Reverse-Grip Barbell Bench Press
Flat barbell press taken with an underhand grip, which shifts pressing emphasis toward the upper chest.
How to do it
- Set the rack height on a flat bench and load the bar conservatively for your first sets.
- Lie back with your feet planted and take the bar with an underhand grip a little wider than shoulder width.
- Set your shoulder blades into the bench, then unrack the bar with a spotter's help.
- Lower the bar slowly to your mid-chest, keeping your wrists stacked over your forearms.
- Pause without letting the bar rest on your chest, then press it back up.
- Stop short of locking the elbows and keep your glutes and shoulder blades on the bench throughout.
Key technique cue
Only with a spotter: wrists stacked over the forearms, load lighter than a regular bench press.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Unracking a supinated bar without a spotter risks losing it backward before the first rep is under control.
- ✕ Letting the wrists bend back under load puts the bar behind the forearm and strains the wrist joint.
- ✕ Loading it like a standard bench press overwhelms an unfamiliar grip and forces the form to break down.
- ✕ Lifting the feet or hips off the bench to grind a rep removes the stable base the press depends on.
Benefits
- ✓ Increases upper chest and biceps involvement compared with a pronated grip on the same flat bench.
- ✓ Gives a fresh pressing stimulus for lifters with no access to an adjustable incline bench.
- ✓ Alters the wrist and shoulder position, which some lifters find kinder on a sore shoulder.
Progression: from easier to harder
-
Step 1 -
Step 2 -
Step 3 You are here - Reverse-Grip Barbell Bench Press
- Kettlebell Bench Press
- One Arm Dumbbell Bench Press
About the exercise
The reverse-grip barbell bench press keeps the flat bench setup but supinates the hands so the palms face the head. That rotation changes which fibers work: bench press EMG shows a supinated grip increases activity in the clavicular portion of the pectoralis major and in the biceps brachii compared with a pronated grip. The triceps still extend the elbows. The grip is the risk: unracking and re-racking a supinated bar is awkward and the wrists sit in a less familiar position, so a spotter and conservative loading are sensible. It is the upper-chest alternative for lifters restricted to a flat bench.
Updated
Similar exercises
-
Intermediate Barbell High Incline Bench Press -
Intermediate Barbell Incline Bench Press -
Intermediate Decline Barbell Bench Press -
Beginner Cable Decline Bench Press -
Beginner Cable Incline Bench Press -
Beginner Dumbbell Decline Bench Press -
Beginner Dumbbell Incline Bench Press -
Beginner Dumbbell Neutral High Incline Bench Press
A week of training and meals built for you
Workoutify plans workouts around your days, time and equipment — and a menu for your goal and macros.