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Thread: Bench Grip Width - too wide?

  1. #1
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    Default Bench Grip Width - too wide?

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    After seeing MrCity asking about grip width on the bench, i started thinking if mine was too wide as well. Especially since i'm starting to feel like my traps are tight and sore after benching. (not sure if this is normal)

    I take a semi-wide grip with my pinkies on the rings of a standard olympic bar. When i go down to my chest, my forearms are perpendicular to the ground, but i have extreme elbow flare. If i try to tuck my elbows more, it hits my lower chest rather than my mid-chest (nipple line)

    I've tried using a narrower grip, and i can still get perpendicular forearms to the ground but i have to tuck my elbows more to hit my mid-chest.

    I like the wider grip, because i can lift way more weight (my triceps are very weak).

    Here's a vid to see my elbow flaring.

    Bench - 61.5kg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj2O1qBRTTk
    Last edited by confuzzl3don3; 01-26-2010 at 03:07 AM.

  2. #2
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    Hey confuzz, in my opinion you are probably too wide. The reason I say it is based solely on my experience. I used to grip about as wide as you are and it was fine until the weights got around 200+. Once I got there I started having alot of shoulder issues. I brought my grip in, tucked my elbows, and now my shoulders feel fine (my most recent set was 230lbsx7 with no shoulder pain).

  3. #3
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    Rep one: You push straight up out of the bottom, you struggle.

    Rep two: You press more diagonally, like you should, you don't struggle. Elbows are in line with the bar. Look how easy this rep is compared to the others. It's very smooth, very good. If you could get all reps like this...

    Rep three: You touch too low thus putting your elbow-to-bar-relationship in a weaker position.

    Rep four: Did you bend your wrists here? The bar looks a bit too much behind you. Your left arm also lags behind here (I think you've mentioned this before.)

    Rep five...there is no rep five in the video...



    Conclusion: What you need is just more practice to get a better bar path by hitting the same spot on the chest and keeping your elbows in line with the bar.

    You could try a cue like "elbows forward!" to get them straight. (But this depends on your mental image of your elbow position.)



    Look in SS, the bench chapter, at the pictures of elbow positions, your current set up seems correct. (Some more opinions on this would be nice, I'm not 100% sure.)

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Sousa View Post
    Hey confuzz, in my opinion you are probably too wide. The reason I say it is based solely on my experience. I used to grip about as wide as you are and it was fine until the weights got around 200+. Once I got there I started having alot of shoulder issues. I brought my grip in, tucked my elbows, and now my shoulders feel fine (my most recent set was 230lbsx7 with no shoulder pain).
    Yeah, i thought maybe it was a bit too much elbow flaring. I'll consider lowering the weight so i can do it with a narrower grip, but i want to see what some others think.

    Quote Originally Posted by Force Production View Post
    Rep one: You push straight up out of the bottom, you struggle.

    Rep two: You press more diagonally, like you should, you don't struggle. Elbows are in line with the bar. Look how easy this rep is compared to the others. It's very smooth, very good. If you could get all reps like this...

    Rep three: You touch too low thus putting your elbow-to-bar-relationship in a weaker position.

    Rep four: Did you bend your wrists here? The bar looks a bit too much behind you. Your left arm also lags behind here (I think you've mentioned this before.)

    Rep five...there is no rep five in the video...



    Conclusion: What you need is just more practice to get a better bar path by hitting the same spot on the chest and keeping your elbows in line with the bar.

    You could try a cue like "elbows forward!" to get them straight. (But this depends on your mental image of your elbow position.)



    Look in SS, the bench chapter, at the pictures of elbow positions, your current set up seems correct. (Some more opinions on this would be nice, I'm not 100% sure.)
    Yeah i see that sometimes i don't get my elbows under the bar as much, because i'm trying to tuck my elbows more but still hit mid-chest, but with my grip i usually end up hitting lower on my chest causing the bar to be further down my body than my elbows.

    So you don't think my grip is too wide?

  5. #5
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    Just so you know, if you do narrow your grip you will have to touch lower on your chest to keep your hands over your elbows. I touch basically between my nipples and my solar plexus.

  6. #6
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    How can anyone tell the grip from the side? Put the cam in front of you.
    And as far as position, I'm more into powerlifting styles; you're flat on your back with no arch, which leaves me and Rip in a slight disagreement on mechanics, but I'll go with the guys moving major tonnage. And it has worked for me, getting me a 350 lift once and maybe this year again.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by quadancer View Post
    How can anyone tell the grip from the side? Put the cam in front of you.
    And as far as position, I'm more into powerlifting styles; you're flat on your back with no arch, which leaves me and Rip in a slight disagreement on mechanics, but I'll go with the guys moving major tonnage. And it has worked for me, getting me a 350 lift once and maybe this year again.
    I am basing it off of his forearm angle and his arm being at an almost 90 degree angle to his body. It requires a fairly wide grip to look like that.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Sousa View Post
    Just so you know, if you do narrow your grip you will have to touch lower on your chest to keep your hands over your elbows. I touch basically between my nipples and my solar plexus.
    I think you touch lower if you keep the same amount of elbow flare. But if i tuck my elbows more i can get the bar to hit the mid-chest even with a narrower grip.

    Quote Originally Posted by quadancer View Post
    How can anyone tell the grip from the side? Put the cam in front of you.
    And as far as position, I'm more into powerlifting styles; you're flat on your back with no arch, which leaves me and Rip in a slight disagreement on mechanics, but I'll go with the guys moving major tonnage. And it has worked for me, getting me a 350 lift once and maybe this year again.
    Well i have taken some front on vids, but maybe because the camera position is just level or maybe a bit higher than the bench, you can't really see where i hit my chest, but you can see that my forearms are perpendicular to the ground. Also my grip is pinkies on the rings of the olympic bar.

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Sousa View Post
    I am basing it off of his forearm angle and his arm being at an almost 90 degree angle to his body. It requires a fairly wide grip to look like that.
    Yeah my grip as i've said at the start is with my pinkies on the rings of the olympic bar.

  9. #9
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    Read this

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/tra...technique.html

    and this
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/tra...-pressing.html

    and this (mainly to clarify a bit of my own stupidity in the second piece, it's not relevant if you're not shirted)
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/tra...-benching.html

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Sousa View Post
    Hey confuzz, in my opinion you are probably too wide.
    That's what she said.

    And to quadancer and lyle: the benching technique that Rip advocates is not a powerlifting style of bench, and in SS he explicitly states this and discusses the differences between the two. He advocates his technique for novices for the purpose of general strength training because it allows the different muscles involved in the bench press to be trained evenly while still allowing a decent amount of weight to be moved.

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