Barbell Bench Press
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Lie on the bench, eyes directly under the bar. Feet flat on floor. Grip slightly wider than shoulders. Wrists straight, NOT bent back. Set the upper back: pinch shoulder blades together and press them DOWN into the bench. Unrack with arms straight. Bring the bar over your sternum. Lower under control — about 2 seconds — to lower chest (nipple line). Bar touches lightly. Press up and slightly back, finishing over the shoulders. Lock out without flaring elbows. Keep the upper back tight for the entire set. Foot drive helps.
Why It Works
The bench press develops upper-body pressing strength — vital for protecting yourself in board contact, fending off defenders, and shot power transfer. NHL combine: top prospects bench 1.0-1.2× bodyweight. Hockey players need a balanced press-to-pull ratio (1:1) to avoid the chronic shoulder issues common with pressing-heavy programs.
Hockey Transfer
Raw upper body pressing strength for checking and battle play. Three sets × 5-6 reps heavy on strength days. Five-rep sets are the sweet spot for hockey-specific pressing strength.
Coaching Cues
- "Arch back"
- "Feet flat"
- "Lower bar to lower chest"
- "Drive up and slightly back"
Common Mistakes
Flaring elbows 90° — shreds the shoulders. Keep elbows ~45-60° from torso. Bouncing the bar off the chest — converts a strength rep into a momentum-fueled cheat. Lifting glutes off the bench — disqualifies the rep in any context that matters. Bar drifting toward the throat — should stay over the chest at the bottom.
Progression / Regression
Pause bench (1-2 sec on chest) builds bottom-end strength — direct transfer to checking off the boards.
Dumbbell bench press first — easier on shoulders, builds pattern with more freedom of movement.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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