Close Grip Bench

[RussianBull]

Do you guys prefer to use a straight bar or an EZ curl bar for close grip? I've been using a straight bar and my wrists have been bothering me during it.

 

[eat big]

i use the typical straight barbell. most ppl who do cg's on the ex barl do them supersetted with skull crushers. also, its easier to on a normal barbell bc they hold more weight

 

[cockdesiel]

yeah, I dont think that theres any way around wrist pain. I use wrist wraps when benching, but with cgs, the pain is still too great...so I use press downs and dips instead

 

[WalkingBeast]

Both bars mess with my wrists and elbows, and I bench so much that its difficult to press heavy on closegrip. I stick to pressdowns and skull crushers mostly.

 

[cwick0]

regular barbell.

If you wrists are hurting then adjust your grip. You very well could be going to close, thus putting excessive stress on your wrists. Just play with your grip a little and then see how things progress.

 

[bignate73]

cwick beat me to it!

If your wrists are hurting widen it up, so that your wrists can stay straight.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

C and bignate beat me too lol

youll need to keep your wrists under the bar..it will also give you more pushing power..lowering the bar to different areas ( upper chest vs upper abs) will rotate the wrists just find where it is most comfortable for you..For me i do exactly the same as my reg flat bench the only diff is the grip

 

[bignate73]

my wrists stay straignt if i lower to my belly, which is fine...thats where i bench to anyways.

 

[DaveTSI]

all these guys said it, too close of a grip. I found once i started going pretty heavy my wrists really took a beating so i widened it a bit. The MM guys say the best grip is about 12-14" apart (measuring from thumb to thumb)

 

[RGS83]

Can you still get an effective lift if you CG press on your abs??

I always try to keep mid-rib or lower pec section.... when it's a really hard push i find that the bar seems to go more down my body (towards belly from pecs) and it makes it easier to press (not sure if thats a good thing)... instead of up and down it's more of a messed up C

 

[bignate73]

thats probably where it should go, depending on how long your upper arm is. i think you have it mistaken as to whats correct and whats not.

 

[TRUEsoldier]

yeah, I dont think that theres any way around wrist pain. I use wrist wraps when benching, but with cgs, the pain is still too great...so I use press downs and dips instead

Well I dont feel this way, I think you can get around the wrist pain. When I first started it bothered me alot! I started to use the EZ curl bar, and it all went away, then I started using the straight bar again, started pyramid for a couple weeks, and now, no pain what so ever. and I dont do pyramids. I do a couple warms ups then stright to my working sets!

Peace

 

[cwick0]

thats probably where it should go, depending on how long your upper arm is. i think you have it mistaken as to whats correct and whats not.

you must use a power lifting bench style with an arch since you are lowering the bar to your upper abs.

CORRECT?

 

[bignate73]

yep

 

[cwick0]

yep

That's what i figured. I tend to use a flat back. I try the arch once or twice and really didnt care for it. I guess it takes some time to get use to.

 

[RGS83]

Sorry guys, whats the difference between a power lifting bench and a flat :S


The one i have remains flat (can do in/decline), although my grip is a bit narrower, i start off as if it were a regular bench press, then instead of just going up and down with my arms flaring out (as in bench press), I tuck my arms in to my sides, making the elbows and tricepts like a hinge from which to press the weight up...

hummm.. if i can CG bench press effectivily while lowering to my abs instead of my chest that would please me - I thought i was cheating though! ??

 

[cwick0]

flat and power lifting are different techniques/styles of benching.

flat= bench with a flat back, bar tends to stay more directly over your chest.
pl= arched back, bar tends to stay around your upper abs and can usually handle more
weight.

 

[RGS83]

AHHH!!!

Dayump!
i thought you were refering to a type of bench - aas in the bench from which you sit and workout on....

In that case i flat bench following my previously described form...

Just finished working out my Tris and Delts actually - lowering the weight to the upper abs as opposed to the best makes quiet a bit of difference in diffuculty.
What are the pros and cons to the differing forms?

Is one for numbers (just CG benching more lbs) and the other for strength??

 

[gymtime]

flat and power lifting are different techniques/styles of benching.

flat= bench with a flat back, bar tends to stay more directly over your chest.
pl= arched back, bar tends to stay around your upper abs and can usually handle more
weight.

Also...elbows go out on a flat, traditional bench, stay in on a pl.

Like what Nate and the guys said, close grips don't necessarily have to be "close" to get the benefit. I'd say that if your wrists are bothering you, you could go out as wide a shoulder-width and still get a good result, assuming the rest of your form is sound.

 

[cwick0]

Also...elbows go out on a flat, traditional bench, stay in on a pl.

Like what Nate and the guys said, close grips don't necessarily have to be "close" to get the benefit. I'd say that if your wrists are bothering you, you could go out as wide a shoulder-width and still get a good result, assuming the rest of your form is sound.

My elbows are out a little bit, but more like a 45 degree angle versus completely out at a 90 degree angle. Plus my shoulder blades are pinched together.


Ill keep with my bodybuilding style, since that is what im comfortable with and strong an ox with.

 

[gymtime]

My elbows are out a little bit, but more like a 45 degree angle versus completely out at a 90 degree angle. Plus my shoulder blades are pinched together.


Ill keep with my bodybuilding style, since that is what im comfortable with and strong an ox with.

Just to clarify, I was referring to regular bench press movements in my last quote, not close grips. Elbows should always stay in on close grips; there's only one style for those.

 

[bignate73]

if you guys are hinging it to your chest, why not do skullcrushers or pressdowns. Thats just a different type of JM press IMO. when your forearms are coming in towards your face (extreme example), it changes the exercise from a press to an extension. Look at the mechanics of your bench press, if your forearms stay vertical, thats how you bench. moving your hands in, and thus your elbows will change where the bar hits on your torso. its biomechanics. if you flare your elbows, of course the bar goes to your nipple line. if you tuck them in to your sides the bar moves down. to your upper abs. make a 90 deg. bend of your arms and put them to your sides. determine where the bar would be in that case, now start to flare your elbows out...see how the bar moves up?
i dont want to sound condescending, im just trying to simplify it.

 

[gymtime]

if you guys are hinging it to your chest, why not do skullcrushers or pressdowns. Thats just a different type of JM press IMO. when your forearms are coming in towards your face (extreme example), it changes the exercise from a press to an extension. Look at the mechanics of your bench press, if your forearms stay vertical, thats how you bench. moving your hands in, and thus your elbows will change where the bar hits on your torso. its biomechanics. if you flare your elbows, of course the bar goes to your nipple line. if you tuck them in to your sides the bar moves down. to your upper abs. make a 90 deg. bend of your arms and put them to your sides. determine where the bar would be in that case, now start to flare your elbows out...see how the bar moves up?
i dont want to sound condescending, im just trying to simplify it.

I'm afraid, uh, yeah...that was a little condescending.

Good to see you old man.

 

[bignate73]

hehe. i didn't mean to come off that way. I just wanted to "fisher-price/playskool" it down a bit. sometime's im to visual the way I write and i get. "Huh?"

 

[cwick0]

Just to clarify, I was referring to regular bench press movements in my last quote, not close grips. Elbows should always stay in on close grips; there's only one style for those.

I got ya. I figured you were talking about flat. On close grip my arms are real tight to my body.