How to Double Your Bench Press with Advice from Commonwealth Bench Championships Gold Medal Winner, Dan Magee

Kate Neudecker, Daniel Davies

30 January 2025 at 9:53 am·24-min read

Whether your gym is uber luxe or stripped back to basics, there's one thing we can guarantee: somewhere there will be a bench with a barbell. That's because when it comes to building upper-body strength there are few moves that do it as effectively, as simply or as tried-and-testedly as the barbell bench press.

Given its versatility and convenience it's likely that the barbell bench press already plays a starring role in your weekly gym sessions, but if you're interested in going from lifting puny weights to real steel or if your training's plateaued and you're wondering whether there's a point to benching, then we may be able to help.

Think the bench press is a dated exercise? Think again. Researchers writing in Sports Medicine state the bench press is one of the primary exercises to strengthen the musculature of the upper body and can result in significant chest, shoulder and arms gains. It's also excellent for both building strength and muscle hypertrophy (bigger muscles). With the bench press there's no need to choose between making your body an instrument or an ornament – it can be both.

Put it this way, we value the bench press here at Men's Health UK and we won't have a bad word said against it, which is why we've sought some outside help. Meet Dan Magee, trainer at top London gym The Foundry, powerlifter, and current Commonwealth Bench Championship gold medal winner. To put those words into context, Dan weighs 80kg and can bench 162.5kg. If there's anyone who can speak with authority on the topic of the bench press and how to press more, it's this guy.

So, if you want to nail the bench press form, bench more, and understand why it should play an integral role in your workout routine, read on.

Muscles Worked by the Bench Press

As mentioned, the bench press is a serious bang for your buck compound move. Here are the muscles worked. If you know what muscles are working and can actively think of them when doing the exercise, you'll focus more on what needs to be turned on, which will help you with the movement.

digital illustration of muscles of the human torso, anterior view — Alan Gesek/Stocktrek Images - Getty Images

Chest: Pectoralis major and minor - The chest muscles are the primary movers during the chess press. The pec muscles are the large muscles located on the front of the chest and different parts of them can be targeted depending on the bench angle.
Shoulders: Anterior deltoid - The muscle located at the front of shoulder is also worked by the bench press. To target the shoulders more, a higher bench angle can be used.
Arms: Triceps brachii and biceps brachii - The triceps and biceps help power the bench press movement.
Serratus anterior: The serratus anterior is located below to armpits, at the side of the ribs next to the chest and helps support the movement.
Core: Comprising of the transverse abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques and erector spinae, your core muscles will work hard to stabilise the trunk during the bench press.

How to Set up for the Bench Press

We understand that most of you will have been benching since you first walked into a gym, but everyone can do with brushing up their technique from time to time, right? So to make sure you're benching like a pro, we got Magee to explain his exact bench press form the moment he lays eyes on a bench until he re-racks the barbell. This is how to bench press like a pro.

Find the Right Bench

Before you even think about lifting a weight, the first thing you need to do is find the right bench to lift on. As Magee explains: 'The wider the bench the safer it is for your shoulders. What you don't want is your shoulders hanging off the bench because your shoulders aren't protected, so I'd always try and find as wide a bench as possible.'

Work Out the Correct Position on the Bench

Once you've found a bench that's as wide as possible 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. To avoid this, Magee advises using his technique to work out where to set the bar. 'The first thing I'll do is lay down on the bench and then I'll get a rough idea of the bar height I want,' says Magee. 'So, it'll be just below if I was to fully straighten my arms. The reason I do that is when I unrack the weight I don't have to press the weight away from me, I can just lift it off the rack and I'll have my upper back set on the bench.'

How to Bench Press with Perfect Form

barbell bench press — Artist Unknown - Hearst Owned

Now you're in the right position and on the right bench, it's time to start lifting with perfect bench press form. Here's how:

Lie back on a flat bench holding a barbell in the rack above you with a shoulder-width, overhand 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.

Bench Press Technique Tips

Still thirsty for pressing tips? We asked Magee to explain the finer details of the bench press, from where your foot should be placed to what position your back should be in. Here's Magee's secrets to getting the most from your bench press form.

Bench Press Tip: Hand Position

Think benching is just as simple as grabbing a bar and pushing away from you? Think again. Grab the bar in the wrong place and you're putting yourself at a disadvantage right from the off. Luckily, Magee has a little technique to make sure you pick up the bar in the right place every time.

'When you're putting your hands on the bar, a lot of people will put the bar across the bottom of their fingertips right at the top of the palm. And what I try and get people to do is place the bar just above the thumb,' said Magee. 'That's where I get it to sit because then when you unrack the bar, your palm is loaded.'

Bench Press Tip: Head Placement

'You want your head to be flat on the bench, you don't want it hanging off. Just keep your head flat on the bench, and by doing that you're not going to stress your spine,' says Magee.

Bench Press Tip: Foot Placement

Should you be on your toes or on your heels? According to Magee, your feet should be positioned wherever they feel most comfortable. 'You want to get your feet into a position that's going to allow you to generate power from your legs to your upper back,' says Magee. 'There's people I coach that bench on their toes and there's people I coach that bench with flat feet. There's no there's no right or wrong, it's what puts you in the most comfortable position to lift the most weight.'

Bench Press Tip: Breathing

'Imagine you've got a straw in your mouth and you want to suck all the air through a straw, and then fill your diaphragm up,' says Magee. 'A coke can when full is impossible to crush. Take all the coke out and you can crush it easily. Try to imagine your stomach as a can of coke, you fill it with all the air, and you create this tightness...

'Then I'll take the bar off and release the breath. And then I'll take a deep breath in again and I'll do the rep and then I'll hold that breath until I complete the rep.'

Bench Press Tip: Support Gear

'I use a belt for bracing because it helps me to get tighter and fill my diaphragm more,' says Magee. 'I'll use wrist wraps for wrist support, which allows me to get the bar to fit into a more optimal position over my elbow. Some people don't need them, but I'm someone who likes to lift with with my wrist wraps.'

Bench Press Tip: Does the Bar Need to Touch Your Chest?

'I always coach people to have the bar touch the chest because you want a full range of motion,' says Magee. 'Only when I'm isolating weak areas will I change that. So you could do a Spoto press where you would pause two inches above the chest and then press again. And that would teach you to have full control of the barbell, but ordinarily I would always encourage full range of motion bar to the chest.'

Should You Bench Press with an Arched Back?

According to a study published in The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research which compared the flat back and arched back bench press, both techniques have their advantages depending on training goals. The study found:

The arched back technique allows for a greater 1RM, likely due to the reduced range of movement, making it suitable for situations where lifting heavier loads is the primary goal like powerlifting.
The flat back technique showed higher barbell velocity at lighter loads, which may be beneficial for improving explosive strength.
Both techniques caused similar muscle activation of the pec muscles, while the arched back technique showed a trend for greater triceps activation.

The study suggests that incorporating both flat back and arched back bench press techniques into programming can provide a well rounded approach to developing upper body strength and power. Other evidence suggests that athletes who enter into powerlifting competitions may arch their back more in order to achieve higher numbers.

To get the best of both worlds — increased range of motion for hypertrophy and power development for strength gains — you could arch the back a little, while keeping the trunk locked and stable and getting a big as possible stretch across the pecs with the elbows nice and low. This can also help reduce the pressure on the shoulder joints. Overall, choose the technique that feels right for your body, that you get the best results from, in line with your training goals.

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