An amount of weight that allows you to comfortably perform 10-12 reps is a good place to start.

This starting position allows you to lift the bar without bending your wrists.

Grabbing the bar too high up on your hands, like just below your fingers, is a common reason many people bend their wrists when bench pressing. Don’t start with a grip any wider than shoulder-width. Using a grip that’s too wide is a common mistake that can lead to poor form and injury.

If you can’t lift the bar off the rack without bending your wrists, remove some weight until you can comfortably do so.

Lowering the bar to this spot helps keep your wrists in a neutral position. Breathe in slowly while you lower the bar down to your chest. You can touch the bar to your chest if it’s comfortable to do so.

Really focus on keeping your grip tight around the bar while you’re pushing it up and don’t unclench your thumbs from around the bar. Keep your neck neutral and your upper back flat on the bench as you do this. Avoid rolling your shoulders back or lifting up your chest. Arching your lower back a bit is okay as long as you keep your upper back and shoulders flat. Breathe out slowly as you push the bar back up.

If you’re benching a lot of weight, get a spotter to help you re-rack the bar. This will also help prevent wrist strain.

Don’t use wrist wraps every single time you’re benching or you can become reliant on them. Just use them when you really need the extra wrist support. If you become too reliant on wrist wraps, your wrists won’t get stronger as your chest does and you can have a harder time keeping your wrists straight as you bench heavier weights.

This helps ensure that there is no risk of your wrist bending backwards while bench pressing.

If you don’t wrap the bottom of your palm as well as your wrist, you aren’t giving your wrist enough support to keep it straight while benching.

Never wrap any lower than your wrist or you won’t give it enough stability. There shouldn’t be any fabric around your forearm.

The process for wrapping either wrist is exactly the same, so repeat all the steps 1 more time to wrap the other side and you’re all done!