Barbell Wide Reverse-Grip Bench Press

Setup

1. 01Lie on a flat bench inside a rack with safeties set just below chest height.
2. 02Grip the bar underhand and wider than shoulder width, bar deep in the palms.
3. 03Squeeze the shoulder blades together and set the wrists as straight as possible.
4. 04Have a spotter guide the unrack; never take a wide reverse grip out alone.

Execution

1. 01Unrack and stabilize the bar over the shoulders.
2. 02Lower slowly toward the upper chest with elbows partially tucked.
3. 03Touch lightly high on the chest.
4. 04Press back to lockout, keeping the bar path over the shoulders.

Checkpoints

• -Grip pressure stays maximal; a loose reverse grip is how the bar gets dropped.
• -Wrists stay stacked despite the wide supinated position.
• -The touch point sits on the upper chest.
• -Safeties or the spotter cover the entire bar path.

Common mistakes

• -Skipping the safeties or spotter.
• -Combining wide and reverse before owning each variation separately.
• -Letting the wrists collapse backward under load.
• -Chasing heavy weight on what should be a light accessory.