The bench press is a great measure of upper body strength! The bench press is an upper body exercise that primarily involves the chest and triceps. Despite this being an upper body exercise, you want to create as much tension throughout to ensure you are performing lift correctly. 

First, we are going to discuss how to set up and execute the exercise properly. When preparing to barbell bench press, your set up matters. You want to be gazing through the barbell when on your back. Once you get your hands onto the barbell, use knurling for a reference point to ensure hands are even. Shoulders are down away from your ears. Core, quads and glutes are engaged and tight. The feet should be screwed into the floor (add plates to the floor if needed). 

Now that we have discussed the proper set up for the bench press, lets discuss the execution of the exercise. Lying down on the bench and allowing the barbell to fall to your chest with minimal control and using the momentum of the bouncing barbell to complete a rep, is not correct. We want to lower the barbell to your chest with CONTROL. Push the bar explosively off of your chest explosively, keeping the elbows in and the shoulders away from ears. Simultaneously, drive your feet into the ground forcefully in addition to pressing the barbell off the chest. The bar is going to travel in a J-curve and finishes over the shoulder. Lift explosively, meaning you want to react quickly when pushing the barbell from your chest. 

The technique you use is very important when bench pressing big weights. ALWAYS use good form! If you are warming up with an empty barbell, it should feel as if you had a loaded barbell. The previous cues and tips should be enforced to make light weight feel heavy!