Comments on: Bench Press Technique

By: Bicep Exercises

Bicep Exercises — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:03:31 +0000

Thanks for the great info and pics. I always have a hard time teaching my students the correct way to perform the benchpress. Most of them learned it in high school, many moons ago and things have changed.

The pics will be great to show them and the results speak for themselves.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:36:57 +0000

Hi lyle,

I have a problem with benching in that there is alot of pressure on my wrist, i realize this is most likely to do with poor form but im not sure how to rectify it. the only thing i can think of is that my grip widens as i go through the set because at the top of a bench i kind of lock out. could this be the problem and how do i solve it please?

thanks

By: Personal Trainer Glendale Ca

Personal Trainer Glendale Ca — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 02:43:02 +0000

Hi Danne,

In short you won’t hurt your shoulder going wider on the grip so long as you do the proper form. Some people have weak rotator cuff and need to do exercises to strengthen them because they have long arms like yourself as well, like me to. Also make sure you warm up and no jerky movements. Also see if you have rounded shoulders, if so then you need to stretch your chest.

Good luck,
Troy

By: Moly Banerjee

Moly Banerjee — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:25:45 +0000

My bodyweight is 85 Kg. I am now benching 270 Kg ( one rep) with wide grip. In short grip I did 10 reps with 200 Kg and 3 reps with 240 Kg. Kindly advise me how to improve further. Also tell me in detail the benifits with short grip and wide grip and which one gives more srength.

By: KevinV

KevinV — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:29:21 +0000

Lyle,
Does this technique transfer over to Push ups too?

By: Emdad Ali

Emdad Ali — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:28:13 +0000

Thanks man, I spent all day today working on form, read your articles on pec stimulation and benching with variation but I found this by luck using search on your forum. What helped me ” feel ” it was just arching my back more while keeping my butt on the bench, thanks again.

By: Danne

Danne — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:44:23 +0000

Hey Lyle!

I have a question about the grip width. It’s pretty hard to find the grip where the the forearms are perpendicular to the bar and floor. I mean that I can have a pretty wide grip and have the forarms perpendicular to the floor, but then I also need to flare out the elbow, which I don’t think is good for the shoulder health? Anyway, with a wide grip and tucked in elbows, the elbows are way far from perpendicular to the floor. But that wouldn’t be good for shoulders either I guess.

I filmed my benchpress and did the movement naturally with different grip widths. When the grip were 56cm from forefinger to forefinger then the forearms turned out to perpendicular to the floor. Isn’t 56cm pretty close?

PS. I have pretty long arms and won’t screw my shoulders again which I did a year ago. I rather decrease the weight on the bar and have a narrower grip, if that’s safer.

Thanks in advance!

By: lylemcd

lylemcd — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:09:38 +0000

Don’t let it come up. Seriously, that’s what it takes.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 04:07:30 +0000

My form could use a little work. Any tips on how to keep your butt down during heavy lifts? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t keep it down.

By: Zach

Zach — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:01:22 +0000

Thanks for the article. In my opinion, this is one of the best articles for someone just starting to bench.

It would be awesome if you could post an article on shoulder/military press technique. I’m starting to get better at it, but I still don’t think I have the best technique.

Also, I just want to say that for me personally, if you get the grip width and the shoulders pinned back correct, benching just comes naturally. For many, many years I had a grip that was too wide and I never pinned my shoulders back.

The result? I could still see gains, but I ended up man boobs, not properly trained pecs. Once I corrected these two issues, I fell in love with the bench again!