Bench press width article

[slowmotion]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

[BenM]

To be on the same programming as me you will have to become a program hopper par excellence. I am happy to increase my bench .5kg (hope you saw the .) per week. I think you should aim a lot higher than me.

Oh I'm definitely aiming higher than that. But gotta eat that elephant one bite at a time. If I could make half a kilo a week progress i'd be stoked too. That would see me hit my medium term goal (2 plates) by the end of 2018. Hopefully without gaining a ton of body weight.

[cwd]

I'm happy if I gain a kilo every 3 weeks on bench/press. But I've been recomping, surely I'd improve faster if I were gaining weight.

[BenM]

I'm happy if I gain a kilo every 3 weeks on bench/press. But I've been recomping, surely I'd improve faster if I were gaining weight.

Yeah, me too. That is, I'm just (barely) eating maintenance calories, I think. I was seeing pretty good gains last time I was in a surplus, but was just gaining too fast. Trying for a bit more nuance™ this time.

[Culican]

Okay, I have been putting my ring finger on the ring marks but after measuring it seems that my pinkies should be just inside (touching the edge) of the rings. Interestingly, whenever my shoulder acts up I always switch from my normal grip to this grip to let it recover.

[KDW]

I'm gonna give this one a big nope. I bench index on ring and that's 32 inches grip width. This is where I'm strongest. I have done pinky on ring and middle finger on ring and this is just stronger. I measured the distance between my ac joints to be 17 inches. I'm nearly twice that distance in bench grip. Also, the wider grip feels better on my shoulders which is important to me since I've had surgery in the past.

[BenM]

But you are a beast @KDW

I’ve been benching with the recommended grip in this article for the past week or two. I don’t think it’s made a massive difference either way, but my lifts are puny. What I will say is I’ve increased the volume a lot so if it’s safer at this width I’ll stick with it.

[Wilhelm]

I'm gonna give this one a big nope. I bench index on ring and that's 32 inches grip width. This is where I'm strongest. I have done pinky on ring and middle finger on ring and this is just stronger. I measured the distance between my ac joints to be 17 inches. I'm nearly twice that distance in bench grip. Also, the wider grip feels better on my shoulders which is important to me since I've had surgery in the past.

This topic has entered my brain again recently.
It's interesting that the wider grip is easier on your shoulders, @KDW.
I think i read narrow(er) is better, and just didn't explore further.

It just occurs to me with all the work i'm putting in, it would be silly to not at least try the wider grip.
I've been doing pinkies on the rings since i posted this thread. So a full year now.

Just watched a woman lifter in the 66 kilo class bench 264lbs in competition, and most of the lifters are using a wider grip than me.

I did move a finger wider very breifly a few days ago. It felt weird. But i need to give it a real shot.
If i'm leaving easy gains on the table, i need to know one way or the other.

I'll move out one finger width at a time. Edit to add - I'm just going to try my top single Saturday with max grip.
Better to know right away how that feels, and if it gives me a lot more power.
Better to try it now while i'm relatively early in my meet prep.

[ChrisMcCarthy1979]

I don't know if I would jump to just doing your top single with a wide grip...I'd want a good few reps in with it first.

But then again if you are at a place in your Cycle where your "top single" is easily manageable then please ignore.

[Wilhelm]

I don't know if I would jump to just doing your top single with a wide grip...I'd want a good few reps in with it first.

But then again if you are at a place in your Cycle where your "top single" is easily manageable then please ignore.

Indeed and agreed.
I warm up ending with 155X5, then 212.5 X1 before hitting my top single.
I'll probably add 195 in there to get more of a feel gradually.

[augeleven]

I'm gonna give this one a big nope. I bench index on ring and that's 32 inches grip width. This is where I'm strongest. I have done pinky on ring and middle finger on ring and this is just stronger. I measured the distance between my ac joints to be 17 inches. I'm nearly twice that distance in bench grip. Also, the wider grip feels better on my shoulders which is important to me since I've had surgery in the past.

This is super interesting. @mgil had some pics up on the gram advocating for a wider press grip.
With a wide bench grip, are you flaring out your elbows to keep your forearms vertical, or are you still thinking keeping them kinda tucked? I could be way off, but would a wider grip mean a lower touch point, which could mean less shoulder involvement/irritation?

[slowmotion]

I was using the index finger on the rings for a while, but got pain in both wrists and right elbow.
Moving my grip in a bit so I have the middle fingers on the rings got rid of the pain after only a week or so.
I figure if I can bench pain free that would mean getting a bigger bench in the long run.

[bobmen10000]

I found it was more difficult to clear the hooks when using a wide(r) bench grip. Wouldn't matter if I had a handout or monolift attachment. Adjusting it an inch or two down seems to do the trick.

[Wilhelm]

I found it was more difficult to clear the hooks when using a wide(r) bench grip. Wouldn't matter if I had a handout or monolift attachment. Adjusting it an inch or two down seems to do the trick.

I'm going to have to be careful sitting back up as well.
I've done a couple set up tests. Was barefoot, and bench in my heels, but it seems like setting my scapula is a little easier.
I push down and in with my hands on the bar, then push back onto my traps.
Same end point, but it just all seems to go into place with less work with the hooks lower and the wider grip.

I'll know more tomorrow when i do it for real.

[iamsmu]

Huh. I sorta just default to "pinkies on rings", but this 1.5X measurement puts me at a 27" grip like cwd. That's "ring finger on rings” for me. I'll try it.

Exactly the same here. Ring finger on rings is pretty damn wide. I don't think I've ever bench that wide. I'll try it tonight. But it seems like upper arm length is going to change the angles here. And my upper arms are pretty short. . . .

[Hanley]

Huh. I sorta just default to "pinkies on rings", but this 1.5X measurement puts me at a 27" grip like cwd. That's "ring finger on rings” for me. I'll try it.

Exactly the same here. Ring finger on rings is pretty damn wide. I don't think I've ever bench that wide. I'll try it tonight. But it seems like upper arm length is going to change the angles here. And my upper arms are pretty short. . . .

Well I posted that a year ago. I used the wider grip for a bunch of bench sessions, but I ended up moving my grip back in.

[gtl]

I found it was more difficult to clear the hooks when using a wide(r) bench grip. Wouldn't matter if I had a handout or monolift attachment. Adjusting it an inch or two down seems to do the trick.

You probably have to adjust the height of your jhooks depending on the grip variance. If I do CGBP, I set my jhooks 1 hole higher than normal benching.

[KDW]

This is super interesting. @mgil had some pics up on the gram advocating for a wider press grip.
With a wide bench grip, are you flaring out your elbows to keep your forearms vertical, or are you still thinking keeping them kinda tucked? I could be way off, but would a wider grip mean a lower touch point, which could mean less shoulder involvement/irritation?

There's definitely a sweet spot. I don't purposefully flare or force a tuck either. My touch point is roughly around my xyphoid process. I really just think about getting the bar to that spot and everything works out for me. From a sideview, my elbows (Olecranon) are not directly under the bar when the bar is on my chest. They are slightly inferior of the bar. They don't get directly under the bar until lockout. So this looks like almost vertical forearms from the side.

If you are looking from the coronal view (top of my head), my forearms are not completely vertical that way either. This limits the amount of shoulder extension I need to make the touch. From this view my elbows are only slightly more extended than if I were to have vertical forearms. If I want vertical forearms from this angle, I need to take a middle finger on rings grip and maintain the same touch point. That slight change believe it or not will irritate my pec tendon after several weeks if I don't slowly introduce the new grip. The middle on ring grip is the maximum stretch I can get on the pec with barbell bench press.

From my current understanding of programming, if I want to avoid the shoulder irritation, I would just need some period of time where I gradually worked into a closer grip to allow for the shoulder to adapt to the different range of motion. Its just at this point, I don't necessarily need to do that to get to where I want to get nor would it necessarily serve a much of a purpose on my journey to 500 lb bench. I think in the past, I would just jump into a lift without building up a level of preparedness, and that's what led to the irritation moreso than just the movement itself.

[Wilhelm]

I had to compromise and just go middle finger on the rings.
The feeling at max width that i was going to smash my fingers reracking on the hooks with my pesky 3" Rogue uprights was just too strong.
The bar collars would hit if i actually racked it so unevenly, but my hesistation on rerack remained, and that was dangerous in and of itself.

Wider grip does seem to help keep the bar from getting out in front as it sometimes does on later reps.
And i think i'm quicker off the chest this way, which is where i need help anyway.

It's just the first session, so i'll have a better opinion later.
Seems good though.

[cwd]

I moved out wider when I read that article, and felt stronger. Later I moved back in (to 24" wide, almost a close-grip bench) and saw no obvious reduction in strength.

The narrow grip is more comfortable and gives me an extra inch of ROM, so I assume it's better for hypertrophy/strength. I'm not a competing powerlifter so...