Chest · Barbell
Cambered Bar Bench Press
How to do the cambered bar bench press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Horizontal Press
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Lie on a bench and unrack a cambered bar over your chest. Lower the bar through the deeper range of motion until you feel a controlled stretch, then press back up to lockout. Maintain tight upper-back position and keep your wrists stacked over your elbows.
- 1Using a cambered bar, lower the bar deeper than a standard bench, feeling an increased stretch in your chest
- 2Keep your elbows at a comfortable angle and your shoulder blades tight
- 3Press the bar up while keeping your wrists stacked and your core engaged
Common mistakes
- Don't allow the bar to descend too low if it causes shoulder discomfort
- Avoid flaring your elbows excessively or letting your wrists bend back
- Don't bounce the bar off your chest or lose tightness in your upper back
Muscles worked
The cambered bar bench press mainly works the mid chest, with the triceps, upper chest, lower chest, and front delts assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- TricepsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Cambered Bar Bench Press strength standards
See how your cambered bar bench press ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.
Bronzee1RM115 lb
Silvere1RM167.5 lb
Golde1RM232.5 lb
Platinume1RM300 lb
Diamonde1RM340 lb
Champione1RM372.5 lb
Find your rank
Enter your best set. We estimate your 1RM and match it to a tier.
Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.
Kovo programs the cambered bar 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 April 2026.