The Worst Bench Press Mistakes Everyone Makes (Avoid These)
Most people don't know how to bench press with the proper bench press form. For example, do you ever feel pinching or pain in your shoulder when you bench press? Or maybe it activates your shoulders and triceps more than the chest? Or maybe every time you start going heavy you end up hurting yourself. This isn’t because the bench press is a bad exercise, it’s just that most people do it wrong. There are 5 mistakes almost everyone makes with their bench press technique - be it on the barbell bench press or Smith machine bench press. Fix these bench press form mistakes, and I guarantee your shoulders will thank you, and you’ll start to feel your chest activating like never before. Here’s how to bench press for chest growth.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Fix 1
2:15 - Fix 2
3:43 - Fix 3
5:12 - Fix 4
6:28 - Fix 5
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The first bench press form mistake has to do with your elbow angle. If you use too wide of an elbow angle, you’re going to have a very hard time bringing the bar all the way down to your chest and doing so can create a lot of strain on the shoulders. Whereas a tucked elbow angle will help you get deeper and better activate your chest since it usually aligns with the direction that most people's chest fibers run. To find the perfect elbow angle for you, focus on touching your lower chest or nipples with the bar when performing the barbell bench press, then your elbows should naturally end up in the right place.
But what if you bench on the Smith Machine? For angled Smith machines: Face the same direction that the Smith machine path is angled so that the bar moves down and slightly forward on the way down. At the bottom position the bar should touch the level of your lower chest right around your sternum. For straight up and down Smith machines have the bar touch bit higher right around the level of your mid chest.
Now in order to properly do the previous bench press technique tip, you need to fix your grip. Next time you’re on the bench, rest the bar on your lower chest. At this bottom position your wrist, forearms, and elbow should ideally be straight up and down stacked directly under the bar. However far away your hands need to be to accomplish that is your ideal grip width.
There’s a common mistake you want to avoid on the way up the barbell bench press: letting your shoulders take over. To prevent that, start by creating a “proud chest” by sticking your chest up towards the ceiling. Then, use your back muscles to pull the bar down to your chest as if you were doing a row, squeezing your shoulder blades together and keeping your chest up and proud. Lightly touch the bar with your chest, and then on the way up, think about squeezing your biceps into the sides of your chest as if you were trying to touch your biceps together. You may have to lighten the weight to do this properly.
How to bench press for chest growth? It’s about the setup. You want to create stability when you bench press. Use a wide stance with your feet planted under your knees. Push your knees out and lightly drive your feet forward to activate your quads and glutes. For the upper body, activate your lats by bringing your armpits down towards your hips. Then, after you unrack it, squeeze the bar hard and think about twisting your hands outwards as if you were trying to bend the bar into a U shape towards your feet. Take a deep breath into your stomach, and brace your core as if you coughed really hard.
So the last fix may not be what you’re expecting. See, research shows free weights lead to similar growth as machines. So if you apply all the fixes I mentioned in this article yet you’re still having trouble with the bench press, then your body honestly just may not be well suited to bench press. Unless you’re a competitive powerlifter, you shouldn’t feel like you have to bench press. You can still make just as good of gains with chest machines or even dumbbells where your joints can move a lot more freely. Also, consider playing with the range of motion. You’d be surprised with how deep you actually have to go in order to mimic touching your chest during the bench press. So if going all the way down when benching if that’s what aggravates your shoulder or you just don’t have the mobility for that yet, stop an inch or two short.
Regardless of what exercise you choose to do, you always need to make sure you’re using the proper form. Poor technique is the single biggest reason why many people end up hurting themselves in the gym or just don’t see very good results from their workouts.
If you need help with fixing your form on other exercises, head to quiz.builtwithscience.com/ for a done-for-you routine that will take care of everything for you.
Пікірлер: 475
Your editor needs a pay raise because WOW. I absolutely appreciate all of the detail that went into making this video, plus the insight.
@reeik9000
3 ай бұрын
This editor has fooled me. I kept on hearing the notification sound and I got confused.
@TheHealthLab-yp2yb
2 ай бұрын
Thats absolutely on you.@@reeik9000
00:23 Fix 1: Elbow angle 02:15 Fix 2: Correct grip 03:45 Fix 3: Rounding your shoulders 05:13 Fix 4: Correct setup 06:28 Fix 5: Alternative exercises to bench press
@Mighter343
5 ай бұрын
Damn bruh you fast
@LeDuyBao-ex7fj
5 ай бұрын
Freaking fast man thanks a lot!
@chaitanyamanas-uo8jx
5 ай бұрын
Let's get this comment at top
@ceeril
5 ай бұрын
Also, bar should be parallel or slightly before your eyes in fix 4 (depending on your anatomy)
@ikik1648
5 ай бұрын
julia da GOAT
This is potentially the best quality audio-visual material on the market now. Amazing.
Honestly this is the best video I’ve seen on achieving a good bench form. Nice work.
Now that is a great video on how to bench well and safely. Every beginner needs to watch this!
This improved my bench press significantly thank you bro ❤
I had a massive injury in my right shoulder due to lifting wrong, thanks for this.
@krisvaras7801
3 күн бұрын
i hated bench press because of shoulder pain, and then when he explained the first fix and it all made sense, made me feel stupid tbh...
Thank you! I wish I had had advice like yours back in the 1970's when I was starting out. I always learn something new watching your series even today.
Another really important thing most people overlook is joint stability. Strength & stability exercises for the rotator cuff eliminates or puts a limit on parasites movements. I've had bad cuff injury and working those really saved me in rehab. Been doing Spoto presses, slow pace especially on the way down, also really helps activating the chest, keeping posture rock solid. The only "issue" is of course your significant loss is total weight lifted because there is no momentum, bouncing, etc. Also applying all those tips, let alone a few of them i'ma try and incorporate, like pushing knees outside for the leg drive. For anyone struggling with pain, these advices & training your rotator cuff (stability & strength wise) IS the only thing you can do to address any trouble. Good video
@trajictempr8574
5 ай бұрын
Yeah I have a bad right shoulder, severely impacts push workouts
@Perepechca
4 ай бұрын
Face pulls it is, then :D
Well presented with good detail. Thanks for posting this!
I was benching wrong with elbows flared out for longer than I would like to admit I am thankful I didn't injur myself. Proper form feels a lot better for sure. Another good video keep up the good work
This is great, i probably spent years doing this not in the optimal way when I started going to the gym more than 20 years ago. Thanks, great content!
You singe-handedly saved my bench-press issues - you had an earlier video as well, but this one is much better!
Thank you. I failed my first bench press and since then I'm really scared by it as I got tapped under the bar for free seconds until I got help. I deloaded and I'm only focusing on the form for the next 2 months. I want to make safe and good progress. Squeezing the shoulders and have them stay squeezed the entire motion is the challenging thing for now. Thanks so much for your videos
@Siatkowkarzadzi
3 ай бұрын
Look for benches with additional safety supports for the bar approximately at the level of chest. You can adjust their height, if done properly you should be able to do a full range rep, and at the same time you won't get squeezed by the bar in case of rep failure
5 years into lifting yet still learnin something new every day
Oh man wish I’d found this ten years ago, I ignored the pinch and calcified my tendons in both shoulders. Took me five ops between them to lose the chronic pain. Form is everything.
Thanks for the Smith machine illustration - couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong 🤷♀️ and love the empty vs full pop can analogy ❤
I basically knew all of the tips, however, the way you presented and explained them, really helped me. Thanks
Damn you explained something that is super simple but totally changed the game for me. The angle when you do the V shape with more opened arms does really activate the chest waaay more than the shoulders.
Thank you, this was very helpful.
Thank you so much for this, I've been feeling my front delts far too much on the bench
Thanks this tutorial which is a reminder to play with one’s push/pull angles. I’ve had to learn & modify my lifting. A right shoulder rotator surgery left that side weaker vs the left.
Thank you, my shoulder is fine now again after a few months of training with the updated elbow angle.
Great job on this video!
One thing you must bear in mind 1:30 -- it is possible for you to use a proper bar path while still flaring your elbows out. I made this mistake for several months before lifting with a friend and they pointed out that at the bottom of the barbell motion, my elbows were not stacked underneath my wrists. Once I made this fix, immediately my lift started to improve, alongside greater chest contraction and less shoulder discomfort.
@mkovis8587
5 ай бұрын
It's ok to flare out, the trick is, first half of the lowering, bring your elbows to that 45 degree angle, and then flare out when you're nearly bottomed out... this will increase stretch on pecs.
Thank you for including a bit on how to do this on smith machines!
Solid breakdown. Thanks for putting the work into this video for us.
Dude this is the content that I want. THIS IS SO INSIGHTFUL THANKS
Good video. Perfect explanation and examples
Excellent quality video and advice. Appreciate the level of detail and illustrations of points raised. Clear and easy to understand. THANKS!
awesome explanations! Thanks😊
As others have said, amazing production value and super helpful tips!
Just what I needed to see and hear. Great video!
this guy is one of the bests in this game
Good way to help alleviate this is changing from a Bench Press to a Dumbbell Bench Press. The Dumbbells don't lock your Arm Mobility in the same way traditional Barbell Bench Press does, so if your really struggling with Shoulder issues on the Standard Bench Press go to the Dumbbells for a while. Your still going to want have your Elbows tucked a bit more but you shouldn't feel so locked into the motion. Also if you feel your form is good but your still having shoulder issues it could be your Split or Program. If you have multiple upper body days back to back, even if your rotating Push and Pull and alternating Muscle Groups this can still lead to a lot of Shoulder Inflammation especially if your not fully in control of the weight and slowing down on the Eccentric Portion of the lift. The more you whip the weight around the more it's going to jostle and upset your Shoulder Joints, go slower be more in control and your Shoulders might not scream at you the next day.
@dewaldtmare7994
5 ай бұрын
Exactly what I’ve been doing, hurt my cuffs bad a few years ago with heavy bench and shoulder presses , “ego lifting” being dumb . And I ever so regret it. It has been a struggle for a long time to fix the injury by using way less weight and going slower on the pushes
Best Tutorial I ever seen!
Thanks for the tips!!
Incredible explanation! Thank you 🙌
100% certain you saved me from several shoulder injuries here. Thank you very much! 🙏🏻
I just want to thank you for making this video because it helped me a whole lot. I was wondering why I was having pain in my shoulders and my arms hurting instead of my chest hurting from the workout. Can't wait till I get to the gym today
Keep doing your thing bro👌💪🏻🏆
This is so well made, thanks!
thank you very much, i have been going to the gym for a long time but never paid attention to these mistakes
This is incredible information! Thanks so much for doing these comprehensive videos.
Once again, thank-you!! Very informative.
Shoulders def hurt when I go all the way down. Just by going down till an inch or two away from the bottom of my chest saves the pain. Thx
After watching this video i think i just hit my chest the right way for the first time in my life on bench, ty!
I just love the way you break these tips down , I just subscribed and I’m going to watch your video before I got the gym depending on what I’m going to do . Love it ! You the man ✌🏾👍🏽
This one’s amazing!! Thank you
I always knew you were supposed to bring the bar down to your nipple line. But i never understood why until today. Great tips bro thanks 💯
man this is such a great explaination...nice work
"Don't be stubborn" - I love that. Too many people think they are missing out on their gains if they don"t use the exact same exercises as shown in videos or routines. Often people ignore their bodily signals just for the sake of seemingly doing the better exercise.. I see many people benching 80-100kgs and when they get up, they touch their shoulder as if this short massage would make up for the damage done to it...
@immersiveparadox
5 ай бұрын
True and right. I’m too stubborn on squats, even though, it aggravates my hip pain, I just love doing them so much. I wish I could calm down my ego.
@JoshuaHehn
5 ай бұрын
@@immersiveparadox maybe doing Box Squats helps? Almost the same movement and many people get pain relive through it. I know skipping Squats feels like skipping gains, but that is not true!
@swans184
3 ай бұрын
@@JoshuaHehn Yeah I do goblet squats, half flat and half standing on a plate, and my quads look fine B) Also switch between chest machine and dumbbells for chest press, and if you do everything he said, you'll get just as good a burn with it. Only thing is you miss out on that gym bro cliche "how much you bench?" lol
Great video! Awesome content and well presented!
Can't wait to see if these fixes are going to help my shoulder pain!
Really great tips. Thank you for sharing this.
the editing is brilliant
Top notch amazing Video editing.
Great content. Some of us have long arms and this really helps learn how to press with the chest.
Great info, thanks!
Well, tried correcting the technique after this video and finally sitting with chest pain after the really good workout! Thank you! It was a bunch of great advices!
This awesome. Thank you!
Great information 👍
Thank you. This information is well presented. I just achieve two plate bench. I feel that lift in my left shoulder. I’ma drop weight and readjust my lift and set up.
The visuals help so much wow
This is brilliant and simple clearly through a lot of research and work. Thank you
FINALLY THANK YOU SO MUCH! FOLLOWED!!
I'd love a collab between you and Mike Israetel! I have severe acromioclavicular arthritis at 34 and these techniques you explained (especially bar to lower chest and shoulder control) allow me to still be able to press. I was naturally already doing the rest. This video might help many people prevent shoulder injuries.
@A2Ztigers
4 ай бұрын
Doc Mike was actually in his most recent video, you manifested it
Very good knowledge
Crazy video been working out for 5+ years and wish I had watched a video like this when I started !
Best explaination ever existed❤❤❤ thank you man..
Thanks for doing this video great info
A great educational video! Thanks Jeremy for this and keep up with the great work 💪🏻💪🏻
@JeremyMikstay
2 ай бұрын
Np
Great video man.
Shiiiii your video are VERY educational ! And the animations makes it way more understandable ! That’s a subscription for me
Very informative video. Thank you.
I appreciate the last fix because it is hard for me to use dumbbell for bench press, I feel uncomfortable on my left shoulder even with lower weights, how ever I feel much better with barbell and chest machine.
It's pretty crazy this level of video, audio ánd info is freely available. Thank you.
These videos help out a lot they go so in depth keep it up brother 🎉
great video! thank you
Greeeat video. Thank you very much. I will apply this
Thank You! No blabla, just telling how to do it, any why not the other stuff
Great vid. Thanks :)💪
Great informative video bro, thank you 🙏🏽
First video on benching I watched that felt spot on this guy is good
Just in time for chest day, appreciate you Jerermy!
@JeremyMikstay
2 ай бұрын
Np
Damn ive never seen such a visually pleasing advance entertaining video of workout. I am hooked to this channel from now on. Well done
that can analogy is brilliant!
i stopped going to the gym during the holidays i noticed my shoulders were killing me even tho i wasnt doing anything for weeks. definetly using these tips.
I've found the Unf*ck series very helpful since I have been making many of those errors. Thank you. Would you consider making a video on proper wrist strap usage?
@redking7329
5 ай бұрын
Just don’t use wrist straps
Great video
Man this channel's editing is one of the best on the youtube
Thanks you Jeremy for this video is more understable
It was a very useful and good advice. Thanks.
Thanks for the tips I’m going to utilize this on my next chest day 😎
excellent video
Great video, thank you ❤
EXCELLENT, thank you.
subscribed bro nicely explained ever
Great video!
badly needed this, my wrist always hurt every after push day. Also I can see that i got stronger on the bench press but not much results in chest growth. thanks for this video