Reverse Band Bench Press
Trains the Triceps.
- Equipment
- A barbell, a rack, a resistance band and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Hang a band from the top of the rack on each side and loop the free end over each end of the barbell.
- Set the bands so they are stretched at chest height and nearly slack at lockout.
- Set up on a flat bench with the safety pins in place.
- Unrack the bar — it will feel lighter than it is, because the bands are holding part of it.
- Lower to the chest under control, taking on more of the weight as you descend.
- Press back up, with the bands helping most at the bottom.
Common mistakes
- Confusing it with a band-resisted press. Reverse bands do the opposite: they take weight away at the bottom and hand it back at the top, which lets a heavier bar be locked out.
- Setting the bands so they help all the way to lockout. They should be nearly slack at the top, or the lift never carries its own weight at any point.
- Treating the number on the bar as your bench press. The bottom is assisted, so the lift and the load are not the same thing.
- Unracking casually. A bar that feels light at the top gets heavier as it descends, which is the opposite of what the hands expect.