I have a question for everyone regarding form on the bench press. You hear so many different opinions on range of motion. Some people advocate coming down all the way to touch the bar to your chest, some people say to stop right before it touches your chest, and others say to only come down till your upper arms are parallel to the floor. What really is the best range of motion to insure you are using pec muscles during the lift. Also, what is the best hand spacing and is it best to use a thumbless grip or wrap your thumbs around the bar??? I want to start incorporating the barbell press in my workout to switch up with dumbells but each time all i feel are working is my front delts. Any advise on how to isolate the pecs would be much appreciates !!
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Barbell BenchPress form question..
- Thread starter darreng
- Start date
A full range of motion is the only way to guaruntee that you are working the muscle holistically. Some lifters have joint problems. A full range of motion may not be best for them.
Hand spacing: The closer together your hands are on the bar, the more work your triceps will do. The wider your grip, the less you will recruit your tris.
I dont know how big of a difference thumb positioning will make. If any at all.
If you feel it in your front delts when you bench, then youre on an incline or youre pecs are exceptionally weak. Or, it could be a combination of both. Your pecs will develop with time. Isolation work is a waste of time for beginners. Dont worry about isolating your pecs. Just stick with your compound movements...what a fuckin cliche.
Hand spacing: The closer together your hands are on the bar, the more work your triceps will do. The wider your grip, the less you will recruit your tris.
I dont know how big of a difference thumb positioning will make. If any at all.
If you feel it in your front delts when you bench, then youre on an incline or youre pecs are exceptionally weak. Or, it could be a combination of both. Your pecs will develop with time. Isolation work is a waste of time for beginners. Dont worry about isolating your pecs. Just stick with your compound movements...what a fuckin cliche.
To incorporate your pectoralis major to the fullest, you definitely want a full range of motion. Your chest is most active at the bottom of the movement.
Using a thumbless grip on the bench isn't the best idea in my opinion, but some people swear by it. I just don't see the point, except for increasing the danger of the bar rolling out of your hand and smashing you good.
I would use a pretty wide grip to maximize chest involvement, but make sure not to go ridiculously wide so that you don't trash your shoulders over time.
You may consider pre-exhaust work if your shoulders seem to be doing all the work.
Using a thumbless grip on the bench isn't the best idea in my opinion, but some people swear by it. I just don't see the point, except for increasing the danger of the bar rolling out of your hand and smashing you good.
I would use a pretty wide grip to maximize chest involvement, but make sure not to go ridiculously wide so that you don't trash your shoulders over time.
You may consider pre-exhaust work if your shoulders seem to be doing all the work.
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amen to that brother 
....at the bottom expand your chest
the negative of the bench-you should be like trying to rip the bar in half
positive of the movement-you should be like trying to push the bar together
if you get what i'm saying
....at the bottom expand your chest the negative of the bench-you should be like trying to rip the bar in half
positive of the movement-you should be like trying to push the bar together
if you get what i'm saying
Some things I do on bench that may wish to consider:
- Feet planted firmly on floor throughout lift
- Slight arch in lower back
- Grip slightly wider than shoulder width
- Thumbless grip
- Pause at the bottom of the movement for 1-2 secs
- Lower bar just above nipples (but dont touch)
- Dont lock out arms at top of lift
I much prefer dumbell presses over barbell, but if you just starting barbell may be the way to go.
- Feet planted firmly on floor throughout lift
- Slight arch in lower back
- Grip slightly wider than shoulder width
- Thumbless grip
- Pause at the bottom of the movement for 1-2 secs
- Lower bar just above nipples (but dont touch)
- Dont lock out arms at top of lift
I much prefer dumbell presses over barbell, but if you just starting barbell may be the way to go.
To find your grip:
Lower an unloaded bar to your chest and rest it there...now space your hands so that in this position (bottom) your arms are perpendicular to the ground. Now you're bench pressing. Now if you are trying to do close grip benches for tri's that's a different story.
Lower an unloaded bar to your chest and rest it there...now space your hands so that in this position (bottom) your arms are perpendicular to the ground. Now you're bench pressing. Now if you are trying to do close grip benches for tri's that's a different story.
kenwood said:amen to that brother
the negative of the bench-you should be like trying to rip the bar in half
positive of the movement-you should be like trying to push the bar together
if you get what i'm saying
You should always be trying to rip the bar apart.
kenwood said:
If you want to sacrifice stability of the movement, then sure. I wouldn't do it though. If you want to involve your chest more, then do one and a half bench presses (Lower the bar, press half way, lower again, and then press to lockout/near lockout) or do some type of cable press where the line of pull is down and away.
i might try that man. never thought about that haha thanks pimp