Sorry about the odd title; I couldn’t figure out what else to call it
Just a question about the cue “arms out 45 degrees” and where about the bar should touch on the chest.
taking a wider grip on the bar forces me to tuck less and touch higher on the chest; I understand this is generally frowned upon as it is a known cause for shoulder/rotator pain. Although, As of now (8-9 weeks of benching this way) I’m experiencing no pain in the shoulders whatsoever. Is the shoulder pain a product of benching in such a way over a long period of time or would I have experienced said pain by now?
It’s generally over a long time but what you are doing is probably fine. 45 degrees is not excessively flared. Where the bar will touch will depend on arm length. Don’t worry too much and just train unless you start to have pain.
Problems from that can develop over time. You should post a video of your bench with something >70% 1RM so others can assess the form. You generally want to grip the bar so that when you lower it to your lower chest/upper abdomen, your forearm is perpendicular to the ground, and bar.
If your arms go past 46.3 degrees you will have catastrophic failure at the shoulder joint and your triceps with explode off the bone!
On a serious note, bench wherever your strongest and most comfortable. Would you follow a cue in a meet that meant you would lift less weight? Would you follow a cue that caused you to injure yourself? Don’t over think this stuff.
[quote]Alrightmiami19c wrote:
If your arms go past 46.3 degrees you will have catastrophic failure at the shoulder joint and your triceps with explode off the bone!
On a serious note, bench wherever your strongest and most comfortable. Would you follow a cue in a meet that meant you would lift less weight? Would you follow a cue that caused you to injure yourself? Don’t over think this stuff.
[/quote]
this is the attitude I generally have towards things of this sort. Just wanted some outside perspective of it all. Thanks, my man! I needed the reminder to just shut up and lift.
I can’t think of any current great raw benchers who use a wide grip. Nor can I think of any that touch high on their chest. Maybe someone else can throw out a name or two, but it’s unlikely that this is the best technique for you.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
I can’t think of any current great raw benchers who use a wide grip. Nor can I think of any that touch high on their chest. Maybe someone else can throw out a name or two, but it’s unlikely that this is the best technique for you.[/quote]
can’t name any current bencher but the first two that come to mind are ed coan (I’m aware he’s an outlier), and Rick Weil. Ed benched with his arms almost 90 degrees and almost flat backed (- YouTube) and weil the same only with a flat back.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
I feel like we’re seeing 2 completely different things from each other in the Ed Coan video…[/quote]
If you’re judging by the first sets he does he’s going over the form for close grip bench. Which as you probably know was a staple in his training.
And I’m not by any means stating that a wide bench is superior in any way yo a close grip, tucked (to a certain degree) bench. Just didn’t want to end up mucking up my shoulder over something that could have easily been avoided.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
I can’t think of any current great raw benchers who use a wide grip. Nor can I think of any that touch high on their chest. Maybe someone else can throw out a name or two, but it’s unlikely that this is the best technique for you.[/quote]
