The bench press is a foundational exercise for building upper body strength, primarily targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The movement’s effectiveness and safety hinge on one question: how far down should the barbell travel? The range of motion influences muscle activation, strength development, and the potential for shoulder joint stress. Understanding the optimal depth maximizes results while minimizing injury risk with this lift.
The Optimal Standard for Bench Press Depth
The accepted standard for the barbell bench press is to lower the bar until it lightly touches the chest or a chest garment. This full range of motion (ROM) ensures the pectoral muscles are taken through a complete stretch, which is advantageous for muscle growth and strength development. Stopping short of the chest diminishes muscle engagement by reducing the time the muscle spends under tension in its most stretched position.
For competitive powerlifting, the standard is more precise, requiring the bar to come to a complete stop on the chest before pressing it back up. Some federations enforce a minimum depth, such as the underside of the elbow joint being level with or below the top surface of the shoulder joint. This rule ensures a sufficient range of motion.
A common error is achieving “false depth” by bouncing the barbell off the chest or letting the shoulders protract forward as the bar descends. Bouncing the bar reduces muscular work and introduces uncontrolled momentum that can be hazardous to the sternum and rib cage. Maintaining a slight pause or a controlled touch at the bottom maximizes the benefits of the full range of motion.
Techniques for Achieving Proper Depth
Achieving the correct depth safely requires establishing a stable, prepared body position. The setup begins with scapular retraction and depression, pulling the shoulder blades together and down toward the hips. This action creates a stable “shelf” for the shoulders, protecting the joint and allowing for a better transfer of force from the chest.
Once the shoulder blades are locked, the elbows must be positioned correctly during the descent. The goal is a moderate elbow tuck, typically holding the upper arms at a 45- to 60-degree angle relative to the torso. Flaring the elbows out to 90 degrees increases stress on the shoulder joint, especially at the bottom. The moderate tuck allows the bar to touch the lower or mid-chest while keeping the shoulder stable.
The bar path should be controlled and not strictly straight up and down. It should descend toward the sternum or mid-chest and press back up slightly toward the eyes, complementing the movement of the shoulder and elbow joints. Maintaining full-body tension, including pressing the feet into the floor and keeping the glutes engaged, ensures the stable position is held throughout the lowering phase until the bar reaches the chest.
When Modifying the Range of Motion is Necessary
While full range of motion is the standard for maximizing muscle development, limiting the bench press depth is sometimes necessary. Individuals with pre-existing shoulder conditions, such as rotator cuff issues or impingement, may find that lowering the bar all the way causes pain. Stopping short of the chest allows them to continue training the pressing movement without aggravating the joint.
Structural limitations, such as long arms, can make a full ROM challenging, potentially forcing the elbows too low and placing strain on the anterior shoulder joint. Training variations like the floor press or the board press are commonly used to intentionally restrict depth. The floor press prevents the elbows from dropping below the bench, and the board press uses wooden blocks to stop the bar at a predetermined height.
These partial range of motion exercises are valuable tools for overloading the top portion of the lift, which assists in improving a sticking point near the lockout. Safety pins set a few inches above the chest can also serve as a controlled depth stop, ensuring consistency and providing a safe limit for the descent. Limiting the range of motion allows the lifter to build strength in a pain-free range or target specific phases of the press.