LiftSets / Exercises / Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip
Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip
Works the chest. Helped by the shoulders and triceps.


Bright blue is the target muscle. Darker blue is helping. The app shows this as a moving demo.
Muscles worked
chestshoulderstriceps
How many reps
| Goal | Reps per set |
|---|---|
| Strength | 3-6 |
| Muscle size | 6-10 |
| Endurance | 12-20+ |
Whatever the number, the set should end within a rep or two of the point where you could not do another with good form.
| Kit | Barbell |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
What to think about
- Shoulder blades pinned back and down.
- Elbows about 45 degrees from your sides.
- Lower for 2-3 seconds to chest level.
How to do it
- Lie back on a flat bench. Using a medium width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
- From the starting position, breathe in and begin coming down slowly until the bar touches your middle chest.
- After a brief pause, push the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out. Focus on pushing the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position at the top of the motion, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: Ideally, lowering the weight should take about twice as long as raising it.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Other exercises for the chest
- Alternating Floor Press
- Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip
- Bent-Arm Dumbbell Pullover
- Butterfly
- Cable Crossover
- Decline Barbell Bench Press
- Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
- Decline Dumbbell Flyes
Track it in LiftSets
Log Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip with last time's numbers in front of you, a rest timer on your lock screen and a graph of your progress.
Coming soon to the App Store