Bench Press The bench press is easily the most commonly known exercise and an iconic definition of strength for most people. Despite its popularity, it happens to be the lift in which the least amount of weight tends to be moved. This is due to the primary used muscles being weaker and the movement not being as natural. Let's break this lift down as well: Form and Bar Path: Form is equally as important in the bench press, but not for the same reasons as the squat. Injury is much less likely due to poor form, however, the amount of weight that can be moved is significantly higher when the lifter's form is correct. The bench press proves to be a very technical move that goes against some of the guide lines in the squat and even a little against physics. Unlike the squat, an arched back is actually recommended in the bench press. Since there is no vertical load on the spine during the movement, no shear force is experienced by the disks in the spine and no harm is done. The reason for the arch in the spine is to raise the height of the chest in order to make the movement shorter. Since the bar has to come in contact with the chest and the movement ends with locked out elbows, shortening the distance to the lockout will reduce the work done considerably. Another major difference in the benching technique is that a nonlinear bar path actually happens to be the most efficient. A bar path going straight down would cause the elbows to flare which would unevenly distribute the work done to the pectoral muscles from the triceps. The shown diagram provides the most efficient bar path that has been proven by professional experience shown as path (C). Due to the different leverages and  moments about joints in a nonlinear bar path, it proves to be more practical than one that is linear. Variations: Variations to the bench press are much smaller in number but also depend on personal strengths and weaknesses. The variations only vary from a wider grip on the bar to a narrower grip. A wider grip will shorten the range of motion to a small extent but demands much greater pectoral recruitment. Some have proportionally stronger triceps, therefore rather than decreasing the ROM (range of motion), they benefit more from a narrower grip that spreads more of the load to the triceps. In the end, the result is more dependent of how the person is built rather than looking at the lift from a physics perspective. For a very thorough article on the bench press please click Here.