Common Barbell Bench Press Form Mistakes
Feet on bench.
Gaudreau sees people place their feet on the bench, often because their feet don’t comfortably reach the floor. But this modification takes the legs out of the lift. “We need to push through the legs to create stability in the core and tension in the lower body when we bench,” she explains. Otherwise, your midsection will rock from side to side as you struggle to stay rooted in place. (There are bench-press variations that remove active engagement of the legs, but if you’re trying to build as much strength as possible, use your legs.)
J-hooks too high or too low.
As with the back squat, avoid setting the J-hooks too high or too low for a bench press. If they’re too high, you’ll have to raise your upper body off the bench to unrack the bar. If the hooks are too low, you’ll do half a bench press to get the bar out of the rack.
Shoulder blades spread apart.
Often, people lie on the bench with their shoulder blades spread apart and back flat. “Internal rotation of the shoulder under load can lead to less stability during the lift and increase the risk of injury,” Gaudreau notes. “Some people can feel their shoulders pinching.”
How to Set Up for the Barbell Bench Press
Engage your legs.
If your feet don’t reach the floor, place weight plates or aerobic steps beside the bench to bring the floor to you. Pull your feet back a bit to create a slight arch from your glutes to your feet. “You don’t want your feet dangling off the bench,” Gaudreau says. Push your feet into the ground (or weight plates or aerobic steps) to create leg tension.
Position J-hooks just shy of an arm’s length above the bench.
Check the barbell height before you begin your first rep. Lying back on the bench, grip the barbell and press up without fully unracking — you’ll know it’s the right height if you only have to press an inch or two to reach full extension.
Pack the shoulders.
After gripping the bar, draw your shoulder blades together and pull them down and back, creating a stable base, Gaudreau advises. “That’s going to put the shoulders in external rotation, which means at the bottom of the bench press, when you get a lot of stretch and your elbows dip very low, you’re not placing a lot of pressure on the front of the shoulder.”
(Should you arch your back during the chest press? See “Expert Answers: Arched Backs and Bench Pressing” for details.)
Strong Starts
Are you setting up correctly while lifting? Get expert guidance on perfecting your setup for several common strength moves at “9 Strength Moves You May Be Setting Up Wrong (and How to Fix Them),” from which this article was excerpted.
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