There are some people that believe that the bench press is just for bodybuilders who are looking to bulk up and get huge chest muscles. This is absolutely not true, as the bench press can be beneficial for anybody who is looking to get tight and toned, especially for woman who are looking to firm up their chest and look better in strapless or halter dresses. The bench press works the chest, triceps, biceps, and shoulders and it is a great upper body exercise to develop strength while toning your muscles.

Here is how to do a basic bench press:
1. Lie flat on your back on a workout bench with the top of your head slightly past the rack.
2. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip with your arms slightly shoulder-length apart.
3. Push the barbell straight up to remove it from the rack.
4. Bend your elbows and lower the barbell to your chest. Keep the barbell off your chest at least an inch or two.
5. Straighten your arms up as your lift the barbell straight up in the air. Look straight up, not at the barbell.
6. Lower the barbell back down and repeat the exercise for the desired amount of reps.

There are a couple of different variations of the basic bench press that you can do. Some variations are with your grip on the barbell such as the wide-grip bench press and the close-grip bench press. By gripping the barbell differently you can focus your exercise on a more specific area that you want to work. The close-grip bench press will work out the triceps more than the basic bench press will.

The other type of variation that you can do with the bench press actually has to do with the workout bench. You can choose to do an incline or decline bench press. The decline bench press will put more focus on the lower muscles of the chest while the incline press will target the upper chest muscles.

The bench press is a great exercise to add to your strength training workout if you want to work your entire upper body at once. It is an exercise that is beneficial to both men and women.