Bench Press Width Grip

[ucscwwe]

how far apart do you guys grip on the bar, i'm only 5'7" and i have my middle fingers on the smooth rings of the bar, am i holding it too far apart and working my shoulders more than my chest

It's time to play the game - Triple H

just a little beyond shoulder width.

www.killdevill.com

"...the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the force".

[mega12]

if your going for the fullest development... you should vairy your grip every workout.. if your going for a max bench, or strictly power.. find a comfortable groove and stick with that.. when I am going to peak my bench my pinky finger is a bit inside the rings which allows more tri and lat involvement.... I'm 5'11 btw..
Mega

"Syntholica... because some of us were born without perfect genetics"
www.KILLDEVILL.com

Future resident of the KillDevillHill retirment home community and power gym

..I try to keep my forearms perpendicular(straight up and down) to the floor. I'm 5'8 so we're prolly the same width. With elbows just about even with shoulder line, I grip with pinkies on the ring. Keep elbows flared out for Chest or have them at a 45degree angle from bar for max pressing power.

"My nuts is halfway up my ass, but other than that I'm perfect" -Gary from Weird Science

[sweetstan]

All these pointers are good rules of thumb. This is how I teach setting up the grip. Lay on the bench and bring your elbows down parallel to your shoulders with your elbows bent to a 90 degree angle with your hands over your elbows. Then go up and grab the bar. I think this puts you in the strongest position anatomically.
Good Luck,
SS

[Big_Mack]

Ring fingers on the rings.. Works for me

[Spook]

would be my index finger outside the smooth part of the bar while my index finger is on the smooth ring for regular presses. The wider the grip the more it should develop the outter pecs while the more narrow the grip, the more it should develop the inner pecs and tri's.

*** "Woo baby! You have an ass that reminds me of two 5 lb bags of sugar, and wouldn't you know it? I got me a sweet tooth! Yeehah!!!!" ---Lone Star State of Mind....Tinker***

[Spook]

would be DB pullovers. If you contract at the top as much as possible with the DB's you should see some nice inner pec development...normally.

*** "Woo baby! You have an ass that reminds me of two 5 lb bags of sugar, and wouldn't you know it? I got me a sweet tooth! Yeehah!!!!" ---Lone Star State of Mind....Tinker***

[NAWLIN]

THE WIDER OUT IT WILL WORK ON THE MUSCLE!!

I RECOMMEND FOR GOOD MASS AND FULL CHEST, DO INCLINE BENCH SHOULDER WIDTH GRIP, DO ABOUT 5-7 GOOD SETS THEN GO FLAT WITH MACHINES THEN END UP WITH DUMBELL FLYS OR PECK DECK, THE NEXT ROUTINE SHOULD BE SWITCHED UP TO KEEP TRICKING THE BODY FOR MAX GROWTH!!

[mort]

I don't know if I should say this here but, if you do a search on the E.F. boards there is a very comprehensive article regarding bench press techniques and variations. Hope this helps.

Always true,

Mort