La Bench Press is a popular exercise used to strengthen the muscles of the upper body. including bibs, arms and shoulders.
Depending on your personal goals, there are different variations that work differently on the muscles; for example, a pinch (made with three fingers) narrow will place more emphasis on the triceps and forearms.
Let's discover all the secrets of bench presses!
Index
Muscles involved
Bench presses work several muscles of the upper body, including the chest, shoulders, and arms; Although the muscles involved may vary slightly depending on the Bench Press variant performed, bench presses can affect the following muscles:
Bench Press execution
- Lie on the bench with the part of the body between the shoulders and the beginning of the spine well adherent to the bench and the legs bent at 90 °
- Grasp the rod shoulder-width apart
- Place the rod slowly and in a controlled manner on the chest, keeping the pectorals always in tension
- Raise the bar explosively while keeping the entire central part of the body stable.
If you want to incorporate the Bench Press into your workout routine, try to do it 2 or 3 times a week, remembering to always leave a day of rest between one workout and another in the same muscle district.
Frequent mistakes 
Among the most common mistakes when performing this exercise we find:
- Incorrect breathing or apnea: breathing is very important to stabilize the central part of the body
- Wide / Narrow Grip: by soliciting the triceps and the shoulder with these grips, one moves away from the focus on the pectorals
- Wrong position of the elbow: Keeping your elbow too open can put too much strain on your shoulder, significantly increasing the risk of accident.
Bench Press variants
Each variation of the Bench Press works on different muscles:
- Inclined bench: the bench is tilted 30/45 °, so that you can lean backwards slightly; this variant mainly affects the muscles of the upper chest and shoulder muscles
- Decline Bench Press: for this variant the bench is tilted downwards, therefore, when lying down, the feet are in a higher position than the head; this variant pays more attention to the lower part of the chest and shoulders
- Narrow grip bench: in this variant the hands are tighter when the shaft is held; this allows you to place more emphasis on the triceps and forearms
- Wide-grip bench: If the hands are wider than the shoulders, more emphasis is placed on the external pectorals
- Dumbbells or kettlebells: Bench Press is an exercise that is usually performed with the barbell, but can also be performed with dumbbells or kettlebells to vary the workout a bit
- Bench press with legs raised: variant useful for people suffering from back pain; keeping the legs raised prevents lumbosacral lordosis from forming and straining the back too much.
And you, how many times a week do you do the Bench Press? Let us know in the comments and remember to follow us on our Telegram channel