The standard bench press is a weightlifting exercise that targets the pectoral muscles (chest) and triceps. It involves lying on your back on a flat bench with your hands gripping a barbell positioned above you at shoulder level. You then push the bar upwards until it touches your chest, followed by lowering it to the starting position while controlling the weight. This exercise can be performed in various ways such as incline or decline bench press, but the standard bench press refers specifically to performing the exercise with a flat bench and a horizontal bar path.