Wrist Pain with Bench Press

Bigger Stronger Leaner Injuries and Rehab
1

Im unsure where to post this but this section seemed appropriate.
Im an intermediate lifter(bench 325, ohp 205, squat 410, deadlift 405)

Ive lifted most of my adult life off and on but two years ago i got more serious about it and started making it a priority. So for the last year Ive been training mainly for strength.

I started with linear progression using sets like 5x10 and through the year i progressed to 5/3/1. With lifting closer to my 1rm on a more regular basis, ive started getting wrist pain on bench press on the right only.

It feels like the wrist bones aren’t locked in place and when i put bar pressure on it they mash down. The pain is pretty sharp and causes me to readjust under the bar. I have no idea what im doing wrong but ive been contemplating cycling back to 5x10 and sropping the 1rm percentage down to 65-75% and taking a “break” for a few months

Ive experimented with adjusting my grip but it hasn’t helped

Overhead press doesn’t seem to effect it in the same way.

2

You might be holding the bar high up (towards fingers/knuckles) in your hand, and/or tilting your wrist back. You want to have the bar resting on the lower portion of your palm, there are some “how to bench” videos and articles out there that would explain this more. You can also use wrist wraps, that will minimize the strain on your wrist but you still need to grip the bar properly.

3

Not sure if i am. Once i started lifting heavier I changed from a thumbless grip to conventional. But ive never had wrist pain before.

4

If you’re a believer, you could try some bench press isometrics.

Squeeze the bar really tight tight and push super hard into the pins. It should only take a few pushes to figure out the best/strongest way to stack up your wrist and forearm.

5

Sounds like you probably don’t know how to properly hold the bar.