Hey guys! So I need a little help in the benchpress department. My problem is that my wrists are weak and when I bech press the bar rolls back on my hands, I cant keep my hands straight and my wrists bend through the lift.
I don’t want to cast my wrists or use wrist straps, so have any of you guys had this problem? if so, how did you fix it (without straps of casting your wrists)? Would you guys recommend doing direct forearm work?
Lift strong,
S/P
yes.
The good old fashion wrist curl and reverse curl should set you up fine.
Gripping the bar as tight as possible when benching helps a lot too.
forearm curls
Heavy DB Holds are great also… and don’t use straps for anything…
Thank you guys! Those should help. I dont like using straps or casting my wrists because that doesnt fix the prob in the long run so fuck that.
S/p
Get bigger bones around your wrist. If your wrists are too small to center the bar in your hand over them, then you can either deal with your hands flipping back or suck it up and wrap them.
Get bigger bones around your wrist.
lol… how do you do that???
[quote]VibeAlive wrote:
Get bigger bones around your wrist.
lol… how do you do that???[/quote]
I think he was suggesting that there isn’t a whole lot you can do. Things like hex db holds are going to improve overall grip strength, but they aren’t going to do much to prevent his hands from flipping back.
Ya… I guess eh?
http://www6.mailordercentral.com/ironmind/products.asp?dept=41
Try Ironmind wrist and forearm equipment.I have the wrist roller, Titan’s telegraph and Captains of Crush grippers. It works.
I would wrap them. If the weight is seriously handcuffing you, wrap the wrist and the lower portion of your hand. You’ll know it’s tight when the lower part of your palm is kind of folded into a mini-cleavage poking out of the wrap.
Also, focus on keeping the bar balanced over where the force comes from- with the bar, your wrists and elbows all in line more or less. It’s kind of hard to explain, but at the top I try to pull the bar apart and very, very slightly tip wrists toward my feet- and then just hold that position on the way down. This has made a big difference for me recently in my shirted bench and to lesser extent on my raw work.
Take kettles bells and floor press them. Hold the handles with the bell part straight up. Your wrists will get stronger…
[quote]Pinto wrote:
I would wrap them. If the weight is seriously handcuffing you, wrap the wrist and the lower portion of your hand. You’ll know it’s tight when the lower part of your palm is kind of folded into a mini-cleavage poking out of the wrap.
Also, focus on keeping the bar balanced over where the force comes from- with the bar, your wrists and elbows all in line more or less. It’s kind of hard to explain, but at the top I try to pull the bar apart and very, very slightly tip wrists toward my feet- and then just hold that position on the way down. This has made a big difference for me recently in my shirted bench and to lesser extent on my raw work.
[/quote]
Funny, I learned to do exactly that recently. I still feel a ton of pressure in my wrists and forearms, but it’s soreness, rather than pain, afterwards.
Bicep curls, particularly Arnold curls, grippers and some heavy partials with your wrists wrapped.
If you want to do more for the problem, wrist rotations and levers with a hammer and rice digs will help too.
Frankly though, there’s nothing wrong with wraps. Plenty of benchers I know wrap from 220 up and “miraculously” aren’t being hampered by benching 500+.
Cast your wrists tight. I had the same problem and it kept me from making progress with my pressing. Started wrapping my wrists real tight and guess what? MY wrists HAVE gotten stronger from handling heavier loads. I do also do lots of strongman training. thumbless grip farmers walks and axle deadlifts have helped more than anything I think.
You should really wrap them for bench. Bench is not a wrist exercise, so don’t use it as one. My wrists are really loose, even with strong forearms. Always been that way. I wrap them for anything over 315.
If you want some quick and dirty forearm work I would suggest BamBam levers and Thors Hammers. They don’t take much time at all will hit your lower arms in all directions. Good for grip as well.
I also built a great little levering bar out of pipe and a handle bar grip. This is spectacular for working one arm at a time.
One 8" piece of 3/4" pipe with the handlebar grip on one end.
Screw on a 135deg (approximantely) elbow to the other end.
Screw 4 or 5" piece of 3/4" pipe on to the other end of the elbow. This will be where you load your 1" holed plates. It won’t take much weight. Get a 5, 2 1/2, and 1 1/4lb plate and you will be set.
I sliced open a short piece of rubber hose and used that with a hose clamp to secure the plates on there in lieu of a collar.
This works much better than a straight piece of pipe as is doesn’t deload at the top portion of the levers.
Lever in 4 different directions. Inside out, outside in, reverse curl, and curl (standing up).
Your lower arm strength will skyrocket after a few weeks of doing these on a regular basis.
[quote]Strength/power wrote:
… I cant keep my hands straight and my wrists bend through the lift.
…[/quote]
hum… I think thats normal dude.
[quote]Neospartan wrote:
Strength/power wrote:
… I cant keep my hands straight and my wrists bend through the lift.
…
hum… I think thats normal dude. [/quote]
Yeah, don’t be so focused on keeping your “hands straight” or you might end up like this clown.
that was b/c a dumb thumbless grip not b.c his wrists were straight
yeah I know…but he was concentrating an awful lot on his flippin hands…instead of pressing the weight