Movement of the month: the bench press

Pushing yourself up off the floor, pushing a heavy door, pushing a trolley: the bench press trains that push lying down, which lets the chest, shoulders and arms work against more weight than they could standing.

What it trains

• →The chest (pectorals), the front of the shoulders and the triceps.
• →The upper back, which holds the shoulder blades in place against the bench.
• →The legs, a little: feet planted on the floor give the body a stable base.

Why it comes up in the research

The bench press, or a machine chest press, appears in most of the resistance-training programmes used in weight-loss trials as the main horizontal push. The research supports regular, progressive resistance training across the major muscle groups rather than any one lift; the bench press is the most familiar way to train the push. The lean-mass evidence is the same as for the rest of the series.

Where to start

• →With safety arms or a spotter, every time. Set the rack's safety arms just above your chest height, or have someone stand behind you. This is the lift where people get trapped under a bar.
• →With a coach, if you can, to set your grip width and elbow angle.
• →With a push-up or dumbbell press first. Both train the same pattern and you can't get trapped.
• →With the setup before the lift. Shoulder blades pulled together and down, a slight natural arch, feet flat, eyes under the bar. Lower to the lower chest with elbows about 45° from the body, then press back up.

Safety and sense

Never bench a heavy bar alone without safety arms. Stop if you feel a pinch or sharp pain in the shoulder or chest. If you have a shoulder injury, chest-wall pain, or a heart or blood-pressure condition, check with your doctor first.

What this feature isn't

It isn't a plan. We don't give loads, sets or repetitions. Next in the series: the barbell curl.