How to do flat bench presses

There are two different styles and two different types of flat bench presses. The main type is the barbell press this press is done with a barbell and off of a flat benching surface. There are two general styles for this movement. The first style is what I call the bodybuilding style this is were the bar comes down about right in the middle of you chest. Your elbows are bent and parallel to your shoulders. This is sometimes referred to as a bodybuilding style of flat benching due to the fact that bodybuilders barbel bench this way. The second style of barbell flat bench presses are low or power lifting style presses. These presses are called power lifting bench presses because most power lifters have adopted this method of barbel flat bench. With this method your elbows are more parallel to your upper rib cage than your shoulder. The Barbell bar would come to or right bellow your nipple line. This method employs more of the triceps muscles in the upper arm to assist the chest in moving the weight. The two different types of flat bench presses are the dumbbell and the barbell flat bench. Everything I have previously described applies to the dumbbells as well as the barbells. The preferred rep range for this exercise is 10-12 reps for 4-5 sets. If your main goal is to develop your pectoral muscle more than move more weight I would suggest the higher bodybuilder's style as that requires more use of the pectorals  than the power lifting style. However if you were to hit a sticking point with either style change is always good and would help you to get through this sticking point. So start benching for a stronger chest and keep checking us out for updates and tips.