When I teach people how to bench after I show them how to "set up" with all the tightness and visual/verbal cues the next thing on the agenda is the bar path.
When we unrack the barbell if you let the bar drift towards your hips you'll feel the tension in the shoulders.
Letting it drift back towards the spotter/coach the emphasis shifts to the lats. However, there's a sweet spot in the middle of the two extremes that the bar feels like nothing and its weight is straight down.
When we bring the bar down to the body it should be kept over the elbows which are tucked and the spot is somewhere down below the juxtaposition of the pectorals. The issue becomes apparent when we accelerate the bar in a straight line, it is brought up to that spot where all the tension is on the shoulders and NOT that sweet spot we found at the start.
Now it's ok IF you are wearing a bench shirt, but 99.9% of my population does not wear one, so the bar path is going to be slightly arced and back up to that sweet spot from the low position on the chest.
Do NOT confuse the two.
Today's Training:
AirDyne: 30 mins
Prowler: 10x120 yards
Dynamic Bench: 10x3x wt+ mini bands
Dead Stop DB Rows: 5x6
Cable Tricep Push-downs: 3x20 work for a HUGE pump
DB Lateral Raise: 3x12
Shrugs: 4x10
Bike Commute: 27 mins.