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LiftSets / Exercises / Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip

Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip

Works the chest. Helped by the shoulders and triceps.

Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip, start position, with the working muscles highlighted
Start
Barbell Bench Press - Medium Grip, finish position, with the working muscles highlighted
Finish

Bright blue is the target muscle. Darker blue is helping. The app shows this as a moving demo.

Muscles worked

chestshoulderstriceps

How many reps

GoalReps per set
Strength3-6
Muscle size6-10
Endurance12-20+

Whatever the number, the set should end within a rep or two of the point where you could not do another with good form.

KitBarbell
LevelBeginner

What to think about

How to do it

  1. 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.
  2. From the starting position, breathe in and begin coming down slowly until the bar touches your middle chest.
  3. 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.
  4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
  5. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.

Other exercises for the chest

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