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confused about bench press grip

N

newbie

MuscleHead
Jun 22, 2012
350
21
Fix your Grip for Better Deadlift Technique was a quite interesting article or start posting - even blogged it but still can't use it. :p
Now I am curious with bench pressing. Yesterday I managed again to do a little of them in the centre - only 100 lbs - late evening.
Very soon my grip felt much more comfortable with open fingers and leave the bar lying on the sides of the hands - can't explain.
 
N

newbie

MuscleHead
Jun 22, 2012
350
21
Yes, sorry. I wanted to edit my post, the form was empty so I pressed to browser's back button and opened a second thread by mistake.
 
Stumpy

Stumpy

Olé, Olé, Olé VIP
Sep 29, 2010
2,290
379
You could have just posted in the original thread.
 
N

newbie

MuscleHead
Jun 22, 2012
350
21
Why? When the admin or mod sees which kind of shit I have made he (or she) simply can delete the blue print and leave the original like a virgin.

Or you mean the original of the deadlift thread? ... I decided to open another one because deadlifting is something else.
 
Last edited:
tanker_67

tanker_67

Member
Aug 8, 2012
32
4
Well. I recently had to re-adjust WHERE I had my hands during bench. I have also been testing out different grips for bench. Honestly I think where you put your hands is more important than how you hold your hands. First off, If you have a wide grip, you are taxing your shoulders a ton. If you are close, you are taxing your Tri's more. You really need to find that perfect neutral grip. Experts say around 24 inches or so. I don't feel like getting a measuring tape out to check my grip distance so I go by the ol rule of keeping your grip within the rings. As far as grips, I have thought about trying the fat gripz, and all that, but in the end, every great has gotten to where they are at just putting in hard work. Putting in CORRECT hard work. Just get someone who you rely on to record you, and watch every detail, from flared elbows to grip. Make sure you're form is correct. And LAST but not least, grab the bar every time you touch it like you have the heaviest think you can imagine on it. Grap that bar like you are going to destroy it. That strong grip will help you out, get your mind right for the lift. Hope that answers SOMETHING that you were asking.
 
porky little keg

porky little keg

MuscleHead
May 21, 2011
1,225
647
Grip depends largely on shoulder girdle width and set up.... The wider and more arched you are the easier it is to press with a wide grip.... that and/or depending on how strong your triceps are you might just do better narrow.

I compete equipped so all of my training except for triceps work is done with a max legal grip, thumb webbing just barely covering the ring, first finger just outside of it. Even without the bench shirt I still train there because that's how I compete. With that said, most raw lifters ( no bench shirts allowed) bench narrower. For a big guy narrow would mean second finger just outside the ring or even on the ring. In comparison, my wife who competes in the 132# class usually, has a much smaller shoulder girdle and shorter arms so when she presses raw she has her pinkies on the ring, and ring or middle on the ring in a shirt or using a slingshot/ram......

In the end though, grip is way less important than set up, but that's a whole different thread.
 
N

newbie

MuscleHead
Jun 22, 2012
350
21
Oh - thank you so much for your replies. I will take your advise where possible.
(After two little swallows of beer I put the pint back to the desk - and that package of cigarettes, I left it there aswell - :-&
I smoked only one before, and felt sick, and toke breath only twice with the second memphis together with the beer and run away.)
 
tanker_67

tanker_67

Member
Aug 8, 2012
32
4
Hey Porky. I know about half of the strongest guys at my gym train with their pinkies on the ring, they are football players. The ones I know that train for strongman competitions put their fingers in the same place as you do. Why do you think there is such a difference? Like I assume its to prevent shoulder injury, but is that it? Sorry, though I'm seasoned in the weight room, I've had the exact same grip since I was in high school, and just recently began experimenting with narrower/neutral grips to help.
 
porky little keg

porky little keg

MuscleHead
May 21, 2011
1,225
647
Hey Porky. I know about half of the strongest guys at my gym train with their pinkies on the ring, they are football players. The ones I know that train for strongman competitions put their fingers in the same place as you do. Why do you think there is such a difference? Like I assume its to prevent shoulder injury, but is that it? Sorry, though I'm seasoned in the weight room, I've had the exact same grip since I was in high school, and just recently began experimenting with narrower/neutral grips to help.

It could be any number of things tanker.... sometimes strong is strong and has nothing to do with set up or grip. If I go to a commercial gym and start benching every week with my hands touching in the middle of the bar, I'd put up way less weight than I could with a good grip, maybe low 400's instead of mid 500's raw.... but I'll bet that after a few weeks I'd start seeing other guys doing that as well. My strength has nothing to do with the grip, I just came in there stronger... that could be the case with the guys in your gym, or it could be that the narrow pressing carries over better for football so their coach has them doing that.

Lifting the most weight is about shortening the range of motion as much as you can without putting yourself in a bad position to push. For a short armed guy gripping as wide as I do could be a terrible position to push, but for a guy with ape arms my grip might still feel narrow. The strongman guys are likely training for overhead pressing where you'd use a wider grip to favor the stronger triceps and take some work off of the delts while shortening the range of motion.

Obviously grip will vary depending on how long your arms are, how wide your shoulders are, and what you are trying to do. If you want to hammer triceps then by all means grip narrow..... but most top benchers will press ( out of their bench shirts) with 1st or 2nd fingers on the rings. I'm not just talking about the guys putting up 400 at a golds gym either. I make the trip once a month to lift with a guy who is one of the best pressers in the world. That whole crew is pushng weights in the 800-1050 range in the gym. Even my regular crew that I train with the other 3 weeks a month are all in the 7's and 8's. Everyone has a similar grip, so that's what I use.
So, grip is pretty similar for all for all of the powerlifters ( above 200lbs.... the light guys might be narrower)

As for shoulder injury, this has way less to do with grip and way more to do with set up. Guys who lay flat on the bench get torn up shoulders way faster than guys with good set ups. I've already written a freakin' novel here.... so, in a nut shell... I'm talking about tucking the shoulders back hard, really squeezing the scapulae together. Then setting up on the bench with your back arched. When I'm on a good, grippy bench and set up to lift big only my traps and butt will be on the bench ( and my upper shoulders obviously).... tuck your shoulders back hard, dig your traps in to the pad, then drive your feet away from the bar hard to push your butt up toward your head, forcing your belly up and your back to arch ( usually painfully LOL)
 
tanker_67

tanker_67

Member
Aug 8, 2012
32
4
Ok I get what you're sayin. If i'm worried about injury I'm prolly not sitting on the bench right? Ok I know HOW to do it, But I guess I will admit I don't always do it. I bench 400, but I really want to turn the corner and get it up to 500. Can you find me a good video showing exactly what you mean???? Is that asking too much? I don't wanna annoy you with all the questions ya know?
 
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