Here you will find our ever growing list of barbell chest exercises. Barbell exercises use a 45-pound Olympic bar.

Barbell Flat Bench Press

The bench press is probably one of the most known exercises. You’ll see many people only going to the gym and working out their chest and arms. Although it is one of the three main powerlifting movements, you still cannot forget the deadlift and the squat! The bench press is a compound movement and works a lot of muscles, but primarily the chest and the triceps. Some strain can also be put on the deltoids.

Execution:

To execute a bench press, begin by laying flat on the bench. Keep your legs on the ground. This will not only keep your body firm so that you can drive all your power into your bench press, but also will keep you from falling. Many people will put their legs on top of the bench, and although it may look like they know what they’re doing, they’ll be embarassed and maybe even hurt when they fall.

Grasp the bar at what ever fitting of the grip you find suitable. Some people will leave their thumb out on the bar. This may be more comfortable, and even seen by professional bodybuilders, but can also increase the risk of dropping the weight. There was once a person in a weight training course I took that dropped 135 and had to have reconstructive surgery on his skull. It doesn’t take much!

Lower the weight down until you touch your chest, or as close as possible to the chest. This allows you to obtain full chest developement. Powerlifting competitions will require you to touch the bar to your chest as well. Some bodybuilders will bring it down to about one centimeter above the chest without fully touching because this can put more tension on the chest. Excessively bouncing the weight off your chest is just like cheating and will not help you in the long run. It might even injure you too.

Squeeze your shoulder blades together, secure your legs in the floor, and drive the weigh back up in an explosive manner. Locking out will ensure that you’ve completed the rep, but be careful as this can also put a lot of strain on your elbows. Complete this for as many reps as you desire. For information on alterations such as the incline, decline, or close grip bench press, click on the Chest exercises page.

Arching the back
Sometimes you will see people arching their back while performing the bench press. Sometimes they’re doing it purposely in a controled manner, and sometimes they’re just worried about getting the weight up in any form possible. The general powerlifting rule is that you may arch your back as long as your but stays on the ground. This is said to also put more strain on your chest.

Incline Barbell Bench Press

The incline bench press is one of the best ways to target your upper pectoral muscles and your shoulders. A good way to differentiate between the incline and the decline is by remembering the prefixes. In means up, and de means down. Deccelerate means to slow down, and increase means grow, or heighten. Here’s how to do the incline bench press.

Execution:

Begin by gripping the bar as you would during a normal bench press or a decline bench press. You may feel a different shock to your triceps by combinding an incline bench press with the close grip bench press, resulting in an inclined close grip bench press. Either take it off the rack by yourself, or have a spotter help you with it.

Lower the weight down in a controlled fashion. Be careful not to arch your back too much as this will take tension off of your upper chest and will resemble the flat bench position. Keep the bar as close to your chin as possible and touch it to the top of your pectorals.

Drive the weight up explosively while keeping good posture. The Same gripping variations apply as with the normal flat barbell bench press and decline barbell bench press. Secure your thumb around the bar to reduce the risk of dropping the weight.

Barbell Decline Bench Press

The decline bench press is an excellent way to work the lower section of the chest. Usually the performer will be able to lift more weight on a decline bench press than a flat bench press. This could be due to the increased amount of strength in that persons lower chest or due to the fact that there is usually less range of motion while performing a decline. Here’s how to do it.

Execution:

Begin by grasping the bar as you would in a normal bench press and take it off the rack. Be careful as it can be harder to balance yourself due to the fact that your feet are most likely in the air. Keep your grip tight and be sure to wrap your thumb fully around the bar to reduce the risk of dropping it.

Lower the weight down in a controlled fashion, touching the chest. You will see some people lowering it down almost to their stomach. This makes the lift extremely easier, but they’re also not working their chest fully, so be sure to keep the same bar-to-nipple relationship.

Drive the bar up explosively until you reach a locked position. Continue for as many reps as desired. You may find a different shock to your muscles by combinding this with the close grip bench press, resulting in a decline close grip bench press.

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