with your eyes under the bar, feet planted, and a slight natural arch in your lower back.
2
Grip the bar a little wider than shoulder width, squeeze your shoulder blades down and back into the bench, and unrack to lockout over your chest.
3
Take a breath, brace, and lower the bar under control to your lower chest, keeping your elbows tucked to roughly 45 to 75 degrees.
4
Touch the chest lightly without bouncing, then drive the bar up and slightly back toward the rack until your arms lock out.
5
Exhale near the top and reset your shoulder blades before the next rep.

Tips

Keep your shoulder blades pinned and depressed the whole set so the load stays off the front of the shoulder.
Drive your feet into the floor and keep your hips on the bench; flaring the elbows straight out to 90 degrees stresses the shoulder joint.
Move the bar in a slight arc from lower chest to over the shoulders rather than straight up and down.
Always use a thumb-around grip and a spotter or safety pins when training heavy.

Variations

Common mistakes

Bouncing the bar off your ribcage to rebound out of the bottom robs the chest of tension and can bruise the sternum; touch the chest lightly and press from a dead stop.
Letting the shoulder blades unpin as you tire rolls the shoulders forward and moves load onto the joint, so reset them into the bench before every rep.
Driving the hips off the bench to finish a heavy rep turns the lift into a badly braced incline press; keep your glutes in contact and push through the floor instead.
Lowering the bar to the throat or collarbone puts your elbows behind your wrists and makes the press far weaker; keep the touch point at the lower chest.
Blowing your air out at the bottom collapses the brace exactly where the chest is under most stretch; hold the breath through the press and exhale near lockout.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of bench press should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Three sets of 6 to 8 reps, twice a week, using a weight you could still lift two or three more times at the end of each set. Leave at least two days between bench sessions. Add about 2.5 kg (5 lb) once you hit the top of the rep range on all three sets with the shoulder blades pinned and no bounce. Set the safety pins just below the height of your chest at the bottom of the rep, or use a spotter, before any set you plan to push hard.
What can I do instead of the bench press if I have no barbell?: The dumbbell bench press is the closest match and lets each shoulder find its own path, which many people find more comfortable. A dumbbell floor press works when you have no bench, since the floor stops the elbows at a safe depth. With no weights at all, push-ups with your feet on a chair, done slowly with a pause at the bottom, load the same muscles.
What is the bench press good for and when is it a poor choice?: It is the main lift for upper-body pressing strength and chest size, and it lets you add weight in small steps for years. The bar path is fixed, so if your shoulder pinches at the bottom no matter how you set the elbows, dumbbells or a neutral-grip press will suit you better. It is also a poor choice when you train alone with no rack, spotter, or safety pins, because a failed rep has nowhere to go.

Related exercises

Other movements among FitRay's 2,000+ exercises that load the same target muscle — same equipment and level first.

All Chest exercises