Chest · Barbell
Barbell Banded Bench Press
How to do the barbell banded bench press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- HorizontalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Set up a barbell with resistance bands looped over the bar ends and anchored to the base of the rack so tension increases as you press up. Lie on the bench, lower the bar to your mid-chest, then press it back up against both the bar and band resistance to full lockout.
- 1Chest, shoulders, and triceps loading as you lower the bar
- 2The band fighting you hardest near the top of the press
- 3A driving lockout where you squeeze chest and triceps
Common mistakes
- Letting the bands jerk the bar off your chest
- Flaring your elbows wide or bouncing off the chest
- Letting your wrists bend back; keep them stacked
Muscles worked
The barbell banded bench press mainly works the mid chest and triceps, with the upper chest, lower chest, and front delts assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell banded bench press for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More chest exercises
- How to do the archer push-up
- How to do the assisted dip
- How to do the resistance band chest flyes
- How to do the resistance band push-up
- How to do the barbell bench press
- How to do the paused bench press
Last reviewed June 2026.