30 Biggest Bench Press Form Mistakes

1.       Benching with a flat back- you will be set up for an injury if you don't have a stable base, so make sure you arch your upper back.

2.       Not squeezing the shoulder blades together when you bench.

3.       Benching with your feet on the bench-putting your feet on the bench creates instability. Put them on the floor.

4.       Not having your feet firm on the ground- if someone came over and kicked one of your feet, you would not want it to move.

5.       Lifting your butt off the bench when you press- drive with your feet back so the power transfers through to your lift.

6.       Not squeezing the bar as hard as you possibly can- squeezing as hard as you can activates the most muscles, and makes sure you stay safe.

7.       Benching with a close grip- this works your triceps, but will make it harder to bench more weight.

8.       Benching too wide- this creates a lot of force on the forearm area. Be outside shoulder width apart

9.       Having the bar too high up in your hand- when you set the bar too high on your finger tips it adds pressure to your wrists.

10.   Having sweaty hands- Use chalk or stick 'em spray to make sure your hands stay where they are. Never use gloves.

11.   Raising your shoulders up on the lift out- make sure instead of raising up, you bring the bar straight out when you are first starting your bench press.

12.   Benching with your elbows out- this will give you pec or shoulder injuries.

13.   Touching too high on the chest- touch below the nipple line, or you turn it into a triceps exercise.

14.   Touching too low on the chest- this makes it much more likely that you will dump the weight into your chest.

15.    Bouncing the weight up- pause before you push up.

16.   Bringing the bar down too fast- make sure you don't slam the bar on the way down.

17.   Not having any leg drive- drive legs into the ground as you lift up.

18.   Don't kick the legs up off the ground- you lose power if you lift your legs.

19.   Performing a half press- see your press all the way through, make sure you lift all the way up.

20.   Pushing the bar too far back when you press- move the bar up and down in a straight line.

21.   Brushing the rack- hold the bar instead of putting it in the rack every time. Holding the weight at the top will give you more muscle control.

22.   Not using a spotter- it's dangerous to not use a spotter.

23.   Turning it into a two man lift- don't have your spotter put their hands on the bar.

24.   Not warming up correctly- it makes it harder to bench high numbers if you don't warm up and work your way up to a high number.

25.   Doing too much warm up- warming up too much, or with too much weight will make you too tired to bench well.

26.   Doing pressing moves all the time- train your muscles individually instead of only doing presses.

27.   Don't neglect any muscles that you use in the bench press- make sure you exercise all the parts of your body because you use them all in the bench press.

28.   Only benching once a week- benching twice a week accelerates your press.

29.   Doing the same thing every week- this will make you plateau. Change your reps, sets, the weight you use, or the tempo you do.

30.   Self doubt- make sure you believe that you can do it!