Barbell Guillotine Bench Press

An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a barbell.

Barbell Guillotine Bench Press — Starting position Starting position
Barbell Guillotine Bench Press — End position End position
Difficulty Intermediate
Type Strength
Equipment Barbell
Primary Muscle Chest
AI Rep Counting Log manually

How to Do Barbell Guillotine Bench Press

  1. Using a medium width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over your neck with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
  2. As you breathe in, bring the bar down slowly until it is about 1 inch from your neck.
  3. After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
  4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
  5. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.

Muscles Worked

Front
Back

Primary

Where Barbell Guillotine Bench Press does most of its work.

Secondary

Assisting and stabilising muscles.

Alternatives to Barbell Guillotine Bench Press

10 movements that train the same primary muscle, closest substitutes first — same kind of training, then variations of the movement itself, then a similar difficulty.

  1. 1 Bench Press

    Bench Press

    The bench press is the most popular upper body exercise for building chest strength and muscle mass. It's a compound movement that also develops the triceps and anterior deltoids.

    intermediate Barbell
  2. 2 Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press

    Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press

    An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a barbell.

    intermediate Barbell
  3. 3 Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Bench Press

    Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Bench Press

    An intermediate compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a barbell.

    intermediate Barbell
  4. 4 Bench Press - With Bands

    Bench Press - With Bands

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a resistance band.

    beginner Resistance Bands
  5. 5 Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

    Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  6. 6 Dumbbell Bench Press

    Dumbbell Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  7. 7 Dumbbell Bench Press with Neutral Grip

    Dumbbell Bench Press with Neutral Grip

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  8. 8 Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Press

    Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  9. 9 Machine Bench Press

    Machine Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using a machine.

    beginner Machines
  10. 10 One Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

    One Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the chest, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles do barbell guillotine bench press work?

Barbell Guillotine Bench Press primarily works the chest. The shoulders and triceps assist as secondary muscles.

What equipment do I need for barbell guillotine bench press?

Barbell Guillotine Bench Press uses barbell.

Barbell Guillotine Bench Press: is it suitable for beginners?

Barbell Guillotine Bench Press is rated intermediate. Movements that assume you already own the basic pattern and are ready to load it.

What can I do instead of barbell guillotine bench press?

Bench Press, Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press, Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Bench Press train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.

Can Fitnit count my barbell guillotine bench press reps automatically?

Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; barbell guillotine bench press can be logged manually in the app, and tracked movements are added over time.

Photographs and step-by-step instructions from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. Muscle mapping and alternatives by Fitnit.

Track Your Barbell Guillotine Bench Press with AI

Fitnit automatically tracks push-ups, crunches, squats, pull-ups, and curls with advanced body tracking technology — and you can manually input any other workout too. Start free — Pro is $8.99/month.