How to do the bench press correctly for girls and women using a barbell or dumbbells - 5 options: with a narrow grip on a bench, lying on a fitball and others

Most trainers, when creating programs for girls, do not include the barbell press in their individual list of exercises.

Firstly, it is believed that a woman’s pectoral muscles are less developed than a man’s, which by default becomes an obstacle to the correct execution of the exercise. However, this is a misconception. If a girl is able to perform 15 push-ups, then she will be able to perform a bench press.

Secondly, there are various preconceptions about this exercise. In particular, many believe that the bench press kills a girl’s femininity and reduces breast volume.

Let's look at the popular myths about the women's bench press and look at the correct technique for performing the exercise.

Does the bench press make your breasts smaller?

The first myth is one of the most common misconceptions. He is associated with women competing in bodybuilding competitions. The breast size of female bodybuilders has nothing to do with chest exercises. Breasts become smaller due to a strict diet before competitions.

Professional athletes bring their body fat to a critical minimum, and breasts are formed precisely due to fat deposits. As body fat decreases, breasts become smaller. And the muscles of professional bodybuilding athletes are so developed that against their background the mammary glands are simply visually lost.

Therefore, do not be afraid to train your pectoral muscles in reasonable amounts. This will make your body more athletic and harmonious, the volume of your chest will increase, and your chest will even rise a little.

Girls will not have problems with bust size if they maintain normal levels of body fat. After all, the breast consists of the mammary gland and the fat layer. According to scientists, women's health requires 10 to 13% fat.

Mistakes when pressing - how to grip the bar correctly, breathe, where to lower it

There are many disputes regarding the technique and variations of the bench press to this day, but there are generally accepted mistakes that are made quite often.

1. The grip should be closed. With an open grip, the bar is likely to slip out and fall on you.

   Left - closed grip, right - open

2. The hand should not be tilted back, keep your arm straight.
3. The belay should be carried out by someone who knows how to do it, and not by someone who is simply in the right weight category to support the barbell if something happens.
4. Don't "kick" the barbell at the bottom. Many athletes, for various reasons, take a weight that is too heavy for them and, having lowered the bar to their chest, hit the chest to make it easier to press the bar up. It is clear that this can lead to injury.
5. When you have removed the barbell and brought it up, make sure that you have taken the correct position of your body and arms, there is no need to rush. This will only lead to the technique being incorrect.
6. Do not arch into a strong bridge. This position can lead to injury and make the exercise easier, which will hinder progress in strength development.

   For powerlifters, this option is a way to win at any cost; when training for yourself, strong bending should be avoided

7. Do not lift or turn your head during any phase of the exercise. This can lead to pinched vertebrae.
8. A short range of motion can also be considered a mistake. This happens when the muscles are weak, and many beginners are guilty of this. In this case, the muscles will remain weak. To get stronger, they need to receive more load and work in a larger range.
9. Don't forget about breathing.

Video: Common mistakes when performing bench presses

For girls, push-ups are enough for their pectoral muscles.

Many girls and women who understand the importance of chest exercises think that regular push-ups are enough. However, practice shows that no significant changes occur during push-ups, since the pectoral muscle requires many different exercises with different weights.

Push-ups are effective only up to a certain point, and then they become useless. For high-quality development of the pectoral muscles, you need a set of exercises that combine push-ups, dumbbell curls while lying on a bench, a classic bench press and an incline bench press.

If you want to train your chest with push-ups, we recommend that you increase the load with additional weights, for example, you can put several weights from a barbell on your back. Experienced trainers advise using push-ups for the final hammering of the muscles at the end of the workout.

Benefits and Benefits of Exercise

So, let's look at a number of advantages that the barbell press brings:

1. This is one of the best exercises for gaining mass and increasing the muscles of the upper body.
2. It strengthens the joints of the shoulder and elbow.
3. There are a variety of options - from simple for beginners to complex for advanced levels.
4. You will be able to regulate not only the level of load, but also concentrate it on certain muscle groups, changing the technique.
5. Compared to the dumbbell press, which also has its advantages over the barbell, in this case you will be able to lift heavier weights more easily.
6. In addition, the load will be distributed in such a way that there is less chance of losing control of movement than with dumbbells.

Basic rules for chest training

The bench press for girls is somewhat different from that for men, so women should know the basic rules:

1. There will be no positive result until you start adding working weight to the barbell. Light weight is only good for burning calories.
2. A woman's muscle mass will not grow with a normal diet. A special diet (higher in calories and containing a sufficient amount of protein) will allow your body to become stronger and at the same time increase the volume of muscles, including the pectoral muscles.
3. One set should include 8-10 repetitions. It is important to perform at least two approaches. Three approaches would be the best option.

The bench press is the most energy-intensive exercise of all the chest exercises. Try to do it at the beginning of your workout. Between approaches you should take a break of 1-2 minutes. When performing dumbbell flyes, you can reduce the rest time to 45 seconds, and when performing push-ups - to 30 seconds.

Dumbbell fly

How to do it:

• in the initial position, you need to lie on a bench and press your lower back, arms with the apparatus bent at the elbows;
• the dumbbells are moved apart, while the angle at the elbow joint decreases as you inhale;
• As you exhale, the arms with the projectile return to their original position.

It is important when performing the exercise not to bend your elbows too much when spreading to the sides. It is also necessary to monitor the position of the lower back.

Bench press technique for women

If a power press is meant, in most cases the non-classical technique is most convenient for women:

• The distance between the hands on the barbell is slightly greater than shoulder width.
• When lowering the barbell to the chest, the forearms move down, the pressing force is partially transferred to the triceps.
• The buttocks are located on the bench, the shoulder blades are lowered and collected.
• The “bridge” may not be performed during the bench press. Women should only master pulling the shoulder blades towards the spinal column, and there should also be a deflection in the lower back.

The presented technique loads not only the woman’s pectoral muscles, but also the triceps. This technique helps increase working weights. If you specifically want to pump up your chest muscles, use the classic bench press technique.

Equipment

Bench press equipment for strength training – shoes, bandages, bench press shirt, belt.

The most important thing here will be the belt. Despite the fact that it is at the end of the list. My advice to you is not to go to training without a belt.

Some write that the belt does not help and is generally useless. It will not force you to bench press correctly and will not add strength; it was invented to protect you from injury. This is especially important when working with heavy weights.

Bandages are also a very important thing. It is clear that with an empty bar, bandages are not needed. But when working with weights above your average, they are simply necessary. Anyone who has had a hand injury knows how difficult it is to train and how long it takes for hands to heal. Read this article about injuries, it will be very useful.

A bench top helps you add 30 kilograms to your maximum. But only professional powerlifters need it. It’s even easier to get injured with it on than without it. For some, their results even drop when they put on a T-shirt. Mastering the bench press technique in a T-shirt is not easy. It’s definitely better to press without it – not my opinion, but that of many pros. Besides, they are going to cancel it. Therefore, if you do not plan to become a professional lifter, then it is better to forget about the T-shirt.

Shoes are simply irreplaceable during training. Don't follow the example of clowns who wear slippers to the gym. Not only that if the iron falls, then you can be left without fingers, but this is not the main thing. Let's say you're just super careful.

But when you press, there is no escape from pressing your feet to the floor. And what kind of support can there be when the slipper slides on the floor and the foot slides on the slipper?

To technology. Decide how you press. If the foot is completely adjacent to the floor, then it is better to press using weights. And if you press your feet on your toes, then it is better to press in shoes with soft soles.

AWPC and WPC Bench Press Standards

AWPC (Amateur World Powerlifting Congress)

Without equipment

Men

Women

WPC (World Powerlifting Congress)

Without equipment

Men

Women

Single layer equipment

Men

Women

Multilayer equipment

Men

Women

Squats

Bandages for squats
Standard 2-meter bandages of strong rigidity (from INZER, TITAN, METAL) give an increase of approximately 15 - 25 kg. Personally, they gave me 20 kg. It largely depends on how you wind them. And also on how strong your back is. Because if your back lags behind your legs, then bandages will not help you. They will push your legs out, but you won’t be able to straighten up. Therefore, for the bandages to be as effective as possible, your back should be slightly stronger than your legs.

As for the 2.5 meter bandages, I think that’s another +5 kg. Not more.

Squat suit

squat technique

Multilayer ones give 50 - 80 kg. In rare cases, up to 100 kg. And the main difference here is precisely the rigidity of the overalls. The more layers, the greater the rigidity and buoyant force.

Bench press standards of the WUAP and WUAP PRO federations

WUAP (World United Amateur Powerlifting)

Without equipment

Men

Women

In equipment

Men

Women

WUAP PRO

Without equipment

Men

Women

In equipment

Men

Women