Bench Form

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I’ve been benching with a wide grip, with my pinky around the rings on the bar, and my elbows at a 45 degree angle out from my sides. This results in the bar touching pretty low on my abdomen when I bring the bar straight down, to the lower portion of my rib cage.

I do narrow grip for my triceps but is my wide grip form ideal for flat benching with a focus on pecs?

It seems the more I bench, the more my body is adjusting for efficient benching, and my pecs seem to receive less of the stress each time. Or possibly, I am just not feeling as fatigued there as I think I should be. What prompted me to ask this question however, is that when I did my sets yesterday, during my final set, I felt a really good stretch on my outer pecs and in my anterior deltoids. However, today, my posterior delts are incredibly sore, and I have no explanation for their soreness, since I did not do any shoulder work, direct or indirect, aside from my bench.

So, am I doing it right?

2

Pinky around the rings is not exactly a wide grip lol. Wide grip for most people is index finger on the rings. That being said, mess around with different grips and see which one feels the best in terms of chest stimulation and shoulder/elbow health. Even though its not my strongest grip, for flat benching I prefer pinkies on rings with elbows tucked. It provides the best pectoral and tricep stimulation for me personally.

Try some new stuff.

3

If you are bench pressing to build your pecs I would recommend going wider - although I don’t know what bar you’re using, but “index finger on the rings” is usually more correct - and bringing the bar down to the bottom of your pecs instead of the bottom of your ribcage.