Bodybuilders use the bench press to build a massive thick chest; it is one of the three lifts included in the sport of powerlifting. You don’t have to be an athlete to incorporate the move into your strength-training routine. Anyone can benefit from performing the bench press because it is a compound movement that activates many muscles of the upper body.

Basic Movement

Perform a bench press on a flat, incline or decline workout bench using dumbbells or a barbell. The basic movement involves lying on your back and grasping the barbell or dumbbells with an overhand grip slightly wider than your shoulders. You then extend and bend your elbows to lower and raise the weight above your chest. You should never allow your elbows to dip below the height of the bench. Keep your wrists straight and avoid locking your elbows at the top of the movement. Another variation of the bench press is the seated bench press – a machine that features a chairlike seat and back with handles positioned in front of your shoulders that you push forward and back. Adjust the weight on a seated bench press by adding or removing plates or moving a pin to a different weight level. Incline, decline, wide-grip and close-grip versions of the seated press machine are available.

Primary Muscles

The primary muscle targeted with the bench press is the pectoral, or chest muscle. A landmark study in the 1995 issue of the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" found that when comparing incline, decline and flat presses, the flat press offers the most activation for the lower part of the pecs, known as the sternocostal head. The decline version of the press puts the least emphasis on the clavicular head, or upper portion of the pecs, while targeting the lower head. This study also found both the incline and flat bench press equally activated the clavicular head of the pectorals. The incline version of any chest press puts greater emphasis on the top and front of the shoulders while putting little emphasis on the sternocostal head of the pectorals. During a flat or decline bench press, the triceps at the back of the upper arm are also worked as primary movers.

Secondary Muscles

Many other upper body muscles assist in the bench press movement. During the incline, flat and decline press, the posterior deltoids, at the back of the shoulders, assist. The rotator cuff at the shoulder, the rhomboids at the upper back and the serratus anterior at the sides of the chest also help you execute all variations of the bench press. The seated bench press machine helps stabilize you, so the triceps muscles and the deltoids are no longer primary motivators during the movement. They do have a secondary, or synergistic, capacity during the seated press.

Hand and Weight Placement

Where and how you hold the weights also affects the way in which the muscles are activated. In a flat, decline or incline chest press holding the weight higher up toward your face puts more emphasis on the front of the shoulders, but has the potential to strain the rotator cuff. Holding the weight lower toward your ribs puts greater emphasis on the lower chest muscles and the triceps. A grip narrower than shoulder width targets the triceps more, but can stress the elbows if you allow them to bow out to the sides rather than graze against the sides of your ribs. You can create these same variations while performing the seated chest press by raising or lowering the seat to change the relationship of the handles to your upper body. A narrow grip seated press targets primarily the triceps but also the pectorals.

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