Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press

ChestBarbellIntermediateCompound
Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press — start position
Start
Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press — finish position
Finish
Muscles worked
PrimaryChest
SecondaryShoulders, Triceps

How to do it

  1. 01

    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.

  2. 02

    As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest.

  3. 03

    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.

  4. 04

    Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

In the app

Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press appears when you own a barbell and the day's window has room for it. Loads come from Rule 3 (Loads rise when earned, read from RPE, graded strong) and climb on the reps you actually did.

If a machine is taken the engine swaps a same-pattern movement and says why.

If you don't have a barbell

Same movement pattern, same primary muscles — swap by what you have.

With barbell
With bodyweight
With dumbbell
With machine

More chest exercises

All chest exercises ›