Keep Your Elbows Tucked During the Bench Press

A common belief is that the bench press is a “shoulder killer” (sort of how squats are supposedly bad for your knees – complete BS), and this couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’s not the bench press itself that’s bad for your shoulders (unless you have a pre-existing shoulder injury), but the way YOU bench, and the most common fault I see when performing the lift is allowing your elbows to flare out at or above 90 degrees.

This does two things:

1. It decreases the distance the bar has to travel, therefore allowing you to – theoretically – lift more weight (I say “theoretically” because I can’t bench with my elbows flared to save my life).

2. It places a TREMENDOUS amount of stress on the shoulders.

In most cases, the slight increase in strength gained from allowing your elbows to flare out isn’t worth the pounding your shoulders will take in that position, so I highly recommend tucking your elbows in to around a 45 degree angle.

Your elbows don’t need to be touching your sides (although that’s a useful bench variation to increase triceps strength), but keeping them around 45 degrees allows you to reap all of the benefits of the lift (increased pressing strength, increased shoulder stability, increased size of the chest, triceps, and front delts) while minimizing your risk of injury.

Do you have to bench this way?

No you don’t, and if keeping your elbows flared feels natural and you aren’t having any problems, don’t change it.

With that being said, if allowing your elbows to flare irritates your shoulders, try tucking them in.

You should notice a world of difference.