Chest · Barbell · Compound · Intermediate
Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press


PrimarySecondary
- Main muscles
- Chest
- Also working
- Shoulders, Triceps
How to do it
- Lie back on a flat bench with feet firm on the floor. Using a wide, pronated (palms forward) grip that is around 3 inches away from shoulder width (for each hand), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. The bar will be perpendicular to the torso and the floor. This will be your starting position.
- As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest.
- After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
Swaps on other equipment
Each has the chest as its main muscle and is also a push, on a different piece of equipment.
Other chest exercises
- Standing Cable Chest Press · Cable
- Straight-Arm Dumbbell Pullover · Dumbbell
- Suspended Push-Up · Other
- Svend Press · Other
- Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Bench Press · Barbell
- Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Pullover · Barbell
Steps and photos from the public-domain Free Exercise DB, not individually reviewed. How this site is put together · Report a mistake