The CHZL Guides

Stack the joints.

Keep the wrist and elbow stacked as you press the bar back up. This will require your armpits to be open about 45° on each side. Doing so will move the bar to top position with peak force.
Wrist and elbow stacked
ARMS PERPENDICULAR TO BENCH AND BAR
ARMS PERPENDICULAR TO BENCH AND BAR
Alan Thrall
youtu.be
ELBOWS UNDER WRISTS
ELBOWS UNDER WRISTS
Barbell Medicine
www.youtube.com
When it's on the chest, my elbows are stacked directly underneath the barbell. This is an efficient stacked position for the bottom of your bench press. It allows to push the barbell up and back at the same time.
Brendan Tietz
youtu.be
You're keeping the elbow under the bar the entire time. The key to the bench is to keep your wrist and elbow in line.
T-Nation
youtu.be
The bar should be directly above your elbows at all times.
Stronger By Science
www.strongerbyscience.com
We want a nice stacked position through the wrist, through the elbow...
Calgary Barbell
youtu.be
I learned at an elitefts seminar to have the bar, wrist, and elbow always in a straight line.
Elite FTS
www.elitefts.com
As you’re driving the bar up to the locked out position, many will have a tendency to become “unglued” and let their elbows flare out immediately. Instead, think about keeping the elbows tucked and underneath you when driving the bar back up.
Robertson Training Systems
robertsontrainingsystems.com
45° armpits
During the descent, you want to drop your elbows down at a 45 degree angle relative to your torso (when viewed from the top) and... when viewed from the side on the elbows shouldn't be too far out in front of the bar - and you can make it a goal to keep the elbows stacked under the bar. When viewed from the side, the descending bar path should be down and slightly forward at the same time.
Jeff Nippard
youtu.be
KEEP YOUR ELBOWS INLINE
KEEP YOUR ELBOWS INLINE
Kabuki Strength
www.instagram.com
We want to make sure to avoid is if we overly tuck the elbows and the elbows are way inside the hands, or a bit more rare would be to flare too much and have the the hand and bar below the elbow.
Juggernaut
youtu.be
If your elbows are flared on the way down, that's gonna stick a lot of pressure on your humerus and you're looking at a shoulder injury. If your elbows have no place to go when you touch the bar to your chest, then flaring the elbows is what gets horsepower back under the bar once you get about halfway to 3/4 of the way through the bench press. If your elbows are already flared, they have no place to go... it's just gonna stop and fall back down to your chest. So what I recommend doing is trying to keep your elbows tucked at about a 45 degree angle. You do not want them right next to your side... and you do not want them flared out.
Neversate
youtu.be
Upon analyzing injuries during flat bench press, Green and Comfort (2007) explained how shoulder abduction at 45 degrees with a medium grip offered the safest method of bench press performance for the shoulder joint.
T-Nation
www.t-nation.com
As you’re pulling the bar down, think about tucking your elbows into your sides. This will not only help you in pulling the bar down, but it will keep your more stable and reduce the stress on your shoulders as well.
Robertson Training Systems
robertsontrainingsystems.com
Maximal force
The ideal amount of adduction produces a vertical forearm when viewing the lifter from the front and profile views. This represents the most efficient way to transfer force from the shoulder girdle, through the arms, and to the barbell.
Barbend
barbend.com
When the bar's in line with your wrist joints and forearms, then what you have is what us powerlifters call a straight line. And the strongest and shortest distance to move a heavy weight is through a straight line. Keeping the bar in line with your wrists and forearms will also save you undue stress to your wrists. If the bar rolls back in your hands, it's going to hurt like hell.
T-Nation
www.t-nation.com