Have you ever struggled with a weak bench press, or even worse, shoulder or elbow pain while doing it?

While many people simply think the bench press is for the ‘bros’ or bodybuilders trying to out-ego the people around them, the bench press is a foundational exercise that anyone looking to improve overall muscle and strength will benefit from.

Whether your goal is:

• Full body strength (yes, the bench is not just an upper body exercise as you’ll see below)
• Developed shoulders, pecs, triceps, and lat muscles
• Athletic development
• Better aging
• Or overall shoulder health…

Then the bench press should be a staple in your routine. 

While this doesn’t mean you need to set records and lift tons of weight (although you could), your body will benefit from having this in your routine and not leaving it out of your regular program. 

That being said, all those benefits mentioned above are only available if it’s done correctly. Walk into any commercial gym or watch videos of people online performing bench max outs, and you’ll see all sorts of technique that will make you cringe. 

If you’ve ever heard bench presses are bad for your shoulders, that’s not true. If you ever feel your shoulders or elbows hurting from a bench press - it’s from the way that you’re performing the lift. 

I regularly get to help clients go from this being a weak lift or having shoulder pain during the lift due to not knowing what to do, to lifting very respectable weights and putting on serious muscle in the process. 

If you’re looking to improve your bench, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been lifting for years, here are some simple cues that will improve your bench press:

1: Eyes Under The Bar

The difference between a strong bench and a weak or failed rep largely comes down to your setup. If you just plop yourself on the bench and try to muscle through it, you’ll greatly limit your potential to get strong while keeping your joints healthy. By setting up with your eyes under the bar, you’ll ensure your alignment is right to avoid 1) stressing your shoulders more than you need to while unracking, or 2) hitting the J hooks as you press back up.

Align yourself with your eyes directly under the bar as a starting point, and make subtle adjustments to find what setup works for you.

2: Scaps To Back Pockets

The next step is to set the position of your shoulders, which will allow for protection of your shoulder joints and maximal activation of your muscles. By pulling your scapula (shoulder blades) together and towards your back pockets, you’ll set your arch position and minimize the risk of your shoulder blades rounding forward during the lift. This will help you lift more weight by shortening the bar path and activating more of your lats and lower pec muscles.

With your hands on the bar, pull your upper back off the bench and think about ‘walking’ your shoulder blades down and back towards your back pockets. You should feel your shoulder blades pinched together and in contact with the bench, with a slight arch through your low back.

3: Push The Floor Away

Contrary to what you might think, the bench press (when done correctly) is a full body exercise. If you watch the lifters that can move the most weight (with good form), you’ll see how much their glutes, hamstrings, quads, and core are involved in the lift. By engaging your lower body, you’ll be able to produce more power and have more control during the lift.

With your hands still on the bar, place your feet flat on the ground, and think about pushing the floor away by driving your feet into the ground. If you properly set your shoulder blade position (step 2), then you won’t have to worry about sliding off the bench. If you can’t reach the floor, place some plates next to the bench to allow for your feet to reach.

4: Break The Bar

You are working so much more than just your pecs and your triceps during the lift. When done correctly, your entire upper body (and lower body as seen in step 3) should be fully engaged. By thinking about breaking the bar in half, you’ll engage your lats, forearms, grip, and other muscles that will give you more strength and control over the lift.

Think about breaking the bar in half, turning your right hand clockwise and left hand counterclockwise. You should feel this engage your lats and will allow you to prevent your elbows from flaring out as you lower the bar.

5: Pull The Bar Towards Your Chest

While most people will classify the bench press as a ‘pressing’ exercise, you’d benefit from thinking of it as a ‘pulling’ exercise, more similar to a row or lat pulldown, at least as it relates to the lowering of the bar. This will engage your back muscles throughout the movement which will improve your control of the bar. Your goal should be to touch the bar to the same place on your chest each rep (without bouncing the bar), and that requires great control as you lower the bar.

Instead of just letting the bar drop to your chest, think about pulling it towards your lower chest similar to a lat pulldown. 

6: Accelerate Through Lockout

Most people think about pressing hard at the bottom of the movement, but most people then let up too early and coast their way into the lockout. This increases the risk of your shoulders rounding forward and reduces the amount of muscles that are working, which will reduce your overall strength and muscle development.

Think about accelerating the bar through the middle and the end of the lockout to ensure maximal muscle activation.

These are just some of the simple, but extremely effective, cues we use with our clients that get great results in improving their bench press. Experiment with different cues to discover which ones help improve how you feel during your bench and which ones help your performance while keeping you feeling great.