Barbell Bench Press

Muscles worked by the Barbell Bench Press

Primary

ChestPectoralis Major

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidTricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: pec, pecs, pectoralis major, pectoralis, chest muscles.

Equipment

Barbell

Also called: bar, olympic barbell, straight bar, olympic bar, power bar.

How to do the Barbell Bench Press

1. Lie flat on a bench with your eyes under the bar.
2. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width.
3. Unrack the bar and lower it to your mid-chest.
4. Press the bar back up to full arm extension.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Keep your feet flat on the floor.
• Maintain a slight arch in your lower back.
• Drive through your legs for stability.

At a glance

Barbell Bench Press in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Cable Chest Press
• Close-Grip Bench Press
• Close-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
• Close-Grip EZ-Bar Bench Press
• Close-Grip Incline Bench Press
• Decline Barbell Bench Press
• Decline Bench Press
• Decline EZ-Bar Bench Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "bench-press",
  "name_en": "Barbell Bench Press",
  "name_de": "Langhantel-Bankdrücken",
  "name_es": "Press de Banca con Barra",
  "description_en": "A compound pushing movement that targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps.",
  "description_de": "Eine Verbunddrückübung, die Brust, Schultern und Trizeps beansprucht.",
  "description_es": "Un movimiento compuesto de empuje que trabaja el pecho, los hombros y los tríceps.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "barbell",
  "body_part": "chest",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength",
    "power"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "powerlifting",
    "push_day",
    "big_three",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "requires_bench"
  ],
  "variation_group": "bench-press",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie flat on a bench with your eyes under the bar.",
    "Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width.",
    "Unrack the bar and lower it to your mid-chest.",
    "Press the bar back up to full arm extension.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege dich flach auf eine Bank mit den Augen unter der Stange.",
    "Greife die Stange etwas breiter als schulterbreit.",
    "Nehme die Stange ab und senke sie zur Brustmitte.",
    "Drücke die Stange zurück in die vollständige Armstreckung.",
    "Wiederhole die gewünschte Anzahl von Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Acuéstate en el banco con los ojos bajo la barra.",
    "Agarra la barra ligeramente más ancho que la anchura de los hombros.",
    "Saca la barra del rack y bájala hasta el centro del pecho.",
    "Empuja la barra de vuelta hasta la extensión completa de los brazos.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your feet flat on the floor.",
    "Maintain a slight arch in your lower back.",
    "Drive through your legs for stability."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte die Füße flach auf dem Boden.",
    "Behalte eine leichte Wölbung im unteren Rücken.",
    "Drücke durch die Beine für Stabilität."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén los pies planos en el suelo.",
    "Conserva una ligera curvatura en la zona lumbar.",
    "Impulsa con las piernas para dar estabilidad."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/bench-press-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/bench-press-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "bench-press");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.