Guillotine Press (Barbell)
A barbell bench press variation where the weight is lowered to the neck rather than the chest to maximize pectoral stretch. This wide-grip movement isolates the upper chest while reducing front deltoid involvement.
The Guillotine Press places the shoulders in a vulnerable position, making AI-driven recovery tracking essential; if your HRV or sleep data indicates poor recovery or joint stress, the app can automatically swap this for a safer dumbbell variation. Additionally, by strictly monitoring RPE and rep velocity, the AI ensures you stay within a safe technical threshold, preventing the dangerous fatigue that leads to form breakdown over the neck.
Form Cues
- Take a grip significantly wider than shoulder-width
- Flare your elbows out to the sides at a 90-degree angle
- Lower the bar slowly and directly toward your neck
- Keep your feet flat on the ground for stability
- Squeeze your chest muscles hard at the top of the movement
- Don't bounce the bar off your neck
- Don't tuck your elbows towards your torso
- Don't arch your lower back excessively
- Don't lift your head off the bench
- Don't perform this exercise without safety pins or a spotter
Common Mistakes
- Lowering the bar to the nipple line instead of the neck
- Using a grip that is too narrow
- Loading the bar with excessive weight
- Flaring ribs too much
- Losing control of the descent speed
Muscles Worked
This exercise is a highly specific isolation movement for the clavicular head of the pectoralis major (upper chest). By flaring the elbows and lowering the bar to the neck, the movement takes the anterior deltoids out of the equation and places a tremendous stretch on the outer and upper pectoral fibers.
Primary
Secondary
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