Originally Posted by
Mark Rippetoe
From the 3rd Edition manuscript:
Just as for the bench press, the grip should position the bones of the forearm directly under the bar, to eliminate any leverage produced against the wrist from the bar back in the hand. The best way to position the grip efficiently is to set the grip width at the index finger, and then to rotate the hands into pronation by pointing the thumbs down toward the feet. This aligns the bar with the “radial longitudinal crease” and between the “thenar eminence” (the high spot adjacent to the thumb) and the medial palmar (the “hypothenar”) eminence on the other side – parallel to your "life-line," to use a more familiar term. Then, just lay your fingers down on the bar and squeeze the fingertips into the bar. When you take it out of the rack, the bar will be directly over your forearm bones on the heel of your palm, as in figure 5-8. The thumbless grip is never used when pressing, not because of the danger – which is obviously not there when the bar can be dropped to the floor. Rather, the thumbs-around grip permits the "squeeze" in the forearms that increases the tightness of the muscles, making the drive from the start position more efficient and increasing motor unit recruitment throughout the arms and upper body.
3. You are doing it wrong.
4. It's hard to get the elbows forward when your scapulas are adducted too much.
5. The clavicle is a bone. It contributes by agreeing to stay a part of the shoulder.