Elbows Flaring Out on Bench Press: Shoulder Risk and Fixes

Your elbows travel out to roughly 90 degrees from your torso at the bottom, putting the shoulder in maximum external rotation under load.

Why it happens

How to fix it

Tuck to roughly 45-60 degrees from your torso

Not pinned to your sides, not flared to 90. This is where the shoulder is both strongest and safest.

Touch the bar at your lower chest or sternum, not your neck

Bar touch point and elbow angle are the same problem viewed two ways.

Cue "bend the bar in half" or "break the bar apart"

Fires the lats and holds elbow position without you tracking it consciously.

Retract and depress your shoulder blades before unracking

Set the shoulders back and down, then keep them there the whole set.

Worth knowing: Front-of-shoulder pain that lingers after training is the classic warning sign here. Fix the elbow position before adding load.

Not sure if you are actually doing this?

The hardest part of fixing a form fault is that you cannot see yourself lift. Upload a video of your bench press and CleanerReps returns specific written corrections against a checklist built for that exact lift, usually in a couple of minutes.

Check your bench press form

Two free analyses, no card required. $19/month after that.

Other bench press faults