How wide should your bench grip width be?

What is the best for size, strength gain, max weight, safety?

Is my grip considered close-grip? Why is it bad?
Does a wider grip train the pec more, contra the shoulder/triceps? What is the widest range of motion per exercise and for each muscle?

What rep ranges are best, what volume? Frequency? How do you do it? What combinations?

And: What is your bench?

You markers are close grip. It's safer for shoulders and activate triceps more and less chest. Wider is the opposite. You should work all rep rangers 1 to let's say 15, but u should focus on more low rep for since chest has a lot fast twitch fibers.

Use YouTube channel like Alan Thrall or Starting Strength to learn correct form. Basically it's pull back and down shoulder blades, arch your back by pushing heel down in floor while mentaining glutes on the bench and brace the core. Tuck elbow and engage lats. Thightnes and perfectioning the movement is key. My max is 2 plates 1 rep. My build excell more in OHP though where I press 80 kg.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think the best grip for bench is when your arms are perpendicular to the floor when the bar is touching your chest.

My bench is 245 @160lbs btw

Apparently 1.5 times your shoulder width is ideal in general.

what about your build makes your more proficient in OHP over benching?

there is no ideal bench grip, world class benchers bench with anything from max legal (pointed finger on the rings) to relatively close grip (Konstantinovs, Jeremy Hoornstra)

closer emphasizes triceps, wider emphasizes more chest, close grip tends to stress different areas of the shoulder joint than wide grip does (so if you have pain with wider grips, you may find it goes away with close grip benching)

rep ranges: loads of different rep ranges work well for bench, from heavy doubles/triples to singles to high rep work in the 10-12 range, it's all good

frequency: generally 3+ sessions a week works best for most people, most PL specific programs do this

Well, I know both my brother and father is the same. When I train I engage shoulders more than the average guy aka shoulder dominant. Most people are either chest or triceps if dominant at all. Dominant meaning you are stronger and grow stronger relative to the other muscle group by doing a movement where a set strength increase in each muscle group is expected from an average person. Also I am a bit lanky and I don't have great power output which might also partially explain it. Also it's probably much to do with sceletal and muscle insertion and origin to do, but you manly just experience it through training and comparison to "normal" lifters.

Low power output meaning I have more slow twitch than fast twitch which I believe is favouring delts over pecs beacause of more slow twitch fibers. I am not 100% on that one though.

tucking elbows is actually not a good cue for raw benchers, despite what you heard from alan dipshit and dave tate's garbage video series

everything else you're right on about

sure bench with your arms flared all the way out. I'll hear about your shoulder pains in a couple weeks.

I get shoulder pain (mainly left) and find I only seem to hit my pecs hard on 1/4 sets of ten I do.

Any tips? Got really long arms and I am prob too wide (pointer finger about at that smooth ring part)

Beginner here (obviously) but I have been benching for 6 months and actually have built my chest a little and can do push-ups till cows come home.

So your only options are tucked in almost parallel or flared out perpendicular to your torso, got it.

Do you do rows? It's important to keep your rows up to prevent shoulder pain on the bench, add cable facepulls as an accessory as well. I assume you know how to properly retract the scapula.

I bench 5x5x105kg, and people have been commenting on my close grip. I do it about a thumb away from the close grip lines. It just feels most comfortable to me. Tried wider, felt unnatural tb.h

There is an actual math formula to work this out.
I dunno what it is tho lol bye

yes, because the only alternative to tucking your elbows is to make them touch your ears - it is a binary choice

retarded DYEL faggot, i hope the next guy to spot you pushes the bar down on your trachea

Okay, I feel like it helps me shoulder health wise but again, I am not a good bencher so you probably know more. I am not hundred percent sure on what tucking really means since I'm not a native English speaker but I have assumed it is to "pull" with the lats which automatically makes me feel I am tucking my elbow. Also as user said above is focus as much, or rather more one rows. Gotta keep body integrity.

Lie down on the bench with your arms at your sides. Raise them up until they hit the bar. Wherever they land, put your hand 1 finger width outward. This is the best grip for longevity.

And despite what you may hear, there's no difference in chest activation between wide and close grips.

It depends what muscle group in the chest you're targeting. Closer grip works the inside of your chest. Wider works more along the upper chest and outside.

thats pretty shit lad

>And despite what you may hear, there's no difference in chest activation between wide and close grips.
KEK

Forearms should be perpendicular to the bar when the bar is touching your sternum, elbows should flare out at about 45 degrees give or take.

Nothing wrong with a closer grip, but it's technically a different exercise and you'll be using your triceps a bit more, and extending the ROM meaning less weight.

whats your bench and your weight pencil neck, you dont even lift

You don't have to touch your chest but its a pretty good cue

My grip is when I extend my thumb when is extended outwards towards the border on the knurl. This is for usually every lift

>Is my grip considered close-grip? Why is it bad?
Yes its close grip. Bench is a chest exercise so having a close grip puts more emphasis on triceps instead of chest. Its not bad its different.
>Does a wider grip train the pec more, contra the shoulder/triceps? What is the widest range of motion per exercise and for each muscle?
Wider grip works chest more but it puts more stress on your shoulders so be careful.
>What rep ranges are best, what volume? Frequency? How do you do it? What combinations?
Volume builts muscle. I do my bench in 3 sets of rep ranges of 8/7/6. Flat bench isn't going to build chest alone so I do incline and weighted dips and alternate between dumbbell and barbell bench

wow really? Im at 150lbs and have trouble doing 155

I wasn't even bragging about my bench faggot. It's my weakest lift right now, OP was just asking what your bench is for reference, so I told him.

this.

I do both close grip and regular bench press on chest days. No reason to go above twice a week on these in my opinion. I shoot for 3 sets of 8 reps.

The absolute main reason a close grip for bench is bad for you above all else in this thread: You'll rip your shoulders (joints) to pieces when you start to go heavy.

Thanks for the cue!

I'm kinda new to lifting so I had a really close-grip, did 5x5 at 55 kgs. Switched to wider grip, had to lower the weight to 50 kg and failed the last set. Got severe chest doms if anyone cares.

thats good bro keep killin it, dont matter how much you lift as long as you do it. just do it the right way and stay safe

Thanks! Had a guy ell me about form and cheating that made me think: It isn't about the weight on the bar, it should be as low as possible really, put yourself at the most disadvantaged position, it should feel as heavy as it is, no cheat-reps as a newbie.