Bench Press Issues...

1. You should feel it in your chest.
2. Why are you keeping your grip wider than shoulder width?
3. Bar should touch the chest.
4. Increase weight when you feel your current one is too light. If you can do 12+reps with your weight, it's too light.

I am now totally confused on bench press form. I had been going off the video on bodybuilding.com but was told I'm not doing them correctly at the gym today. For starters, when you do them should you feel them in your chest or arms more? I was trying to keep my grip just a bit wider than my shoulders but was told that was too far. When lowering the bar I was bringing it down so it was across my nipples but was told I need to be bringing it down lower than that. Is this true? Didn't feel anything in my chest just my arms today. Also, how often should you increase weight? Had been doing it at 60lbs for two weeks so I upped it to 65lbs today and struggled with it. Not sure if I should have stayed at 60lbs. UGH.

Shoulder width? Are you trying to do close grip bench press? If so, you are working your triceps more than your chest.
Keep playing with grip width. Most people like 30-45 degree angle on their arms at lockout.

People generally bring it to the bottom of the sternum in flat bench.

Thank you for the replies! I was using a wider grip because I was told that used your chest muscles more. When I use the wider grip I do feel it in my chest and am sore there later on. When I move my grip in I only feel it in my arms. Interesting about the triceps, and I do believe you're right about me being tricep dependent. I will try to be more aware of this and concentrate on bringing bar down lower on chest.

Stand facing a sturdy wall, a little less than a foot away. (like 8 inches)
Without thinking, put your hands up and push the wall like you're trying to push the wall over. Really engage your body, dig in with your feet.
DONT do a wall pushup. Feel how tense your body is, from feet to neck.
Feel how your scapula have retracted and are pinched in the back.
NOW allow yourself to do a wall-pushup. Carefully monitor your hand placement.
Once you're away from the wall, notice that your arms are somwhere between 30 and 45 degress from your shoulders.

This is your starting point for bench.
Remember the pinched shoulder blades and the feeling of your whole body under tension.

There is more than one right way.

The powerlifting style bench press uses a fairly wide grip because that minimizes the distance you move the bar, thus increasing your ability to move the maximum weight. This is why powerlifting competitions have limitations on grip width--otherwise everyone would use the maximum width possible.

If you are after building strength and doing so safely (especially if you have any shoulder injuries, or are hoping to prevent having any), then use a grip that will allow your forearms to stay close to vertical throughout the press. Also, you should lift your chest towards the bar, though not so much that your butt is off the bench.

About bar position wrt nipples--it depends on where your nipples are You can't tell someone you've never seen before that the bar should touch their nipples. Your bar path is determined by your arm position, not your nipple location.

Here's a nice discussion:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/bench-press-technique.html

You should also read Starting Strength--it's all about form.

ETA: linkie

http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372700613&sr=8-1&keywords=starting+strength

I am now totally confused on bench press form. I had been going off the video on bodybuilding.com but was told I'm not doing them correctly at the gym today. For starters, when you do them should you feel them in your chest or arms more? I was trying to keep my grip just a bit wider than my shoulders but was told that was too far. When lowering the bar I was bringing it down so it was across my nipples but was told I need to be bringing it down lower than that. Is this true? Didn't feel anything in my chest just my arms today. Also, how often should you increase weight? Had been doing it at 60lbs for two weeks so I upped it to 65lbs today and struggled with it. Not sure if I should have stayed at 60lbs. UGH.

1. Should feel it in both, but mainly your chest.
2. Your grip can vary - wider for chest, narrow for arms...a standard grip is just outside shoulder width.
3. The bar should touch just below your nipples, and be right over your collar bone when you're extended.
4. You should increase the weight every time you can complete 1 or 2 more reps than what is on your workout sheet.

My only comment is that I hurt my shoulder a few years ago. If I drop my elbows below my shoulders (lower bar to chest), then I feel it in my shoulder. So I don't drop my arms as low to protect my shoulder. I still feel it in my chest, but it takes a lot of concentration and slow movement to protect my shoulder and still get something out of it. BTW, same for a push up, can't get too low as I get a pinch in my shoulder.

The bench press is often confused with being a pectoral exercise but in essence it's really a full-body lift and the triceps play a HUGE role in this movement; you can make the argument that the triceps are more important than the pec's. On a secondar level the lats, deltoids, and traps all play a role in supporting you. The narrower the grip the more tricep recruitment; the wider the grip the more pectoral recruitment. There is no real wrong width, find what works best for you. Some people are a "tricep"-bencher and some prefer to go wide.

Bar-path should be straight-up and down for the most part, depending on hand-placement you may get a little bit of a curve. The very best video to watch, in my opinion at least, is "So You Think You Can Bench"; it's on YouTube. Dave Tate really dissects bench form and teaches the setup very well. I'd watch it multiple times if you can.

Thank you for the replies! I was using a wider grip because I was told that used your chest muscles more. When I use the wider grip I do feel it in my chest and am sore there later on. When I move my grip in I only feel it in my arms. Interesting about the triceps, and I do believe you're right about me being tricep dependent. I will try to be more aware of this and concentrate on bringing bar down lower on chest.

It does. A study in the NSCA Journal showed that a grip that was about 1.15 times the width of the shoulders resulted in highest number of pectoral muscle fiber recruitment.

Obviously "wider" is a relative term. I don't consider the width I have described to be especially "wide", but you still should be outside the shoulders.

Learning to "brace" the shoulders can minimize negative effects from the bench press. I have a slightly torn rotator cuff and bench press doesn't affect it at all as long as I keep my shoulders in place.

It certainly is possible and even appropriate to change the grip depending on what you want to emphasize--which is why no one should be randomly coming up to you saying your grip is "wrong".

My only comment is that I hurt my shoulder a few years ago. If I drop my elbows below my shoulders (lower bar to chest), then I feel it in my shoulder. So I don't drop my arms as low to protect my shoulder. I still feel it in my chest, but it takes a lot of concentration and slow movement to protect my shoulder and still get something out of it. BTW, same for a push up, can't get too low as I get a pinch in my shoulder.

I destroyed my shoulders with a wide grip and broform I learned in college. The wide grip, the chest flat, shoulder blades flat and elbows tracking out resulted in debilitating tendinitis in both shoulders. Bad form destroys things.

3 months of rehab and focusing on form vs. weight has allowed me to start benching again. Still can't do a single overhead press, even without a bar.

To the OP, you can feel it in your pecs if you focus on them. I use a mental aid of squeezing my hands together as hard as I can. This gets me to engage the pecs, even with light weights. Works for me.

Tom

1. You should feel it in your chest.
2. Why are you keeping your grip wider than shoulder width?
3. Bar should touch the chest.
4. Increase weight when you feel your current one is too light. If you can do 12+reps with your weight, it's too light.

1. How can you feel it in your chest if your hands are only shoulder width? That is 80-90% tricep with hand grip that close.
2. Because bench is a chest workout PRIMARILY. Tricep secondarily...ergo...arms whould be slightly wider than shoulder width on a male or female
3. NOT NECESSARY for hypertrophy...so this depends on goals...for flexibility and range of motion or competition POWERLIFTING then YES touch your chest...other exercises can focus more on chest like cables etc.
4. increase your weight when you can hardly get 10 reps at your current weight