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Bench Press?

sneedham

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Hey Everyone,
Been lifting on and off for years, most recently hitting it very hard, but doing it smart. I am 6'-2" 230lbs, 43 yrs young, and have gotten my bench back up to about 335lbs. One of the power lifters at my gym who I talk to quit a bit suggested I change up my hand position on the bar? He is telling me that my hands are to close together formy size and frame (pretty braud). I am leening towards his advice because my lifts will just give out when I am repping out or lifting very heavy. That is what my tri's usually do...Lets hear it>>>>>
 
Thanks Warriorblaze,

Will it take some time for me to develop into the wider grip. I assume I will be involving my shoulders a little more?
 
Thanks Warriorblaze,

Will it take some time for me to develop into the wider grip. I assume I will be involving my shoulders a little more?

Yeah, it hits the shoulders and chest more than the tris. Keep your elbows tucked too. A slingshot or mini bands help with this.


Warrior
 
when I bench or compete I put my ring finger on the bar lines (texas powerbar) but most good bars have same line location. im 6' and 230 ive found this to be the best position for me and like above post says keep elbows in, feet in stable tight position, bury your traps into bench and keep your lats tight.
 
Thanks for the replies......
 
Shoulder width grip for me and don't lock out at the top, I noticed locking out at the top worked more tricep. I'm not a fan of wide grip, too much shoulder involved especially on flat bench it literally becomes a shoulder workout for me.
 
Hey Everyone,
Been lifting on and off for years, most recently hitting it very hard, but doing it smart. I am 6'-2" 230lbs, 43 yrs young, and have gotten my bench back up to about 335lbs. One of the power lifters at my gym who I talk to quit a bit suggested I change up my hand position on the bar? He is telling me that my hands are to close together formy size and frame (pretty braud). I am leening towards his advice because my lifts will just give out when I am repping out or lifting very heavy. That is what my tri's usually do...Lets hear it>>>>>

Im not a power lifter but I managed to get my bench into the 400s. I place my hands about 90 degree with the bar and tuck elbows in. If I have hands closer then Im working tris too far open the delts come into play.
If you widen your hands on the bar too much you have a good chance of wrecking your delts/shoulders. I almost did it myself but common sense prevailed very quickly when I started to have chronic shoulder problems. Since, my shoulders have been fine with the more narrow grip (90deg) about
 
A wider grip will ultimately make you stronger on your bench press but like all the other guys said focus on keeping elbows tucked to protect your shoulders. I personally go with what I feel like is a medium grip and keep my elbows tucked but not too much. But then again I'm all about body building, power lifting is unneeded stress on the body unless you compete IMO.
 
A lot of good advice. Never hurts to switch things around a bit and try something different. As a powerlifter, I've seen exceptions to every rule over the years. Mostly it comes down to what works best for you. I do agree that a smaller ROM generally results in a bigger total, unless there is an injury involved. You'll find your personal sweet spot. Good luck to you.
 
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I've always felt weird if my bench grip was too wide, to the point where I'd lift less than if my grip was just right, despite of the benefit of having less ROM during the wider grip.
 
The flat barbell bench press is the least effective exercise to develop pecs imo. Stick with slight incline barbell, flat and incline dumbell presses dips and cable flyes.
A lot of it depends on physical structure and technique. When I bench press I feel a huge amount of upper back and triceps work.
 
I also love to do band resisted pushups. This is a favorite of mine and feels good on the shoulders. They make a great apparatus for this to make it easy to load up to 300 additional pounds of bands to a push up. I forget the name but you can find it by googling. I have 2 of them.
 
the wider the grip the more emphasis you place on shoulders and upper chest . the narrower the more on triceps. so too narrow will limit your lift because you are not using enough of chest and shoulders and too wide you will not use enough triceps... and your hands will slip..... for best lifts a bit wider than shoulders would be fine...like strongman said the lines on the bar are a good width for your frame ..and even a tiny bit wider will do since you are a big guy.
 
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