RIRLift app icon RIRLift

Exercises

How to warm up for bench press: drills, then ramp-up sets

Published October 24, 2026

To warm up for bench press, row easy for 3 minutes, do 15 band pull-aparts, 12 cable face pulls and 10 push-up pluses, then ramp up on the bench itself: the empty bar for 10, then about 50 percent for 5, 70 percent for 3 and 85 percent for 1 or 2, resting a minute or so between. The drills take 5 minutes; the ramp-up sets do the real warming.

  1. Rowing Machine Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats
  2. Band Pull-Apart Shoulders, Upper Back
  3. Face Pull Shoulders, Upper Back
  4. Push-Up Plus Chest
  5. Explosive Push-Up Chest
  6. Barbell Bench Press Chest

Raise: 3 minutes on the rower

Get warm before you touch the bar. The rower pulls the shoulder blades back on every stroke, which is the position you will hold on the bench.

Raise: easy rowing to warm the back, legs and arms together

Rowing Machine

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats

It warms you up while practicing the shoulder-blade squeeze you will hold under the bar.

How to do it

  1. Strap your feet in, sit tall, and grab the handle with straight arms.
  2. Push with your legs first, then lean back slightly, then pull the handle to your lower ribs.
  3. Return in the reverse order, arms, body, then knees, at an easy pace you could talk through.

Cues

  • Legs, body, arms; arms, body, legs
  • Conversational effort

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms before the legs finish their push: it turns an easy row into an arm workout.

Swap for: Ski Erg, Air Bike, Stationary Bike

Build a session with Rowing Machine

Set up the upper back and shoulders

A strong bench rests on pinned shoulder blades. Pull-aparts and face pulls get the upper back working, the rotator cuff drill gets the shoulder ready to steady the bar, and push-up plus finishes with the blades moving through their full range. One light set of each.

Activation: upper back and rear delts with a band

Band Pull-Apart

Shoulders, Upper Back

It switches on the muscles that pin your shoulder blades to the bench before the first rep.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light band in front of your chest with straight arms and hands shoulder width apart.
  2. Pull the band apart until it touches your chest, pinching your shoulder blades.
  3. Let it come back slowly to the start without losing tension.

Cues

  • Lead with the hands, not the neck
  • Pause at the chest

Common mistakes

  • Arching the lower back to finish the rep: use a lighter band.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, Band Rear Delt Fly, Band Scapular Retraction

Build a session with Band Pull-Apart

Activation: cable rope face pull for the upper back and rotator cuff

Face Pull

Shoulders, Upper Back

On a cable you can load it a little and keep the elbows high, which warms the rear delts and rotator cuff together.

How to do it

  1. Set a rope on a cable at forehead height and grip each end with thumbs pointing back.
  2. Step back until your arms are straight, then pull the rope toward your face with the elbows high.
  3. Split the rope so your hands end beside your ears, then return slowly.

Cues

  • Pull the rope apart
  • Light stack, slow reps

Common mistakes

  • Leaning far back to move a heavy stack: pick a weight you can pull with a still torso.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, TRX Face Pull, Rear Delt Cable Fly

Build a session with Face Pull

Activation: standing rotator cuff turn with a light dumbbell

Dumbbell External Rotation

Shoulders

One slow, light set gets the small muscles that steady the shoulder working before they have to hold the bar in place.

How to do it

  1. Stand holding a light dumbbell with your elbow bent 90 degrees and tucked against your side.
  2. Keep the elbow pinned and rotate the forearm outward, away from your belly.
  3. Turn back in slowly and finish all reps before switching arms.

Cues

  • Elbow glued to your ribs
  • Light enough to go slow

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbow drift away from your side: the turn has to come from the shoulder.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lying External Rotation, Band Face Pull, Dumbbell Cuban Press

Build a session with Dumbbell External Rotation

Activation: push-up with an extra push at the top for the serratus

Push-Up Plus

Chest

The bench locks your blades back; this lets them move fully forward and back once before you pin them.

How to do it

  1. Start in a high plank hands below your shoulders.
  2. Do a push-up, and at the top keep pushing so your upper back rounds a little and the shoulder blades spread.
  3. Let the blades come back together, then start the next rep.

Cues

  • Push the floor away at the top
  • Body stays in one line

Common mistakes

  • Sagging the hips while you reach: brace before each rep.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Plank Shoulder Tap, Incline Push-Up

Build a session with Push-Up Plus

Optional: a speed primer before heavy sets

Before a heavy single or a test day, a few fast push-ups or chest throws get you pressing with intent. Three to five reps, stopping while each one is still quick.

Primer: fast push-up where the hands leave the floor

Explosive Push-Up

Chest

Three fast reps tell your body the next sets need speed, which helps on heavy days.

How to do it

  1. Set up in a high plank hands below your shoulders.
  2. Lower your chest quickly, then push hard enough that your hands come off the floor.
  3. Land with soft elbows and go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Fast up, soft landing
  • Few, crisp reps

Common mistakes

  • Doing them to fatigue: stop while every rep is still fast.

Swap for: Clap Push-Up, Med Ball Chest Throw, Push-Up

Build a session with Explosive Push-Up

Primer: lying medicine ball throw against a wall

Med Ball Chest Throw

Abs

Lying on your back and throwing hard into a wall is the closest speed drill to the bench position.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back near a wall, holding a medicine ball at your chest.
  2. Throw the ball hard against the wall with both hands.
  3. Catch it at your chest, reset, and throw again.

Cues

  • Throw from the chest
  • Reset each rep

Common mistakes

  • Using a ball too heavy to throw fast: speed is the point.

Swap for: Explosive Push-Up, Push-Up, Medicine Ball Slam

Build a session with Med Ball Chest Throw

Ramp up on the bench press

This is the most important part. Start with the empty bar and climb in steps, cutting reps as the load goes up so you never tire yourself before the working sets. Heavier working weights earn more steps; for sets of 8 or more, two steps are plenty.

First lift: barbell bench press with ramp-up sets

Barbell Bench Press

Chest

Ramp-up sets of the lift itself warm exactly the muscles and angles you will use and let you check the groove before the weight is heavy.

How to do it

  1. Lie back with your eyes under the bar, feet planted, shoulder blades pulled back and down.
  2. Unrack, lower the bar to your mid-chest with the forearms vertical.
  3. Press up and slightly back toward your face until your arms lock out.

Cues

  • Blades pinned to the bench
  • Bar to the same spot every rep

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing the bar off the chest on the light sets: practice the same touch you will use heavy.

Swap for: Flat Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Bench Press, Machine Chest Press

Build a session with Barbell Bench Press

First lift: flat dumbbell bench press with ramp-up sets

Flat Dumbbell Press

Chest

If you bench with dumbbells, ramp the same way: the first set light enough to set the dumbbells in position calmly.

How to do it

  1. Lie back on a flat bench holding the dumbbells over your chest.
  2. Lower them to the sides of your chest with the elbows angled slightly in.
  3. Press up until your arms are straight.

Cues

  • Wrists stacked over elbows
  • Same path down and up

Common mistakes

  • Lowering only halfway: take the full range on the light sets so the heavy ones feel familiar.

Swap for: Barbell Bench Press, Machine Chest Press, Incline Dumbbell Press

Build a session with Flat Dumbbell Press

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Heavy bench day: sets of 3 to 5

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Resistance Bands, Adjustable Cable, Barbells +1

Your main bench sets are heavy triples to fives and you want every one to feel sharp.

Heavy sets need more ramp-up steps so the jump to the working weight is small, so this plan uses 4 warm-up sets of the bench after the drills and three fast push-ups to prime speed. Working sets stop 2 reps short of failure, which keeps bar speed high across all of them.

Heavy Bench
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 45 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Face PullLight stack. 1 × 12 4 15 s
Push-Up Plus 1 × 10 4 15 s
Explosive Push-UpFast. Stop if they slow. 1 × 3 4 30 s
Barbell Bench Press4 warm-up sets firstRamp: bar x10, ~50% x5, ~70% x3, ~85% x1-2. 4 × 3–5 2 3 min
How to run it
Run the drill blocks straight through, then take the four ramp-up sets resting 60 to 90 seconds, and 3 minutes before the first working set.
How to progress
Add 5 pounds when all sets reach 5 reps with 2 in reserve. The ramp percentages rise with it.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Volume bench day: sets of 8 to 12

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets14 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Resistance Bands, Dumbbells, Barbells +1

Your bench sets are moderate weights for more reps.

Lighter working weights need fewer steps, so two ramp-up sets do the job and the drills carry more of the warm-up. The rotator cuff set stays in because high-rep sets ask the shoulder to steady the bar for longer.

Volume Bench
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15–20 4 15 s
Dumbbell External RotationPer arm. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Push-Up Plus 1 × 10 4 15 s
Barbell Bench Press2 warm-up sets firstRamp: bar x10, ~60% x6. 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
How to run it
Take the drills, then the bar for 10 and about 60 percent for 6, then start working sets.
How to progress
Add reps until all sets hit 12 with 2 in reserve, then add 5 to 10 pounds and go back to 8.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Testing a one-rep max

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets7 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Resistance Bands, Adjustable Cable, Medicine Ball +2

You are testing your heaviest single or a new rep record.

On a test day the ramp-up is longer, five steps, so the last warm-up single sits close to the target, and the speed primer moves to the chest throw. Every warm-up set stays far from failure so all your strength is left for the attempt.

Test Day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 45 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Face Pull 1 × 12 4 15 s
Med Ball Chest ThrowFast. 1 × 4 4 30 s
Barbell Bench Press5 warm-up sets firstRamp: bar x10, 50% x5, 65% x3, 80% x1, 90% x1. 2 × 1 0 5 min
How to run it
Follow the ramp, then take 3 to 5 minutes before the attempt. One or two attempts are enough.
How to progress
Use the result to set the weights of your next training block; the warm-up itself does not change.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is the best way to warm up for bench press?

A few minutes of easy cardio, one light set each of band pull-aparts, face pulls and push-up pluses, then ramp-up sets of the bench: the empty bar, then roughly 50, 70 and 85 percent of your working weight with fewer reps each step.

How many warm-up sets should I do before bench press?

Two for sets of 8 or more, three or four for heavy sets of 3 to 5, and five before a one-rep max test. Keep every warm-up set well short of failure.

Should I do push-ups before bench press?

A few, yes: push-up pluses or 3 fast push-ups are good primers. A hard set of push-ups to failure will cost you bench reps, so keep them easy.

Do pull-ups go before or after bench press?

Either works. A light set before benching warms the upper back; hard sets are better after, so they do not tire the muscles that hold your shoulder blades in place.

How long should I rest between bench warm-up sets?

About 60 seconds between the light ones and 90 seconds before the heavier ones, then 2 to 3 minutes before your first working set.

Do I need to stretch before benching?

No long holds are needed. The moving drills and ramp-up sets give your shoulders the range the bench uses.