The bench press is the best exercise for absolute strength in the upper body. So says Mark Rippetoe of The Wichita Falls Athletic Club/CrossFIt Wichita

The bench press allows the lifter to move heavier weights with the arms than any other exercise. It should be included in every barbell-training program. But it is not the only lift we should do, as is too often the case in typical gyms.

Benching provides hard active work for the chest, shoulders, and arms and isometric work for the forearms. It trains novice lifters the fundamental skill of pushing on a very heavy load, perhaps its most useful function. When people first start training, they have no experience with maximal effort. The bench press is a very good place to learn how to bear down and push hard, and this invaluable lesson translates to all the other slow lifts quite well.