Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Chest

Barbell Bench Press

Also called Bench press, Flat bench

BarbellCompoundTakes some practice
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Chest

Also delts, triceps

You need

Bench press station

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Pin shoulder blades back and down
  2. 2Touch the bar to your lower chest
  3. 3Drive through your feet as you press

Most common mistake

Flaring elbows to 90° and bouncing the bar off the chest.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Easy to keep adding weight

Compare with

vs Dumbbell Bench Pressvs Machine Chest Pressvs Single-Arm Cable Chest Press
A
For chest
#11 of 32
See the full list →
Research
74
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 74
Target tensionStrong
Loaded stretchGood
ProgressionExcellent
Low costStrong

Easiest press to load progressively, but the bar stops at your chest and limits the stretch.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SCable FlyCable
  • SPec DeckMachine
  • SHigh-to-Low Cable FlyCable
  • BIncline Barbell PressBarbell

Takes

None yet
needed to post
280