I tend to think that it’s fine if you have good forearm strength. Dave Tate mentioned something about making sure you can still grip the fuck out of the bar when using a false grip. For me, I feel like it puts a lot of stress on the wrist. I use a false grip with military presses though
I love it for military press. Makes no difference in poundage but makes it easier on my shoulders. For bench, it was a lot easier on my shoulders but the weights I was moving was closer to my closegrip bench press even after practicing for over a month.
I have hit 600 raw multiple times in competitions in multiple classes. Never once raw has the weight come close to coming out of my hands. Just recently in a competition equipped, I felt the bar rolling out of my hands towards my body (not head) with 900 lbs at a competition. It was not a worthy bar to hold that amount of weight and I was smart enough to tell the spotters to take it when I felt it going. I also held the bar and assisted. That being said, I don’t think my thumbs would have been the saving grace with 900 lbs. When things are going bad, they are going bad. Have good spotters and make good decisions regardless of your grip.
Also, after having my torn bicep repaired, I tried to return to a full grip. I gave it many months yet was significantly weaker than when I went back to thumbless. Chad Wesley Smith shared a great quote with me once “Sometimes the best form is the form that works best for you.”
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^^ And we have a winrar.
[quote]anonymous_burn wrote:
[/quote]
All you have demonstrated is that ANY grip can cause the bar to fall. Is the conclusion we should draw that benching is unsafe and so we shouldn’t do it?
This is a sport. In sports, you risk injury.
It looks like the guy in the 2nd video didn’t take any time to set up his grip. What I do is dig the bar into my palms, squeeze it, and then wrap my thumbs around. Seems to work.
Let’s end this thread by just saying:
There are benefits to both types of bench press grip and each person needs to find what works best for himself.
[quote]arramzy wrote:
Let’s end this thread by just saying:
There are benefits to both types of bench press grip and each person needs to find what works best for himself.
[/quote]
Why are you in such a hurry to end this thread dude? It’s a forum on powerlifting FFS, the fact that a discussion is happening is a GOOD thing, especially since we have multiple experienced perspectives here with Meat and Vinny.
You made your argument for why you think thumbless is a poor choice. Now others get to talk. It’s the exchange of ideas and information that made the internet such a great thing, and this thread is actually worthwhile compared to crap like “How do I reduce leg hypertrophy” or the toxic swamp that is the bodybuilding forum.
another benefit i find to thumbless over wrapped thumb is the fact that i can actually angle my hands when i bench. the bar isn’t sitting with my palms perpendicular to the bar. i actually rotate my palms out a little to activate the lats even more. i cast my wrists right below the bottom thumb nuckle which keeps my hands firmly stationary under the bar. the thumbless grip provides a huge amount of surface area to play around with with my grip.
i’ve never felt uncomfortable or unsafe with the grip. it all comes down to keeping your setup the same every time and treating all your sets from the heaviest to the lightest the same.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
[quote]arramzy wrote:
Let’s end this thread by just saying:
There are benefits to both types of bench press grip and each person needs to find what works best for himself.
[/quote]
Why are you in such a hurry to end this thread dude? It’s a forum on powerlifting FFS, the fact that a discussion is happening is a GOOD thing, especially since we have multiple experienced perspectives here with Meat and Vinny.
You made your argument for why you think thumbless is a poor choice. Now others get to talk. It’s the exchange of ideas and information that made the internet such a great thing, and this thread is actually worthwhile compared to crap like “How do I reduce leg hypertrophy” or the toxic swamp that is the bodybuilding forum.[/quote]
lol that is indeed an ‘interesting’ thread… All I was getting at is that we can clearly see many people arguing for each grip. The fact of the matter is that I made my personal case for why I choose to use thumbed bench, just like many people have made their point on thumbless benching. Each person is unique and I think they should be smart enough to think about both options and pick which is the best for them. We have obviously demonstrated that each can work just as well for a different person so it’s not like its wrong or right. That’s all I was getting at. More opinions are welcome but I frankly think my statement summarizes what anyone should get out of this thread.
I think what people should get out of this thread is all the variety of experiences with either grips and what specifically the pros and the cons are. To only know that there are benefits to either grip is not wortwhile, whereas meat’s post above speaking of how one can angle their hands more with a thumbless grip speaks to WHY someone would choose to use them.
I don’t see a need to end the thread, nor do I think a quick summery benefits anyone. This generation needs to spend more time reading, learning, growing, and having a discussion. Folks rely too much on “cliff notes”, when really a LOT can be gained from reading through the discussion and coming to your own conclusion.
Personally, I am going to use whatever is legal in the competition and whatever gets the most weight on the bar. If that involved standing on my head and wrapping my testicles around the plates, I would do it.
This thread goes along with the same arguements as “Zerchers will tear your biceps” or “good mornings are bad for your back.” Wanna know what the x-factor is? Get really really strong, take your time progressing in weight, and don’t train like a dumbass and the likelthood of injury goes down.
[quote]VTTrainer wrote:
I tend to think that it’s fine if you have good forearm strength. Dave Tate mentioned something about making sure you can still grip the fuck out of the bar when using a false grip. For me, I feel like it puts a lot of stress on the wrist. I use a false grip with military presses though[/quote]
Wendler also wrote that he used thumbless for military but he seemed hesitant on the bench. Or else I don’t think I would’ve even questioned it.
2 days ago I just did 5 RM on low incline and spres the fuck out of the bar on every set with thumbless. Seriously activated my triceps the whole time. I’m sticking to it.
[quote]vdizenzo wrote:
I have hit 600 raw multiple times in competitions in multiple classes. Never once raw has the weight come close to coming out of my hands. Just recently in a competition equipped, I felt the bar rolling out of my hands towards my body (not head) with 900 lbs at a competition. It was not a worthy bar to hold that amount of weight and I was smart enough to tell the spotters to take it when I felt it going. I also held the bar and assisted. That being said, I don’t think my thumbs would have been the saving grace with 900 lbs. When things are going bad, they are going bad. Have good spotters and make good decisions regardless of your grip.
Also, after having my torn bicep repaired, I tried to return to a full grip. I gave it many months yet was significantly weaker than when I went back to thumbless. Chad Wesley Smith shared a great quote with me once “Sometimes the best form is the form that works best for you.”[/quote]
This is the kind of knowledge that’s invaluable to have.
Thanks for sharing.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
another benefit i find to thumbless over wrapped thumb is the fact that i can actually angle my hands when i bench. the bar isn’t sitting with my palms perpendicular to the bar. i actually rotate my palms out a little to activate the lats even more. i cast my wrists right below the bottom thumb nuckle which keeps my hands firmly stationary under the bar. the thumbless grip provides a huge amount of surface area to play around with with my grip.
i’ve never felt uncomfortable or unsafe with the grip. it all comes down to keeping your setup the same every time and treating all your sets from the heaviest to the lightest the same. [/quote]
I noticed that as well; it’s easier to play with the right wrist angle without the thumb “in the way” so to speak.
One thing I need to notice more though is lat activation. I focus a lot on triceps and digging the heels so much I haven’t paid attention to this.
[quote]StormTheBeach wrote:
Personally, I am going to use whatever is legal in the competition and whatever gets the most weight on the bar. If that involved standing on my head and wrapping my testicles around the plates, I would do it.
This thread goes along with the same arguements as “Zerchers will tear your biceps” or “good mornings are bad for your back.” Wanna know what the x-factor is? Get really really strong, take your time progressing in weight, and don’t train like a dumbass and the likelthood of injury goes down.[/quote]
Thank you for this. You always seem to be a source of frank wisdom on this forum. This is what it come down to. As long as it’s legal, just do “whatever gets the most weight on the bar” and train smart so you don’t kill yourself.
[quote]StormTheBeach wrote:
Personally, I am going to use whatever is legal in the competition and whatever gets the most weight on the bar. If that involved standing on my head and wrapping my testicles around the plates, I would do it.
[/quote]
Can I ask for a video?
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]StormTheBeach wrote:
Personally, I am going to use whatever is legal in the competition and whatever gets the most weight on the bar. If that involved standing on my head and wrapping my testicles around the plates, I would do it.
[/quote]
Can I ask for a video?[/quote]
For some reason, youtube keeps taking that one down. I just don’t get it.
Reminds me of when my friend told me he’d be willing to go suck on a bull’s “tail” all the way to Spain if that’s what it would take to get him stronger.
I recently gave suicide grip on bench a more objective try. It made it easier to lift weight and I didn’t feel like it was stressing my shoulders either. I was playing with floor press and an empty bar comparing suicide and full grip and it appeared that suicide made the rom shorter. Any similar experiences?