Bench press

Movement

Which muscles drive the lift

A systematic review is a study that searches for the research on a question in a set, checkable way and sums it up. One such review of bench press studies describes a traditional model of the lift¹. That model was built on predictions from muscle leverage and on practical knowledge¹. It counts three muscles as the prime movers, the main muscles that make the movement¹:

• The pectoralis major, at the front of the chest¹.
• The anterior deltoid, which raises the arm forward and rotates it inward^1,7.
• The triceps brachii, which straightens the elbow^1,8.

The triceps and a small elbow muscle, the anconeus, are the muscles that straighten the elbow⁸. In a computer model of the bench press and overhead press, these elbow extensors did little early in the lift⁹. They became the main contributors near full extension⁹.

What changes the muscle activity

The systematic review above found that bench press muscle activity changes with several factors¹. These were exercise intensity, movement speed, fatigue, mental focus, the phase of the movement, and how stable the setup was¹. Intensity was the most important of them¹. The triceps was the muscle whose activity changed most often¹.

The versions studies have used

The studies on this page tested the bench press in several forms^2,3,10,11:

• At five bench angles from flat (0 degrees) to 60 degrees, with 60% of the one-repetition maximum, the heaviest weight a person can lift once².
• With narrow, medium and wide grips, lifting the heaviest load each person could lift six times³.
• With narrow, medium and wide grips at the one-repetition maximum¹².
• As isometric holds at different grip widths, where the muscles work but the joint does not move¹⁰.
• With grips set against shoulder width, and with scapula retraction (drawing the shoulder blades back)¹¹.

What it loads

The chest and triceps lead

Electromyography (EMG) measures a muscle’s activity by picking up its electrical signals. A review of 14 EMG studies found that the pectoralis major and triceps showed similar activity¹. Both showed a greater EMG amplitude than the anterior deltoid¹.

The review suggests that studies of the muscles producing bench press force measure a set of muscles¹. These are the triceps, the sternal (breastbone) portion of the pectoralis major, the anterior deltoid, the medial deltoid (its middle part), and the latissimus dorsi¹. The latissimus dorsi is the broad, triangular muscle of the lower back that pulls the upper arm back, down and inward. The review notes an earlier suggestion that it may be an important primary mover¹.

Full and partial range lifts

One study had 19 men lift a 10-repetition maximum, the heaviest load they could lift ten times¹³. They lifted it three separate ways: full range, lower half and upper half¹³. Mean pectoralis major activity was significantly higher in lower-half lifts than full-range lifts, at each of the four electrode (sensor) sites¹³. Lower-half and upper-half lifts did not differ significantly at any site¹³.

In 10 elite powerlifters, the sternal portion of the pectoralis major reached its maximal activation at the start of the upward phase¹⁴. It then stayed essentially unchanged through the rest of the upward phase¹⁴. The loads ran from about 80% of maximum up to a failed attempt above it¹⁴.

How bench angle shifts the work

One study had 30 trained adults press 60% of their one-repetition maximum at five bench angles². The angle that gave the highest activity differed between muscles²:

Muscle	Angle with the highest activity
Upper pectoralis major	Peaked at 30 degrees2
Middle and lower pectoralis major	Higher at 0 degrees, a flat bench2
Anterior deltoid	Highest at 60 degrees2
Triceps (medial head, one of three)	Similar at each angle2

In that study, angles steeper than 45 degrees gave significantly higher anterior deltoid activation². They also lowered the muscular performance of the pectoralis major².

How grip width shifts the work

In 28 men used to the barbell bench press, lifting their 6-repetition maximum, grip width had these effects³:

• Activity in the biceps brachii, the two-headed muscle on the front of the upper arm, rose as the grip got wider³.
• Triceps activity was lower with a wide grip than with medium and narrow grips³.
• Pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, medial deltoid and posterior deltoid (the back part of the deltoid) activity was similar across grip widths³.

In 14 bench-press-trained men lifting their one-repetition maximum, the triceps’ medial head was more active with medium and narrow grips than wide¹². Another study compared a wide (81 cm) and a narrow (40 cm) grip in 7 trained and 7 untrained men¹⁵. The ratio of pectoralis major to triceps activity did not differ significantly between grips¹⁵. The exception was the fatigued lowering phase in the untrained men¹⁵.

The muscles that steady the shoulder

A review describes the biceps brachii as acting as a stabiliser and an antagonist during the bench press¹. An antagonist is a muscle that works against a movement rather than producing it. The review counts the biceps as the antagonist to the triceps, and the posterior deltoid as the antagonist to the anterior deltoid¹.

Muscles crossing the shoulder joint give it its main support, particularly the four rotator cuff muscles⁸. The infraspinatus and subscapularis are rotator cuff muscles on the back and the front of the shoulder blade. In 15 volunteers, the infraspinatus was significantly more active than the subscapularis during the bench press¹⁶. The authors read this rotator cuff activity as steadying the moving shoulder against forces that push it forward and back¹⁶.

Modelled loads on the shoulder joints

One study estimated shoulder joint loads with a computer model of the muscles and bones¹¹. Ten experienced strength athletes did variations of the bench press¹¹. Grip width was measured in bi-acromial widths, the distance across the shoulders¹¹. The model gave these results¹¹:

• Grips under 1.5 bi-acromial widths lowered compression at the acromioclavicular joint, where the collarbone meets the top of the shoulder blade¹¹.
• Scapula retraction, and grips under 1.5 bi-acromial widths, each lowered rotator cuff activity¹¹.
• The same two changes lowered the backward (posterior) shear force in the glenohumeral joint, the main shoulder joint¹¹.

The tendons

A tendon is a tough cord of tissue that connects a muscle to a bone. The bench press is linked to tears of two tendons^17,18. One is the pectoralis major tendon¹⁷. A review of studies on its surgical repair looked at articles that addressed how ruptures happened¹⁷. In those articles, the bench press and other weight-lifting variations accounted for over 70% of ruptures¹⁷.

A second review reported that, across the literature, the bench press was the most common cause of pectoralis major rupture¹⁹. It caused 300 of 608 cases, or 49%, ahead of contact sports at 8% and weight lifting at 7%¹⁹.

In a cadaver (donated body) study of a simulated bench press, the short lower fibres of the pectoralis major lengthened disproportionately²⁰. This happened in the final 30 degrees of humeral extension, as the upper arm bone moved back²⁰. The authors concluded that these fibres are at a mechanical disadvantage late in the lowering phase²⁰. In their view, high loads on the fully stretched fibres produce rupture²⁰.

The other is the distal triceps tendon¹⁸. A review reports that in resistance training, its tears happen mainly during the lowering phase of the bench press or overhead press¹⁸. They occur under eccentric load, meaning the triceps is working while it lengthens¹⁸.

Reported shoulder problems

Shoulder problems reported in the literature as related to the bench press include distal clavicular osteolysis, glenohumeral instability and rotator cuff injury¹¹. Distal clavicular osteolysis is a wearing away of the outer end of the collarbone. High-quality data on specific bench press injuries are lacking¹¹.

A review of injuries in weightlifting and powerlifting cites earlier authors who describe the bench press as generally considered a shoulder injury risk factor²¹. The reason given was high loads with the joint near the end of its range²¹. In the modelling study above, the authors suggest that narrower grips may lower the risk of the three problems¹¹. They suggest that scapula retraction may lower the risk of glenohumeral instability and rotator cuff injury¹¹.

One study went back through shoulder MRI reports and compared men aged 20 to 40 with and without distal clavicular osteolysis²². MRI is a scan that shows soft tissue in detail. There were 262 men with it and 227 age-matched men without²². High-intensity bench pressing was a risk factor, with an odds ratio of 19²². An odds ratio is how many times higher the odds of an outcome are in one group than in another.

Low-intensity bench pressing, with a one-repetition maximum under 1.5 times body weight, was not a risk factor²².

How the body adapts

What ten weeks of training changed

One study followed 24 healthy men, 13 who trained and 11 controls⁴. The training group did the bench press three times a week for 10 weeks⁴. Cross-sectional area is the size of a slice cut straight across a muscle. It grew more than in controls in four muscles⁴:

• The anterior deltoid⁴.
• The pectoralis major⁴.
• The pectoralis minor⁴.
• The triceps⁴.

The medial deltoid grew less than each of the other muscles measured⁴.

How early growth is thought to unfold

A review on resistance training in general, not the bench press alone, proposes a timeline for muscle growth²³. In the first four or so sessions, gains in cross-sectional area would mostly be swelling from muscle damage²³. Modest hypertrophy, or growth in muscle size, would follow after about 10 sessions²³. True hypertrophy would not be seen until after about 18 sessions²³.

Progressive overload

A position stand is a formal paper in which an expert group sets out its agreed view. In a 2026 position stand, the American College of Sports Medicine describes progressive overload as the need to keep raising the muscle’s training stimulus²⁴. Most of the bench press studies below compared groups trained in different ways^6,25,26,27. One followed a single group of powerlifters²⁸.

How heavy, and how far each set went

One randomised trial put 158 resistance-trained men into 12 groups for 8 weeks of bench press⁶. Groups trained at 40–55%, 55–70% or 70–85% of one-repetition maximum⁶. Training at 70–85% gave the greatest gains in pectoralis major cross-sectional area, one-repetition maximum and maximum repetitions⁶. Within each load range, groups ended sets at 0%, 15%, 25% or 50% velocity loss, the drop in bar speed across a set⁶. Ending sets at 50% velocity loss gave the largest gains in that area and in repetitions, and 25% the greatest gain in one-repetition maximum⁶.

Reviews that pool many trials, called meta-analyses, frame these results. One meta-analysis of 45 studies compared loads above and at or below 60% of one-repetition maximum⁵. Higher loads gave greater gains in one-repetition maximum, but muscle growth was similar⁵. A 2023 review of 19 training studies found that more velocity loss went with more muscle growth, but did not change strength gains²⁹.

In 49 resistance-trained women lifting 70–85% of one-repetition maximum for 8 weeks, all three groups gained strength³⁰. Ending sets at 50% velocity loss raised one-repetition maximum more than doing one repetition per set³⁰. The authors judged one repetition per set enough to improve strength, but not enough to maximise it³⁰. Only the 50% group had a significant rise in triceps thickness³⁰.

One trial in 24 resistance-trained men raised the velocity loss step by step, from 0% to 50%, over 8 weeks³¹. A second group held it at 25%³¹. Both groups improved, and the groups did not differ significantly over time³¹. Only the step-by-step group had a significant rise in pectoralis major cross-sectional area³¹.

Lifting speed and sessions a week

In 20 participants training three times a week for 6 weeks, one group lifted at maximal intended speed and one at half speed²⁵. Both gained strength, but one-repetition maximum rose 18.2% with maximal speed and 9.7% with half speed²⁵.

In 38 men new to resistance training, sets used 12 repetitions of 3 seconds or 6 repetitions of 6 seconds³². Time under tension, sets, load and rest were matched over 10 weeks³². Gains in one-repetition maximum and in pectoralis major and triceps cross-sectional area were similar³².

In 21 experienced resistance-trained men, the same weekly volume was split over two or four bench press sessions for 8 weeks²⁶. Both groups raised their bench press one-repetition maximum, and training frequency did not affect the rise²⁶.

Range and heavier lowering

In 16 resistance-trained men, one group pressed 105% of one-repetition maximum to blocks for 4 weeks²⁷. The blocks brought the bar 1 inch closer to the chest each week, from 5 inches to 2²⁷. The other group did full-range bench press at 80–87.5% on a linear periodisation plan²⁷. Both groups raised one-repetition maximum significantly, with no significant difference between them²⁷. Some changes in how the bar moved were seen only after full-range training²⁷.

In a study with no comparison group, eight competitive powerlifters did 5 sessions of 7 single repetitions over 4 weeks²⁸. They lifted 90% of one-repetition maximum and lowered 105–125% of it²⁸. Their one-repetition maximum rose significantly, from about 116.6 to 124.3 kg²⁸.

Connections

The tendons it loads

The bench press is linked to tears of the pectoralis major tendon¹⁷. With other weight lifting, it accounted for over 70% of tears where studies addressed the cause¹⁷. It is also linked to tears of the distal triceps tendon, mainly during the lowering phase¹⁸.

The muscles it works

• The pectoralis major, a prime mover in the traditional model¹.
• The triceps brachii, the muscle whose activity changed most often across studies¹.
• The deltoid, whose anterior part was most active at the steepest of five bench angles in one study².
• The latissimus dorsi, named among the muscles producing force¹.
• The biceps brachii, described as a stabiliser and antagonist¹.
• The infraspinatus and subscapularis, two rotator cuff muscles that were active during the lift¹⁶.

Sources

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Every source the library cites

Changes

• October 23, 2026 Added a Progressive overload section.
• September 29, 2026 Added a figure showing where it sits, links to the exercise pages that load it, and tighter wording in a few places.