Fix this mistake for a bigger bench press!

This week’s Instagram workout begins with a bench press variation you can do at home. If you’re not bench pressing, you’re missing out! There’s no substitute for building upper body strength, which is why it’s impossible to find a free bench at the gym on Mondays. If you’re struggling with this exercise, bad form might holding you back. With the barbell bench press, the most common mistake I see is lowering the bar towards the neck like a guillotine. Instead, hold the bar over your shoulders, lower towards the sternum, then press back up. This angled bar path stacks the weight over the bones of the wrist. To understand why this technique is safer, think about the sport of arm wrestling. Competitors know that if you pull the wrist back, the arm follows. The same applies to the bench press. Lower the bar to your neck, and you risk losing control when the wrists bend backward. Keep your wrists straight by lowering toward your sternum, however, and you’ll efficiently press more weight. Bottom line: don’t try to arm wrestle the barbell, you’ll be in trouble when the barbell wins. Check out my Instagram for this week’s bench-press-centric workout.