So when I do bench, that's how far apart I space my hands. Take the biacromial distance and multiply it by 1.5, and that's your ideal bench press grip width. The distance between these bumps is your biacromial distance. You have protruding bumps on either side of your shoulders called the acromion processes. So how do you know what the right grip is? My favorite way to figure it out is through a simple formula that incorporates your "biacromial distance." How to Know How Wide to Go on Bench Press If your grip is too narrow, you're doing close-grip bench-a great triceps exercise, but not exactly the best way to push the most weight. If your hands are too wide, you won't be able to tuck your elbows in enough. Long story short, it all starts with the grip. Here's the CORRECT upper arm angle for the strongest and safest possible bench press: Yes, the bench press is primarily a chest exercise (with the shoulders and triceps playing direct roles as well), but the more total muscles you have helping out, the more weight you'll be able to lift. This is not only a more stable position for the shoulders, but it also allows you to use more of your lats. The sweet spot for your upper arms on bench press is somewhere between a 30-60-degree angle with your torso. For the sake of your shoulder joint health, this is what NOT TO DO. Here's an example of TOO WIDE OF A GRIP on a bench press. As I said, you don't want your elbows pointing straight out to the sides with your upper arms perpendicular to your torso not only does this put undue stress on the shoulder joints, but it limits your pressing power and strength. The position of your upper arms (where your elbows are pointing) is the key to a safe and effective bench press. But as I referenced above the bench press "haters" will say the exercise is a surefire way to hurt your shoulders and possibly tear a pec muscle. Pretty much everyone agrees that it's a great move for building maximal upper body pressing strength. The barbell bench press is one of the most polarizing exercises you can find. Grip Tip: The Secret to Safe Bench Press Technique Using your lats properly in this manner will not only spare you from shoulder injuries but will also help to increase the amount of weight that you can bench press. You then drive it back up toward your upper chest so that the bar follows a bit of an arced path, versus a straight up-an-down vertical path. To do this, you actually involve the lats a lot by contracting them to pull your arms in, as if you were holding two grapefruits in your armpits, as you lower the bar to your lower chest. The correct way to do the bench press is to tuck the upper arms into your sides more so that your upper arms form about a 45- to 60-degree angle with the sides of the torso. The correct way to do the bench press does NOT involve flaring the upper arms straight out to your sides as you lower the bar down to your upper chest. This isn't due to the bench press being a dangerous exercise, but due to so many people doing the bench press incorrectly. Unfortunately, the bench press has a bad rap for causing shoulder injuries. The bench press is the ultimate test of upper-body strength, and it's a great exercise to build impressive muscle mass in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. You want pecs that look great from top to bottom and side to side, particularly when it's time to take off your shirt at the pool or beach this summer. Achieving this requires well-diversified chest-training protocols-like the ones below. However, the pectoral muscles can be notoriously difficult to build up. From an aesthetic standpoint, a great chest isn't just big and massive-it's big and well-proportioned through the upper, middle, lower, inner, and outer sections of the pecs.īalance is critical here-you don't want your chest to be thick down low and thin up top, nor do you want a densely muscled chest that has no width or detail to it. A big, well-developed chest is a sign of a true bodybuilder, and something every weightlifter wants.
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