The bench press has been considered by many to be the king of all upper body exercises and the ultimate barometer of physical strength.
For example, it is a major strength test at most of the heavily scouted football combines (from high school to professional level). It is also one of the “big 3” powerlifting exercises. And in any gym, you can hear members asking each other, “Hey, how much you bench?”
In many ways, I can see how the bench press got its reputation. After all, it does work the chest, shoulders and triceps very effectively. In fact, if maximal pressing power (in the horizontal plane) or maximal pectoral growth is your goal, the bench press can deliver these results faster than any other exercise out there.
But that is only a small part of the story…
There is a serious dark side to the bench press. It places an incredible amount of stress on the shoulders. In fact, I can say with confidence that the bench press is the most common cause of shoulder injuries in the gym today.
So what should we do? Should we stop benching all together? For most of the population, I would actually say yes! If your goals are to be lean, fit and healthy, there is no need to ever perform a barbell bench press. It’s just not worth the risk. There are plenty of alternative exercises that are very effective, train the same muscle groups/movement pattern, and are biomechanically safer.
But what about football players who will be tested on it? Or powerlifters whose primary goal is to increase their strength on this lift? And last but not least, what about the guys who want to gain mass and upper body strength as fast as possible? As you can probably guess, the bench press will remain popular among these populations, despite the risks involved.
Even at my own training center, we still use the bench press when we feel it’s appropriate. So instead of trying to completely outlaw this exercise, I will discuss who should use it and how to minimize the risk, as well as who should avoid using it and what alternatives they have at their disposal.
Who Should Use The Bench Press- I recommend this exercise for the following populations: Powerlifters (obviously), football players (or any other athlete getting tested on the exercise), and skinny guys who want to gain size and strength as fast as possible.
How To Minimize The Risk- There are several things you can do to lessen the risk of the bench press. Here are the two most important:
1) Never go to failure on this lift. In other words, every set should end while you still have at least one rep left in the tank. This helps to ensure that your form doesn’t break down due to excessive and unnecessary stress. This takes us to the next point.
2) Maintain proper form. This is important for all exercises, but since the bench press is such a high risk movement, perfect form is even more imperative. After writing down a list of instructions on how to perform a bench press properly, I realized it may be confusing. So I deleted the list and shot this video for you instead:
Who Should Avoid Using The Bench Press- To be frank, everyone whom I didn’t mention in “Who Should Use The Bench Press” (see above) should avoid the barbell bench press all together!
I’m going to provide you with a brief list of great exercises that will train the same muscles/movement patterns. They are effective, safe and (in my humble opinion) much more fun. Here they are:
● Plyo Push Ups
● One Arm DB Press
● Ring Push Ups
● Ring Dips
● 30 Degree Incline Barbell Press
● Floor Press
So if I were to sum up my advice on the bench press, it would be simple: avoid it! That is, unless it is truly unavoidable. And if you must do it, take great care to use picture perfect form and never go to failure.
Follow these tips, and you will practically guarantee yourself the healthiest shoulders possible that will enable you to exercise and stay in shape for the rest of your life!
Feel free to leave questions or comments in the comment section below. I look forward to the discussion with you.
johnnyal1
johnnyal1
johnnyal1
Really good video John. I tell guys this stuff all the time, “your gonna jack your shoulder benching that way”, but they rarely listen.
@Jesse: Keep spreading the word!
great article John. I dare to add another excercise in the list of substitutions for the bench press: the one arm push ups. they indeed involve virtually every single muscle in the body, so theya re excellent for the CNS. it is a hard excercie but can be made doable for everyone just by choosing the right inclination. I make sure that all my clients are doing it.
all the best
michael
@michael mellner: Thanks for the feedback, glad you enjoy the post. One arm push ups are awesome, actually one of my favorites!
Hi John,
Another great post.
I’m surprised not to see dips mentioned as a possible replacement. Is this because you also see them as potentially too dangerous (especially when adding weight)?
I only listed a few alternatives. Dips are great also. Just don’t get carried away with the weight. I used to strap on 250 lbs to my bodyweight for dips and my labrum paid the price. In other words, do dips but be smart
@Carl: Hey Carl, dips are a great exercise. Just be mindful of range of motion and loading. Extreme measures on either one of these parameters could lead to injuries.
Hi John, I’ve stopped bench pressing, at least for the time being, due to some bicipital tendinitis in my left shoulder. I’ve replaced benching with weighted dips. I think these are a great alternative to (barbell) bench pressing. Dumbbell bench pressing, with the arms held in a neutral or semi-neutral position are also a good replacement for barbell benching.
What do you think?
DS
@DiscoStew: I agree. I would suggest that you be careful with the weighted dips. They are a great exercise but with a lot of weight, they too can be dangerous, good luck!
John,
Great post! I hope that you’re going to do a series of “alternative” posts to common exercises folks usually see in the gym. I think the problem is that people really don’t know that they’re other ways to actually build your upper-body without benching. I’d love to see a return to the days when guys asked how much can you press, they were talking about a standing “overhead” press, which is much safer and works a hell of a lot more muscles …
Muata
@Muata: Great point, totally agree
Good post John! I definitely agree with you on this. Due to shoulder problems I’ve also gotten away from bench pressing. It has always been a source of injury and frustration for me so I finally gave it up.
I really like doing ring push-ups and ring dips now. I can really feel the stabilizer muscles of the shoulders being called upon in these lifts. I plan to use a weighted vest as I get stronger in these exercises.
I also really like the one-arm dumbbell presses. You can feel your obliques/core being worked on these.
I’ll have incorporate Standing Band Resisted Punch Thrusts into my routine. Those sound fun!
@Brandon Cook: Thanks for the feedback Brandon, it sounds like you’re on the right track, let me know how it goes
Awesome post John. After 22 years of rotator cuff issues, you would think I should know to stay away from bench press. Here I am approaching 40, typing with my elbows supported because of bilateral rotator cuff strains (always due to flat barbell bench press) and thanks to your post deciding that I am finished with bench press – definitely my foe. I love lifting and it’s something I want to do for a long time. And if bench press is out of the equation, then I’m sure it is something I’ll be able to do for a lot of years to come. Thanks for re-affirming what I always intuitively knew. It’s just tough to get the ego out of the way sometimes… Cheers!
@Steve: Hey Steve, glad you enjoyed the post. From one stubborn dude to another-stop benching! I learned this lesson the hard way after tearing my labrum 8 years ago. Haven’t benched since and I’m totally cool with it. You see I’m so obsessed with training, I want to be able to train until the day I die. A high risk exercise like this will definitely have us sitting on the sidelines prematurely. In this for the long haul. Good luck to you!
Amazing every article you write seems to be spot on and relevant to me! I rarely bench these days and if I do it’s with dumbbells or just for a few tester or warm up sets. About a year a go I started to get some annoying shoulder and chest pains (muscle) so instinctively sought out alternative movements for chest, best thing I ever did, even after 20 + years of benching, both flat and incline, bar and dumbbells I never used to have a full upper or outer chest- just big lower boobs!!, now since performing Hindu, decline, flat, and ring push ups my chest has finally developed pretty well in all areas, also I avoid heavy / weighted bar dips as they aggravate my chest (and lower back due to hanging heavy weights around there) to much afterwards which often puts me out of action for a week or two, bar dips seem to be ok as long as the are done with bodyweight for higher reps and as part of a cardio workout.
One of my latest favourite chest workouts involves my wife holding my feet about 3- 4 feet from the floor whilst I knock out sets of decline ring push ups I’m slowly working towards hand stand position push ups on the rings, so far the results have been very impressive.
As a side note I wanted to increase my dumbbell squat without buying more dumbbells so I bought a hex trap / squat bar recently and have found it to be a real pain to use (literally) due to the position of the handles my arms are forced outwards at about 15-20 degrees away from the body and with the heavy weight used it aggravates my chest and shoulders for days afterward (pain not DOMS) I have only used it about 3-4 times and without fail it causes pain after yet I can use 2 dumbbells (arms parallel to body) of similar weight with no issues? I have taken this as a warning that it is not for me and I wont be using it anymore! anyone want to buy a 7 ft hex bar!?
What about dumbbell presses and resistance band standing presses? Do these exercises have the same contraindications as the barbell press/
LA
No these are definitely safer options
I have to agree with you on this dangerous but muscle gainer exercise! I have to say I have made a BIG chest just by bench pressing but believe me evrytime I bench I do it with fear!!! I know I should ask for a spotter but sometimes WE just like to go without spotting just to lift heavy on our own without help, but after reading this article I think Im definitely getting rid of the BENCH PRESS! thanks Jonh
@Jorge: Hi Jorge, that is the best decision for long term shoulder health. But if you miss it, work it in once in awhile. Just be sure to use perfect technique with appropriate loading parameters. Good luck