How wide you should keep your grip while bench pressing?

[funk51]

seno

[bladerunner]

having a wide grip and/or flaring your elbow out will put too much strain on your shoulders risking injury..

with bench pressing of course triceps will always be involved.but most important thing to think is safety.

the safest way is to keep elbows at a 45 degrees angle from the body;when you lower the bar keep it a couple of inches off your chest,think for instance of a floor press.your elbows couldnt go any lower than the floor..

at the beginning your poundage will go down of course, as triceps are more involved than flaring your elbows out,but you ll get stronger soon anyway and will be able to bench press more and blast your chest... but most important you will stay safe

after all,for any chest exercise isnt it about bringing your arm from a 90 degrees angle horizontal abduction to horizontal adduction?

[Dr Dutch]

Here's what Bodybuilding Anatomy by Nick Evans says about the barbell bench press:

Hand spacing: The ideal hand spacing is shoulder with or slightly wider. A narrow (close) grip emphasizes the inner pectorals and also targets the triceps. Wider grip target the outer section of the muscle and minimize triceps contribution. IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO EMPHASIZE THE "INNER PECTORALS"

Trajectory: The bar should move vertically up and down from the middle chest (nipple area). Flare your elbows out as the bar is lowered to maximize pectoral isolation. IT SHOULD MOVE A BIT TOWARDS THE HEAD WHEN GOING UP. AND FLARING OUT TO MUCH MAKES THE ROTATOR CUFF VULNERABLE.

Range of motion: A shorter rep terminating the press just before lockout keeps tension on the pectorals and reduces the amount of triceps assistance. *my note: jay cutler does this*

Grip: An underhand (supinated) grip on the bar switches the focus to the triceps. USELESS

Close-grip bench press: Perform the exercise with hands spaced approximately 6 inches (15 cm) apart. The narrow grip targets the inner pecs and works the triceps. NOT INNER PECS

Also, he doesn't mention this here, but yeah the wider you go the greater the stretch but also the greater the risk to injury.

THIS

[bladerunner]

THIS

YES!!!!X2!!!!

[Meso_z]

YES!!!!X2!!!!

Yes I feel it on my pecs....the strech, like somthing bad is going to happen lol...I cant stablize the bar as good as having a narrower grip.

[Primemuscle]

I vary the grip from time to time. Really narrow benches may work your triceps but it also works your inner pecs.

On chest day, which is tomorrow, I do flat benches, incline presses and decline presses. I vary the grip on these which seems to work the entire pec area. To finish off, I do flys and pullovers. When I am done, my pecs are really pumped as you might imagine. Sometimes I add in cable flys. I really squeeze my pecs when I bring my arms into the center. I am trying to increase my inner pecs, obviously.

On way to keep shoulder involvement to a minimum is to work you delts the day before. This way they are too tired to get involved. LOL.

I took a month off from the gym. I started back on Monday this week. I have really been hitting it hard. Feels fucking great! But I am sore. Love that feeling!