What is Bench Press?

      Have you heard about the term 'Bench Press'?  For those who are not aware of what bench press is... The bench press is one of the compound exercises which primarily targets training your chest muscles.  But it also activates all other supporting muscles too.  Like deadlift and squats, a bench press also requires much strength and energy to perform.  Everyone can do bench press and everyone must do bench press to build a huge chest and to strengthen your push muscles.  

     Bench press could be a most beneficial exercise but, on the other hand, it would also be the most injurious exercise when it is performed in the wrong form.  You must perform warm-up sets using an empty bar to practice the form before loading heavyweights.  This could avoid injuries.  You can also ask a spotter to spot you when you perform a bench press with heavyweights.  There are many types of bench press, but generally flat barbell bench press is performed which can target the whole of your chest muscles, specifically your middle chest.  

How to perform bench press?

     The bench press is done with a standard form that is resting your back on the flat bench.  You must contract your lat muscles towards the bench as much as you can.  You must make an arch between your upper back and glutes.  you can hold the bar at shoulder width or a bit wider.  And you must leave it down and press it up that is away from your body.  The bar must be brought down in alignment with your middle chest.  Placing your feet on the ground and close to your body allows you to push more.  

     You can start this exercise with an empty barbell and make progress eventually.  Making progress in bench press requires a lot of practice because this could be a much difficult exercise than others.  There are 3 types of grips to perform bench press i.e., standard grip, wide grip, and close grip.  Each grip targets a specific muscle.  The bench press is much efficient to build the maximum muscle of your chest.  You must add bench press on your chest day routine to attain the maximum pump and achieve a massive chest.  

The emphasis of muscle activation in bench press:

     As mentioned above, there are 3 grips.  When you perform a bench press with standard grip i.e., with shoulder width, you primarily activate your chest muscle but it also activates your triceps and front shoulders.  If you perform with a wide grip it also emphasizes your chest muscle activation but, it tends to widen your chest muscles.  The final grip is a close grip bench press.  This grip primarily focuses on your triceps than your chest.  This could be the best exercise to build your triceps.  Anyhow, doing bench press trains your push muscles i.e., your chest, shoulder, and triceps.  

     The above-mentioned content is some of the basics related to bench press.  A beginner must be aware of these basics to perform a bench press with the correct form.  You can also perform the bench press and build a massive chest!