Bench Press - With Bands

Chest · Band

How to do it

Anchor the band under the bench leg behind your head, lie down and take a handle in each hand at shoulder width, palms facing forward. Lower your hands until the elbow reaches 90 degrees, without letting the band pull you, and press as you breathe out. A band is light at the bottom and heavy at the top, so the hard part is exactly where a barbell is easy: squeeze the chest for a second at lockout. The classic mistake is not enough tension, which turns it into half an exercise; if you feel nothing at the bottom, move further from the anchor or double the band.

Variants

The drawing shows one way of doing it, and the technique above describes that one. Almost every exercise has variants — standing or seated, the grip, the bench angle — and is still the same exercise: if you do it another way, write it in the exercise note and you will have it every time you train it.

Also works: Shoulders, Triceps

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