ACSM Personal Trainer Certification Practice Exam

What is being performed during a bench press exercise for the upper body?

1. Shoulder hyperextension

2. Horizontal Shoulder Adduction

3. Elbow Flexion

4. Shoulder Abduction

The correct answer is: Horizontal Shoulder Adduction

During a bench press exercise, the primary movement occurring in the upper body involves horizontal shoulder adduction. This occurs when the arms, which start more lateral or to the side of the body, are brought towards the midline as the barbell or dumbbells are pressed upward. In a bench press, the pectoral muscles are heavily engaged, along with the deltoids and triceps. As the elbows are bent at the start of the press and then extended, the shoulders move in a horizontal plane, adducting as the arms come together towards the center of the body, especially at the initiation of the lift. Shoulder hyperextension does not occur during this movement, as it typically involves moving the arm back behind the body rather than bringing it forward. Elbow flexion is involved in the lowering phase as the elbows bend, but it’s secondary to the primary action of shoulder adduction during the press. Shoulder abduction, characterized by moving the arms away from the body’s midline, is also not a feature of the bench press as the focus is on bringing the arms in towards the center. Therefore, the identification of horizontal shoulder adduction as the correct answer accurately reflects the primary motion involved in a bench press.