Struggling With Your Bench? This Overlooked Fix Changes Everything

The bench press is one of the most straightforward and effective exercises for building upper-body strength. As a compound exercise, it activates multiple muscle groups and joints simultaneously, minimizing the need for extra accessory work. However, without proper form, it can become ineffective—or worse, lead to injury. If you're struggling to lift heavier loads or feel discomfort while benching, heed this advice. 

"Engaging your lats during the bench press plays a crucial role in stability, efficiency, shoulder safety, and bar control," says Everett Miner, NASM-CPT and owner of Miner Fitness. "Proper lat activation rotates the ribcage upward relative to the lower back, reinforcing a strong arch that shortens the bar path for a more mechanically efficient press. This engagement also helps maintain upper-body tightness, preventing unnecessary movement and providing a solid foundation to press from."

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The lats also counterbalance the deltoids, keeping the elbows in an optimal position, preventing excessive flare, Miner adds. By keeping your shoulders packed, you're able to control your movement pattern more and ensure a stronger, more controlled lift. 

Although it might seem simple, failing to engage your lats can lead to issues. Without lat activation, "the bench press can lead to loss of stability, inefficient pressing mechanics, increased injury risk, and poor elbow tracking," Miner says. "This instability can cause the elbows to flare outward as the delts try to take over, increasing strain on the shoulders and pecs while also lengthening the range of motion, making the lift less efficient and more difficult to execute.

Related: The Surprising Trick That Boosts Your Bench Press Without Lifting Heavier

How to Properly Engage Your Lats

Below, Miner breaks down how to engage your lats to ensure proper bench press form. 

Setup

1. To engage your lats properly, take a firm grip on the bar and focus on bending it outward, which can be cued by applying downward tension with the pinkies. 
2. Next, pull your shoulder blades back (retraction) and down (depression) to create a stable foundation, protect the shoulders, and reinforce tension across the thoracic region. 
3. This setup not only enhances stability, but also helps establish an arch in the back, optimizing pressing mechanics and reducing the range of motion for a more efficient lift.

Unracking

1. Instead of pressing the bar straight up to unrack it, engage your lats and think about pulling it out of the rack, similar to performing a straight-arm pulldown. 
2. This technique keeps the lats activated before the first rep even begins, ensuring maximum tightness and stability.

The Eccentric (Lowering the Bar)

1. As you lower the bar, maintain scapular retraction and shoulder depression to keep your upper body stable. 
2. Think of pulling the bar down with your lats, guiding it toward your sternum in a controlled motion. 
3. This not only helps maintain an optimal bar path, but also reinforces lat engagement throughout the lift.

The Concentric (The Pressing)

1. As you press, keep the lats engaged to stabilize the elbows and prevent unnecessary outward movement. 
2. Press in a slight arc rather than straight up to maintain an efficient bar path. 
3. A useful mental cue to stay tight is to press into the bench rather than simply thinking about pushing the bar away. 
4. Imagine driving the bench into the floor by pushing yourself away from the bar, reinforcing full-body tension and stability.