Bench presses are one of those essential upper body exercises that you should not pass up. In fact, it should be in your chest exercise routine because bench presses are full of benefits no matter if you are a beginner or a pro.
In today’s article, I will tell you all the health benefits of doing bench presses, from increasing your strength, improving joint health to promoting weight loss and more. We will also be talking about the variations of bench presses that you can do once you master the classic one.
Now, before we jump into the actual health benefits, let’s first talk about how you can do a classic bench press with proper form.
Before you’ve even thought about lifting a weight, the first thing you need to do is find the right bench to lift on. Make sure it’s wide enough so that your shoulders are not hanging off the bench. Once you’ve found a bench, you also need to work out where to rack the bar. Too low and you’re going to end up benching the bar before you’ve brought it down to your chest, so, to avoid this, lay down on the bench and then try to get a rough idea of the bar height that you want. It should be just below if your arms were fully straightened. Now you are ready to bench. Lie back on the bench holding a barbell in the rack above you with a shoulder-width, overhead grip. Drive your feet into the floor to contract your quads and glutes, and clamp back your shoulder blades to shorten the weight’s path of travel. This increases neural drive to your chest, delts and triceps. From the starting position, breathe in and lower the bar slowly until it skims the middle of your chest. Focus your mind on activating your chest muscles and push the bar back to the starting position explosively as you breathe out. That’s one rep. Repeat to your desired reps.
What muscles are worked when you do a bench press ?
The major muscle that you work out is the pectoralis major, which is the large, beefy chest muscle that’s readily visible in men if you have a well-developed chest. The pectoralis major is somewhat less readily visible on women, because much of it lies beneath the breasts. However, your pecs aren’t the only muscles at work during the bench press. It also works out the anterior deltoid which is the front portion of your deltoid muscle and sits atop each shoulder like a three-lobed сар. The other muscle groups worked are Triceps brachii. This is the meaty muscle on the back of your upper arm. Its primary job is straightening your arm at the elbow which is a critical component of any pressing movement. At the same time, all the muscles of your shoulder girdle engage to stabilize your scapula shoulder blades and your shoulders throughout the bench press range of motion.
Health benefits of Bench Press.
1. Increased Upper Body Strength.
The bench press has no parallel when focusing on your upper body strength. Even new fitness enthusiasts can increase the strength of their upper body by 40% in just 6 months with this exercise. When you get stronger on the bench, you will not only be improving your ability to push a weight directly up from your body. You’ll also be getting stronger in the overhead press. In addition, your triceps, core, and lower back will strengthen up significantly.
2. Strengthens Your Bones
Who would’ve known that benching makes your bones stronger? But, that’s precisely what a study revealed. It showed that people who exercised with the bench press increased the bone mass density of the lumbar, spine, the right neck femur, and the right distal radial head. The study recommended that elderly people with osteoporosis would do well to incorporate the bench press training into their lifestyle.
3. Increased Pushing Power.
Perhaps one of the best benefits you get from doing the classic bench press, is that it will increase your pushing power. Bench press is a functional exercise in the sense that the muscles it builds and the motions it trains you for are ones that you use many times in your everyday life. Pushing is a big part of your physical life. You push strollers, shopping carts, doors, and sometimes you may even have to push start a car too. The bench press is one of those exercises that actually trains the muscles which you use in your daily lives. So, say if you can bench 350 pounds, you will be able to push that much in a forward direction.
4. You will look and feel Better.
This might be the best perk yet. A big chest and triceps are a great way to show your strength. The big, bulging muscles will make you feel good about your self-image and will give you a confidence boost. The simple fact is that our self-confidence is greatly influenced by the way we look.
5. Better Joint Health.
Bench presses also benefit your joint health. As you get older, the cartilage in between your joints slowly deteriorates. It can lead to severe pain, limited motion and osteoarthritis. The reason behind that is that the cartilage acts like a sponge that keeps fluids with nourishing nutrients. However, the fluid needs to be regularly replaced in order to bring in new nutrients and the bench press provides just that. The weight bearing of the bench press exercise puts pressure on your joints and squeezes out the cartilage like a sponge, forcing out the water molecules. Then, as you lift the weight, the water molecules return, bringing in the nourishing oxygen and nutrients. So if you want to prevent joint issues, such as osteoarthritis, bench pressing is definitely something you should start doing.
6. Increased Muscle Mass.
The bench press is ideal for anybody looking to get big and jacked. Because of the stress it places on the chest, you'll find your chest responding incredibly well to this exercise. It is considered one of the best exercises for building mass. As an added bonus, because you're working other muscles, you get to enjoy greater levels of muscle hypertrophy in the process, which can only be a good thing.
7. Boosted' levels.
The natural production of testosterone in your body gets to a maximum level when you lift heavy weights. And we know the motto when we lie on the weight bench - go as heavy as you can! We all know more testosterone production means more muscle growth, which is the primary target of your exercising sessions. This is the reason why serious gym-goers keep the bench press in their exercise routine along with deadlift and squats. Women can also benefit from weight lifting. It helps to increase strength, tones muscle and increase physical definition.
8. Helps your Run.
This may sound weird to you but this is actually a fact. How? Well, you need to maintain the proper form of running so you use less energy. You will be able to do that if you have the proper upper body mechanics. This means keeping your head up, looking upward, keeping your chest open, your shoulder muscles relaxed and your elbows close to you 90 degrees. Here, your chest muscles allow you to easily swing your hands forward when the elbows stay behind - a form that helps you run faster with reduced energy.
9. Prevents muscle Imbalances.
If you are a serious weightlifter that frequently uses pulling muscles like forearms or biceps, you will benefit a lot from this exercise because this will help you correct or prevent muscle imbalances. You probably know that strain can be caused on your joints by muscle imbalances and the bench press is there to help you tackle such a condition.
10. Improves Your Functional Strength.
As the ultimate free weight exercise, the bench press improves your body's ability to move through a natural range of motion. Unlike machines, it recruits stabilizer muscle groups and allows your body to balance and resist gravity. If you are developing your body as a whole as you will when using the bench, along with squats and deadlifts - you will be able to transfer the power that you develop and use it in a functional way.
Ok, so bench presses are beneficial. Now, let's talk about a few variations that you can try, once you have mastered the classic bench press.
1. Incline Bench Press.
Set up a bench press station by adjusting the bench to a 46-degree incline, or use an incline bench station. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Then, Lift the bar off the rack and lower it down to chest level in a smooth and controlled motions. Push the bar straight up, driving your feet into the ground and activating your chest, core, triceps, and back muscles. Resist the tendency for the bar to move forward due to the incline. Do 3 sets of 10 reps each for best results.
2. Floor press.
Lie on your back on a mat in the middle of a free weight rack with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Adjust the height of the bar to where you usually perform a Bench Press. Now, Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Lift the bar off the rack and then lower it in a smooth and controlled motion until your triceps touch the ground. Push the bar straight up, keeping your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Do 3 sets of 12 reps each for best results.
3. Reverse Grip Bench Press.
Set up a bench press station with a flat bench. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, hands a little closer than shoulder-width. Lift the bar off the rack and lower it in a smooth and controlled motion until it almost touches your chest. Push the bar straight up, resisting the tendency to flair your elbows out. Do 3 sets of 10 reps each for best results.
4. Kettlebell Bench Press.
Set up a bench press station with a flat bench. Add kettle bells instead of weighted plates to both ends of the bar. Lift the bar off the rack and lower it in a smooth and controlled motion until it almost touches your chest. Push the bar straight up, focusing on keeping it level and resisting the kettlebell movement. Do 3 sets of 10 reps each for best results.
5. Close Grip Bench Press.
