The bench press is an upper body strengthening exercise that involves pressing a weight upwards from a supine position. The exercise works the pectoralis major and supports the muscles of the chest, arms and shoulders such as the anterior deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis, fixators of the scapulae, trapezius and triceps. A barbell is generally used to support the weight, but a pair of dumbbells can also be used. The barbell bench press is one of the three lifts in the sport of powerlifting and is widely used in weight training, bodybuilding and other types of training to develop chest muscles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The person performing the exercise lies supine on a bench with a weight gripped in both hands. They push the weight up until the arms are extended, preventing the elbows from locking. They then lower the weight to chest height. This is a repeat. The bench press has evolved over the years, from floor, bridge and belly throw variations to the methods used by bodybuilders and powerlifters today. At first the most popular method was the rigorous floor press. In 1899, using a barbell with plates, George Hackenschmidt, inventor of the barbell hack squat, rolled a barbell across his face and performed a rigorous floor press. This record stood for 18 years until Joe Nordquest surpassed it in 1916. Around this time, new methods began to gain traction. Athletes began to understand that strong glutes could help them lift the barbell from the ground up. They would lie on the floor and place the bar on their abdomen, then perform an explosive glute bridge movement, catapulting the bar upward and catching it again at the moment of lockout. Lifting techniques, training and medications have improved over the years and the raw bench lifting record has grown from to in less than 100 years. A conventional bench press uses the pectoralis major muscle, anterior deltoid, and coracobrachialis to adduct the shoulder horizontally. It also predominantly uses the triceps brachii and anconeus to extend the elbows. A wider distance between the hands places a greater emphasis on shoulder flexion, while a narrower distance between the hands uses greater elbow extension. For this reason, a wider distance between the hands is associated with training the pectorals, while a narrower distance between the hands is associated with training the triceps. In addition to the main phasic muscles, the bench press also uses tonic muscles: scapular stabilizers, humeral head stabilizers, and core. Bench press variations involve different muscle groups, or involve the same muscles in different ways: The flat bench press involves both portions of the pectoralis major muscle, but focuses on the lower head and the anterior deltoid muscle. The term “bench” alone is assumed to refer to a flat bench. A lean raises your shoulders and lowers your pelvis as if you were lying in a chair; this variation emphasizes the anterior deltoids with little emphasis on the upper head of the pectoralis major. This variation is called the incline bench press. An incline bench raises the pelvis and lowers the head and emphasizes the lower part of the pectoralis major. A reverse grip bench press uses an underhand grip on the bar. A supine grip externally rotates the humerus, placing the shoulders in a much more favorable position for lifting, decreasing the risk of injury without.