13
13 Bench
Bench Press
Press Cues
Cues For
For
Max
Max Strength
Strength (With
(With Pictures)
Pictures)
Avi
Avi Silverberg
Silverberg
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
When teaching the bench press, I always instruct my athletes to have 1-2 cues in mind. These
bench press cues draw lifters’ attention to important elements of their technique, which
help them execute the movement more e ectively. The result? A stronger bench press.
In my experience coaching both National and World Champion powerlifters, the 13 most
e ective bench press cues are:
Eyes Under The Barbell
Get High On The Traps
Let The Shoulders Fall Back
Push The Floor Away
Set Your Arch
Leave Fingerprints On The Barbell
Pull The Barbell Out
Bend The Barbell
Meet The Barbell With Your Chest
Pull The Barbell Down
Stop The Barbell On Command
Drive Up And Back
Press Through The Mid-Range
In this article, we’ll go over each of these cues step-by-step from how you’re supposed to set
up your body on the bench press, to how you bring the barbell down to your chest, and
ultimately, to how you lock the weight out.
What Is a Bench Press Cue?
A bench press cue is a short, meaningful phrase that reminds a lifter of a speci c movement
outcome.
This could be anything from maintaining tension on your muscles to how you position your
body/limbs throughout the movement.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
You don’t want to implement every bench press cue mentioned in this article at the same
time though because the brain can only focus on one (maybe two) cues at once.
Therefore, you need to address your most pressing technique issue, and then select a cue
that is going to help you re ne your form. Also, just because one cue works for another lifter,
doesn’t mean it will work for you. It’s important to experiment with cues to see what works
for you, not anybody else.
One more thing to know is that a single cue will work indirectly with others. So if you focus
on one, you will intuitively practice another. For example, you’ll learn that ‘ leg drive’, will
help you maintain your arch and shoulder position. As such, it’s not necessary to cue
multiple parts of your technique.
Let’s get started!
Bench Press Cue #1: Eyes Under The Barbell
Eyes should be in line or slightly behind the barbell
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Movement goal:
The goal of placing your “eyes under the barbell” is to ensure that when you unrack the
barbell the distance from where you take the barbell o the rack to your start position is
minimized.
The shorter the distance you need to unrack the barbell, the easier it will be to maintain your
shoulder position and keep tension on your muscles.
Other commonly used cues:
Face under the bar
Slide back on the bench
Set-up behind the bar
How to implement:
As you position your body on the bench press, line up so that your eyes are directly
under the barbell
Avoid having your eyes in front of the barbell, which will create a longer distance for the
weight to travel to get into your start position
When to use:
Setting up your eyes under the barbell is an important step in your technique because it will
impact how much energy you spend unracking the weight.
You should use this cue when you’re rst starting to learn how to bench press or if you are
purposely trying to reduce the distance the bar needs to travel from the rack to the start
position., which should be every lifter’s goal
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #2: Get High On The Traps
Position your body high on the traps before taking the barbell out of the rack
Movement goal:
The goal of “getting high on your traps” is to set the top part of your bench press arch, which
I’ll explain in bench cue #5, and to make it easier for you to retract and depress your shoulder
blades.
Having a strong arch will reduce the range of motion of the press (making it easier), and
retracting and depressing your scapular will take unnecessary stress o the shoulders.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Other commonly used cues:
Upper back on the bench
Push your traps back
How to implement:
Lie on the bench with your eyes under the barbell
Put your feet on the bench press and lift your hips in the air
Your body will be in a decline/inverted position
Push into your feet to try and get higher on your traps
You may also nd “wiggling” your body will allow you to push your traps higher
When to use:
Use this bench press cue every time you lift until it feels natural. The key part in getting high
on your traps is not to lose this position when you bring your feet to the oor, when you
unrack the barbell, or when you’re repping out the weight.
You might be able to start in a high trap position, but the best lifters in the world can
maintain this position throughout the entire movement.
Furthermore, getting high on your traps will require you to have solid mobility in your hips
and thoracic spine. Read my warm-up guide for bench press to implement drills that will help
you improve your mobility.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #3: Let The Shoulders Fall
Back
The shoulders should be retracted and depressed as you set up the bench press
Movement goal:
The goal of “let the shoulders fall back” is to maximally retract and depress your shoulder
blades. This position will allow you to place your scapular on the rib cage. As such, your
shoulders will use the rib cage for additional stability while benching.
As well, retracting your shoulders will reduce the overall range of motion that the barbell
needs to travel, ultimately making the lift easier and more e cient. It will also activate your
lats, which will help make the touch on your chest more controlled. Your lats help decelerate
the barbell on the way down.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Other commonly used cues:
Set your shoulder blades
Pull the scaps into your back pocket
Squeeze the shoulder blades together
How to implement:
As you’re setting your high trap position (discussed in bench cue #2), think about
pulling your shoulder blades back
You should feel that your shoulder blades are together, and the surrounding muscles
are tight
Setting your shoulders is the opposite of having your shoulders rounding forward
Think about having your chest pu ed up and your arms sucking back into the bench
To learn how to properly set the shoulders further, I like to perform a ‘scapular push up’,
which you can learn about in my article on teaching scapular control.
When to use:
Use this cue if you nd that your shoulders are unstable throughout the bench press or if
you want to continually decrease the distance the barbell travels. Even the best lifters in the
world can think about optimizing their shoulder position.
If you nd that it’s hard to keep this position under heavy weight or as you get fatigued,
then you might need to strengthen the muscles responsible for retracting and depressing
your shoulder blades. These include your rhomboids, lower traps, serratus anterior, and lats.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #4: Push The Floor Away
Driving into the legs will help maintain your torso and shoulder position
Movement goal:
The goal of “pushing the oor away” is to activate the leg drive portion of the bench press.
Driving into your legs will help you maintain your upper back position, push your chest up
higher (further reducing the range of motion the barbell needs to travel), and increase the
stability and sti ness of the torso.
You can read all about this bench press cue in my article on The Proper Way To Use Leg Drive
For Bench Press. You’ll learn how this one cue can impact several other parts of your
technique.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Other commonly used cues:
Drive your heels into the ground
Pull the feet toward the glutes
Ground the feet
Keep your feet at
Drive your legs down and away
How to implement:
Find a comfortable foot placement, which will depend on your level of hip and ankle
mobility
Aim to have your feet directly stacked underneath of your knee or either slightly pulled
back or in front of this position (but not by much)
Drive your feet into the oor by thinking about pushing “away from you”
Keep your feet at so you can use the entire surface of your foot to displace force into
the ground
Think about creating extra pressure on the outer part of your heel
As you drive into the oor, your upper traps push back into the bench more
When to use:
Use this cue prior to unracking the barbell. Then, as you bring the barbell down to your chest,
you still want to be cueing your feet to push into the oor. This is because you want your
chest to be as high as possible while benching, and without leg drive, it’s impossible to
maintain your torso position.
If you nd your chest attening out as you cycle through your reps, it’s most likely because
you’re not driving into your feet strong enough from the start of the movement, or you
forgot to keep pushing on the oor as you brought the barbell down to your chest.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #5: Set Your Arch
The bench press arch should be supported by your hips and shoulder blades on the bench
Movement goal:
The goal of “setting your arch” is to reduce the range of motion of the movement, recruit the
muscle bers in the lower pec, and to put the shoulders in an advantageous position.
You can learn more about what is a bench press arch, whether it’s safe or not, the bene ts,
how to set it up, and how to improve it in my Ultimate Bench Press Arch Guid e.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Other commonly used cues:
Pull your legs back
Push your chest high
Push your traps back
Drive your legs into the oor
Arch your back
How to implement:
Start with your feet on the bench
Bring your hips into the air so that the majority of your body weight is on your upper
traps
Retract and depress your shoulder blades
Bring your feet to the oor and set your stance
Push aggressively into the oor so that you’re maintaining the tension on your upper
traps
The hips should still be o the bench while you unrack the barbell
Once the barbell is in the start position, drop your hips to the bench and begin the
movement
When to use:
Use this cue to continue to optimize for a shorter range of motion. This is important if you
want to lift more weight. If you can arch your back another half-inch, then that’s another halfinch that the barbell doesn’t need to travel.
Because you’ll need to work on your hip and thoracic mobility to improve your arch, this
bench press cue is something that you’ll need to practice long-term as the reward isn’t
immediate.
This cue also works in tandem with other bench press cues, like “getting high on the traps”,
“letting the shoulders fall back”, and “pushing the oor away”.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #6: Leave Fingerprints On The
Barbell
Always have your hand squeezing the barbell strong even under light weights
Movement goal:
The goal of “leaving ngerprints on the barbell” is to squeeze your hands as hard as possible
before you take the barbell o the rack. Having your hands tight around the barbell is
important because it will make the barbell feel ‘lighter’ in your hands, as well as stabilize your
wrist position.
If you’re interested in reading about grip more generally, then read my guide on Is Wide Grip
Bench Pressing Better?. You’ll learn about how to optimize your grip-width distance, which
will be di erent for everyone.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Other commonly used cues:
Grip the bar strong
Squeeze hard
Break the bar in half
How to implement:
Find the optimal grip width
Wrap the thumb underneath of the barbell
Ensure the barbell is on the base of the palm
Squeeze every nger as hard as possible (don’t forget the pinky)
Engage your entire hand before lifting the barbell from the rack
When to use:
While it’s important to use this bench press cue prior to taking the barbell out of the rack,
it’s also critical that you implement it for all your sets, not just the heavy ones.
The biggest mistake I see with a lifter’s grip is using a ‘relaxed’ hand when the weight is
lighter, like during a warm-up set. This is not helpful because it’s reinforcing poor mechanics.
If you can squeeze hard under lighter weights, then it will be second nature by the time you
get to the heavier weights.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #7: Pull The Barbell Out
Movement goal:
The goal of “pulling the barbell out” is to engage your serratus anterior muscles (the muscles
that wrap around your rib cage) while you unrack the barbell. This will provide additional
stability and prevent any unnecessary movement of the barbell when lifting the barbell from
the rack to your start position.
Keep in mind, you would have just spent a considerable amount of time trying to set up your
arch and shoulder position when positioning your body on the bench press, you don’t want
to lose these elements during the ‘unracking phase’, which is common among novice lifters.
Other commonly used cues:
Glide the barbell over the chest
Keep your lats down while you unrack
How to implement:
Bring the barbell to the front of the j-hooks (where the barbell sits on the rack)
You should only have a slight bend in the elbow
Extend the bar up from the rack with your elbows, not by pushing your shoulders
forward
Think about pulling the bar out over your chest using your lat muscles
The distance the bar needs to travel should be minimized because you’re setting up
with your eyes under the barbell
When to use:
This is a bench press cue that is used most commonly with lifters who need to self hand-o
the barbell. In other words, lifters who don’t have a spotter to help them lift the barbell o
the rack.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Even if you do have a spotter to help with the un-rack phase, this is still a good cue to
implement as it ensures your muscles are tight prior to lifting the barbell up o the rack.
Another important note: It’s harder to gain tension through your serratus and lats once the
barbell is over your chest. It’s better to get this tension before you unrack, and while you’re
taking the barbell out. This will ensure your shoulder position is stabilized and you’re not
losing your arched torso position.
Bench Press Cue #8: Bend The Barbell
You want to feel like you’re bending or breaking the bar in half
Movement goal:
The goal of “bend the barbell” is to continue to engage your hands and lats throughout the
movement, and ensure that your elbows are naturally tucking slightly in front of the barbell.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
With your elbows in this position, you’ll be able to transfer force from the shoulder girdle,
through the arm, and into the barbell more e ectively. When the elbows are ared out, it will
create unnecessary stress on the shoulder, and reduce the level of activation of your triceps.
Read more about the best elbow position in the bench press.
Other commonly used cues:
Break the bar in half
Pull the bar apart
Pull the elbows in
Tuck the elbows
Rotate your arms inward
How to implement:
Take the barbell into the start position with your arms locked over your chest
Squeeze your hands and think about bending the barbell in half
While you do this, you should feel your lats ‘turn on’
You should also notice your elbows naturally rotate inward
It’s important that you implement this key with full e ort, really believing that you can
bend the barbell
When to use:
Use this cue when you are just about to start the lowering phase of the bench press. If you
don’t do it on the rst rep, it will become harder to implement it as the set goes on. You
want to ensure your lats are engaged and your elbows are in the right position from the
start.
This cue will be helpful for those lifters who nd that their elbows naturally are out while
bench pressing. As well, implement this cue if the touch position on the chest is
inconsistent, either you’re touching in di erent places each rep or you don’t have the
strength to control the barbell.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #9: Meet The Barbell With
Your Chest
Pull your chest up to meet the barbell as it gets closer to the touch-point
Movement goal:
The goal of “meeting the barbell with your chest” is to ensure you maintain a high chest
position the entire time, which helps reduce the overall range of motion of the movement.
The idea here is to not just think about bringing the barbell down to your chest, but your
chest up to the barbell.
If your chest attens out, you’ll be moving the barbell a greater distance and risk losing your
shoulder position, which would reduce the stability of the movement.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Other commonly used cues:
Chest up
Belly up
Bring your chest to the barbell
How to implement:
Just before you bring the barbell down, think about extending the chest as high as
possible
As the barbell lowers, see if you can pull your chest up even higher, avoiding the torso
from attening out
The closer the barbell gets to your chest, see if you can meet the barbell with your chest
vs letting the bar come down
When to use:
Use this bench press cue during the lowering phase of the movement. If you nd that you
struggle with maintaining your bench press arch as you cycle through reps, this cue will help
keep your torso position high.
If this cue doesn’t work in maintaining your arch, you probably need to revisit some of the
other cues that help create your arch as you position your body on the bench press.
You may also want to implement this cue to further reduce the range of motion of the
movement if you still nd there is room to optimize the overall distance.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #10: Pull The Barbell Down
Engaging the lats by actively pulling the bar down to the chest
Movement goal:
The goal of ‘pulling the barbell down’ is to engage your lats maximally. When the lats are
engaged you restrict ine cient movement patterns, like having the barbell move out of the
optimal bar bath or not being able to decelerate the barbell as it gets closer to the chest.
Other commonly used cues:
Bring the bar down like a lat pulldown
Pull the elbows in
Pull the barbell apart
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
How to implement:
Squeeze your hands hard around the barbell
Think about building tension in your lats the further you bring the barbell down to your
chest
Practice visualizing the bench press like a lat pulldown or barbell row
Engage the muscles of your lats, upper back, and lower traps on the way down
When to use:
Use this bench press cue as you bring the barbell down to your chest.
This will be a helpful cue for lifters who can’t control the barbell during the eccentric phase of
the movement. This would include having the barbell travel in di erent bar paths as you
cycle through multiple reps or having the barbell bounce o your chest because you can’t
decelerate the weight properly.
This can also be an e ective cue for lifters who nd that their scapular position isn’t able to
be maintained over the course of the set, i.e. if the shoulders can’t stay retracted and
depressed. If this happens, it might be because your lats are unengaged.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #11: Stop The Barbell On
Command
Stop the barbell right on top of the chest – don’t crash or bounce
Movement goal:
The goal of “stopping the barbell on command” is to ensure you have the absolute highest
control possible when touching the barbell on your chest. You want to avoid bouncing the
barbell and having the barbell touch in di erent points as you cycle through reps.
Think of a car that approaches a wall. Your goal is to maintain as much speed as possible
approaching the wall, but you want to stop just a few millimeters before the front of the car
hits it.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
This is like the bench press, you want to stop the barbell right on your chest. You don’t want
to rest the bar on your chest, or worse, bounce the bar o your chest. This would be like the
car approaching the wall, and instead of stopping, you’re crashing into it.
You can read more in my article on the Touch and Go vs Pause Bench Press.
Other commonly used cues:
Perform a soft touch
Stop on your t-shirt, not your chest
How to implement:
To stop the barbell on your chest you need to have your hands and lats tight
You should anticipate where your chest is in space as you bring the barbell down
As the barbell approaches the chest, think about stopping the bar right on your chest
Don’t let the barbell sink into the chest, or bounce the barbell o you
When to use:
Use this cue if you nd that your touchpoint is inconsistent. In other words, if on some reps
the barbell touches your chest higher, and other reps, it touches lower, then you’ll want to
hone your consistency. As well, this cue is good for lifters who sink or bounce the barbell on
their chest.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #12: Drive Up And Back
Drive up and back o
the chest in a diagonal bar bath
Movement goal:
The goal of “driving up and back” is to keep the barbell in the optimal bar path. The bar path
that most elite bench pressers use is one in which the barbell travels in an angled direction
o the chest.
So rather than pressing ‘straight-up’ o
of the face, and simultaneously up.
the chest, the barbell goes back, toward the direction
The reason for this bar path is because you want to minimize the horizontal distance
between the barbell and your shoulders. The greater the distance between these points, the
harder your chest and shoulders need to work to overcome the external resistance.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
So if you can close this horizontal gap quicker in the range of motion, i.e. o
easier it will be to lock the weight out.
the chest, the
Other commonly used cues:
Drive back
Press over the face
How to implement:
After the barbell touches the chest, drive the barbell back toward the face
As the barbell reaches closer to lock-out, you will press more ‘straight-up’ than ‘back’
You may nd your elbows are out as you press ‘back’, which is okay so long as they
don’t are behind the barbell
When to use:
Use this bench press cue as you initiate the upward phase of the movement.
If you fail the bench press in the mid-range of the movement, you should analyze whether
the bar path is one of the primary reasons. If you press straight up o your chest, versus
back, then you will fail in the mid-range every time.
This is an advanced bench press cue, which won’t make a signi cant impact on your
technique unless other cues are taken care of rst. So, I would master other cues discussed
in this article rst. In particular, optimizing your bench press arch, leg drive, and reducing the
overall range of motion.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Bench Press Cue #13: Press Through The MidRange
Apply maximum force through the mid-range of motion
Movement goal:
The goal of ‘pressing through the mid-range’ is to ensure that lifters are applying maximum
force at all times.
Most often, lifters will drive fairly hard o the chest, and as soon as they press through their
sticking point, somewhere in the mid-range, they stop pressing as hard. This is because they
know the lift will be successful, so they just ‘coast’ into the lockout.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
We want to always be applying maximum force, even if the weight is light, and even if the
lifter knows that they will successfully make the lift. This will reinforce the neutral drive
required under maximal loads.
Other commonly used cues:
Drive fast
Accelerate to the lockout
Be explosive
How to implement:
After you have decided to push the barbell o the chest think about driving with as
much speed as possible
If the weight is light, the goal should be to move the barbell as fast as possible
If the weight is heavy, and the barbell isn’t traveling quickly, the important part is still
‘thinking’ about driving as fast as possible
Don’t apply the minimum amount of force to overcome the load, apply the maximum
force at all times
When to use:
Use this cue from your warm-up sets to your working weights to reinforce producing
maximum force through the entire range of motion.
Lifters should use this cue under sub-maximal weights (60-80%) to ensure they are not being
lazy with their force production. If the barbell is not moving quickly, and it’s a 60% load, then
you know you’re not driving the barbell fast enough.
Don’t expect to be explosive under heavier weights, if you haven’t practiced under lighter
weights.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)
Final Thoughts
When you’re implementing bench press cues into your training, remember that you can only
use one or two at a time. You need to identify the movement outcome that is your main
priority and use a cue that will help you accomplish it. Many of the bench press
cues discussed relate closely to one another. So it’s likely that if you implement one cue
properly that you’ll be taking care of several cues in the process without having to over-think
them.
13 Bench Press Cues For Max Strength (With Pictures)