Bench press grip problem

[LudwigVan]

Hey Rip,

Forgive me, but I'm about to waste your time with another question that seems very silly, and yet I can't figure it out.

The issue is this: something is fucked up with my grip on the bench press. The bar seems to be shifting slightly in my hands after I unrack it, and the result is that my fingernails dig into my palms and the bar feels slightly unstable and uncomfortable during the set. At the end of every set I have marks on the base of my palms from where my fingernails were pressing.

I've been training consistently for the past three years and this only started happening recently. I made no conscious effort to alter anything about my bench setup, which I attempt to perform as laid out in SS, just as I always have. I try to keep the bar near the base of my palm, I set up so that my eyes are just on the foot-side of the bar, and I get a handoff from a spotter. My hands are not particularly sweaty when this happens, but I have tried chalking up before benching recently and this has not alleviated the problem. I don't have long fingernails or anything unusual about my hands. I am 6' 175 and my most recent bench PR was 220x6. Any ideas? This is pissing me off.

[Mark Rippetoe]

First, gain 40 pounds. This would make you 6' and 215, still skinny. Second, you have long fingers, because not many people can dig their fingernails into their palms wrapped around a 29mm bar. This means that your fingernails are digging in where the bar should actually be. If you spot your grip width, pronate your hands to the extent that your thumbs are pointing at your feet, squeeze your fingertips INTO THE BAR, not your palms, the bar should be in the right place. Then, you have to keep from allowing your wrists to relax into extension, so you'll have to focus on keeping a little wrist flexion going as you mash your fingertips into the bar.

But really, gain some weight.