Tips for Bench Press

Bench press is fun stuff for sure.  But before you start,  please learn the correct way.  This may make you not have any injury and you will stick to training for long periods of time.



Bench Press

The bench press is the most used exercise in weightlifting. And it is also the exercise that causes the most injuries. By performing this movement correctly it is important to reduce the risk. 



When does an injury happen?

Most injuries are muscle tears or tendon damage of the pectoralis major. These occur most often during the eccentric phase. For the bench press, the eccentric phase is when lowering the barbell. 

During the eccentric phase, the target muscle ( pectoralis major in this case ) is increasingly stretched which is very vulnerable  for the muscle.  



Training Tempo 

Count three seconds while lowering the barbell to the chest.  This is so simple but may reduce the risk of muscle tear. 

If you aren’t able to do this with bench press, the weights are too heavy for you.  Don’t look at the other people who lift heavier weights than you do.  He/ she may have been doing this for longer than you have been.   Increase the weights gradually as your body gets used to it. 



Repetition

How many repetitions of bench press  should vary depending on what your goal is. But if you just started, don’t even try 1 repetition maximum.  If your goal for hypertrophy, target 6 to 12 RM. 



Learn hypertrophy training here