Still Benching the Old Way? 6 Tips for Better Results

You don’t need a brand-new program—you just need to bench better. These 6 changes clean up your setup, improve consistency, and help you get more out of the lift. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Stop Using a Vertical Bar Path. The Correct Bench Press Technique

Want to change your life? Two suggestions.

First, get a bidet. Once you bidet, you never stray. (Check out the Luxe Bidet Neo 120 if you’re in the market - basic, but oh-so-glorious.)

Second, quit performing the bench press with a vertical bar path.

We aim for as vertical of a path as possible on the other major barbell lifts - but not the bench press, and there are two types of error that lifters commit when it comes to benching with a vertical bar path.

To see these errors in action as well as how to solve them, check out the video below.

Error #1: Vertical Descent
The barbell starts at lockout directly above your shoulders, but don’t take the bar in a straight, vertical path down toward your shoulders. Instead, the correct touch point is on your sternum a couple of inches lower than the level of your shoulders. 

figure 1: 90° of abduction - this is no good.

Looking at Figure 1 above, you don’t want 90° of abduction (i.e., you don’t want a 90° degree angle from your torso to your arms) when the bar reaches its touch point. Instead, you’re aiming for something closer to 70° of abduction (Figure 2), and as a result, the touch point is lower on the sternum.

figure 2: roughly 70° of abduction - this is much better.

The bench press sometimes gets a reputation for being rough on the shoulders, and it gets that reputation because lifters perform it incorrectly. However, we don’t get to drive a car purposely into a concrete wall and then claim that driving is therefore dangerous, and likewise, we don’t get to bench press incorrectly and claim that benching is dangerous.

Let’s be sensible, and with this in mind, aim for a point on your sternum a couple of inches lower than the level of your shoulders, and this will greatly reduce the likelihood of any shoulder impingement when benching (setting your arch and pinching your shoulder blades back helps as well, but those are topics for another day).

Error #2: Vertical Ascent
Lifters will sometimes perform the descent correctly but then proceed to drive the bar straight and vertically upward.

This is no good.

We want to finish the bench press with the bar in the same place that it started, and this means you need to drive the barbell up and slightly backward so that it finishes above your shoulders.

Don’t watch the barbell (since it’s a moving object); instead, before your start the rep, choose a focal point on the ceiling. You can see the barbell (at lockout) in your peripheral vision, and you remind yourself that the bar will finish in the same place in your peripheral vision each time.

To help with this, remember to drive the bar slightly backward as you drive it upward. The bar path will still feel mostly vertical if performed correctly, but it needs to be slightly backward as well.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

5 Ways You're Ruining Your Bench Press!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 08/18/23)

Let’s cover a few mistakes that you might be making with your bench press, and then let’s fix them fast.

Mistake #1: Wrong (or Nonexistent) Focal Point
When you bench, look at an immovable target - specifically, look directly above you at a point on the ceiling. When you start each rep, although you’re looking at the ceiling, you can still see the barbell in your periphery, and the bar needs to finish in the same place in your periphery at the end of each rep. Do NOT watch the bar - it’s a moving target. Watch the ceiling.

Mistake #2: Vertical Bar Path
Do NOT bench straight down and straight back up again. “Gasp! What?! Not a vertical bar path?!” Nope, not on the bench press. The bar starts directly above the shoulders, but it touches a point on your chest a couple inches further “down the bench” (i.e., further toward your feet) - roughly the mid-sternum. Because of this, if you view the bar path from the side, it’s not completely vertical; rather, it’s a bit angled - you drive the bar both up and slightly backward.

The bar path still feels mostly vertical - it’s not a huge diagonal path - but you don’t actually bench vertically. Simply aim for the same spot on your chest each time on the descent, and then push up and back slightly on the ascent so that the bar finishes in the same spot from where it started.

Mistake #3: Lousy Shoulder Positioning
Keep your shoulders retracted (i.e., pulled or pinched back) when you bench. Make sure they are retracted before you unrack the bar and before you start the first rep, and then keep them retracted throughout each rep. You might have to re-retract them a bit before starting a rep if they slip out of place a bit during a rep or during the initial unracking process.

Having your shoulder blades retracted gives you a nice, wide base of support on the bench, and the bench isn’t all that wide in the first place, so we’d like as wide of a base as possible. Keeping them retracted allows for a more unrestricted range of motion as well, so overall, this puts your shoulders in a stronger, more stable position from which to perform the lift.

Mistake #4: Not Using Your Legs
That’s right - you need to actively use your lower body when you bench press. Your legs should help you drive up the bench (i.e., toward the direction of your head). You don’t slide in that direction since the weight of the bar will pin your shoulders into place, but you drive in that direction nonetheless. With that said, if you have a bench with a slippery surface and you find yourself actually sliding a bit, purchase a non-slip rug pad and watch the included video.

Driving with your legs (with your feet positioned in a roughly squat-width stance) gives you lateral stability, supports your arch, and makes you more rigid overall, and more rigidity is always good when moving heavy weights.

Mistake #5: Bad Leg Drive
I know - we just said to drive with your legs, and now we’re changing our minds? Not quite. Your legs should drive you up the bench (again, not literally sliding), but they should not drive your body up off of the bench. In other words, your butt needs to remain in contact with the bench itself. If your rear end comes off the bench, the rep doesn’t count, so again, make sure you are driving up the bench, not up off of the bench.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

How to Unrack a Heavy Bench Press By Yourself

When the bench press gets heavy, it becomes difficult to unrack the barbell if you’re lifting alone. Hopefully, you’ve got your safeties set correctly to protect you from disaster (e.g., a bar landing on your face), but the safeties won’t provide what a good spotter does - a nice, smooth unracking process.

“Heavy” is, of course, relative - your bench press might be 105 lb, 405 lb, or something in between, but the problem remains the same. The barbell starts behind your shoulders, resting in the hooks, and you need to get the bar forward several inches until it is positioned directly above the shoulder joint.

At light weights, covering this horizontal distance is no trouble at all, but at heavy weights, it can pose quite a challenge.

The key is to not simply use your shoulders to move the barbell through that horizontal distance but instead to use the leverage provided by your entire body. With this in mind, take your grip and then follow the steps below.

Be sure to check out the included videos to see this process in action - it helps tremendously.

Step 1 - Elbows out and back slightly (Figure 1)

figure 1

Step 2 - Hips up (Figure 2)

figure 2

Step 3 - Straighten the elbows and unrack the bar (Figure 3)

figure 3

Step 4 - Hips back down to the bench as you bring the barbell into position directly above your shoulder joint (Figure 4)

figure 4

Again, be sure to check out one of the included videos to see this process in action, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Most Weak Lifters Don't Even Realize This is Part of the Bench Press

Learn why your bench press feels weak — and how your legs might be the culprit. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers two factors to address as well as two ways your equipment may be ruining the effective use of your legs.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

The Most Common Bench Press Mistake You Don’t Even Realize You’re Making

Let’s fix a bench press error that is all too common.

This particular error is relatively easy to fix, but unfortunately, it’s also easy to accidentally commit, and it’s extraordinarily easy to be unaware that you’re committing it in the first place.

Let’s identify the mistake and fix it fast.

The Mistake
The error is that of having a poor focal point or simply having no focal point at all when benching, which makes it difficult to hit a consistent and efficient bar path for each of your reps.

When benching - and really during any barbell lift - you want to stare at an immovable point. A focal point should help you establish balance and consistency, and something that moves does not help you accomplish this.

The Solution
With this in mind, don’t want to watch the bar since the bar is a moving object. Instead, pick a spot directly above you on the ceiling and stare at it at the start of rep, during the descent, during the ascent, and at lockout. 

Before starting the descent, you can see the barbell in your peripheral vision - the bar starts there, and it’s your job to make sure that the bar finishes in that same spot in your periphery every single time.

Keep it simple. Keep it consistent.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?