Benchpress debate: Normal/Widearm, weights/set

[God Like]

hey zok, heres a question

when using benchpress are you a wide arm person or put your hands closer when lifting weights?

I have my hands close together, i find it easier than widearm but my friend likes widearm and says its better for building chest muscle...is this true?

Do you focus on lifting heavy weights with few reps or rather lower weights and more reps?


I lift heavy weights and can only do around 5-6. When i am able to do 10 reps per set without failing, i increase the weight and start again.

what about you?

[J-Mak]

hey zok, heres a question

when using benchpress are you a wide arm person or put your hands closer when lifting weights?

Hands closer. Im not sure if its better or not.


Do you focus on lifting heavy weights with few reps or rather lower weights and more reps?


Heavy weights.. with few reps.
I will lurk this post to see see if:
Heavy weights > light weights more reps
or not.

[Resign the King]

I just started benchpressing recently. I was taught to use a wider grip, maybe I will try and see how a closer grip feels next time I'm at the gym. Personally I do about five reps heavy weight.

[lazarus]

Depends really... obviously (as a general rule), closer grips will use the triceps more and wider grips will use them less. I generally put my arms wide enough that my biceps are parallel with the bar at the bottom of the lift.

[blackhype]

I always thought a wider grip aims more towards the chest and a narrow grip aims more towards the bi's and tri's.

[HeWhoNeverSleeps]

I too have my arms wider when I benchpress, but also put my arms closer together when I mix it up. It makes for lesser reps, but I can definitely feel the strain. Also curious to see which method is better..

[Mr.Happy]

Wide arm, heavy weight/low reps. Repeat with progressively fewer reps per set 'til complete exhaustion.

[SlowBurn]

Most Olympic bars have marking where the outside or inside of your palm should rest.

Use what you would consider a "medium" grip for best chest results. Close grip really torques on your triceps. Wide grip rips on your shoulders more.

IMO wide grip is more likely to cause strain/injury. I'd steer clear, but if you just have to do them keep it on the lighter side.

Stick with a close-medium grip :thumbsup:

Sidenote Offtopic: NEVER OVERTRAIN. GOOGLE THIS TERM: OVERTRAINING

[postdiluvium]

So a competitive weight lifter comes around during the time I'm in the gym sometimes. He's not a body builder, but I kind of give him credit for actually competing in weight lifting. So he should understand some kind of science behind it. From what he told me is that the half of the positive or negative that is close to your chest is the actually part of the lift that focuses more on your chest muscles. The part when your arms are more extended works on your arms more. So he said a good way of concentrating on your chest muscles would be to do a bunch of half reps (the half closer to your chest) followed by a few full reps per set. That and heavy dumbbell flies. He said doing those, you imagine yourself bear hugging a thick tree.

[master killer]

Most Olympic bars have marking where the outside or inside of your palm should rest.

Use what you would consider a "medium" grip for best chest results. Close grip really torques on your triceps. Wide grip rips on your shoulders more.

IMO wide grip is more likely to cause strain/injury. I'd steer clear, but if you just have to do them keep it on the lighter side.

Stick with a close-medium grip :thumbsup:

Sidenote Offtopic: NEVER OVERTRAIN. GOOGLE THIS TERM: OVERTRAINING

As long as you overhead press along with benching, you'll be fine.
And use the marking on the bar, I generally just use a grip where my forearms are perpendicular to the floor when the bar touches my chest.

[master killer]

So a competitive weight lifter comes around during the time I'm in the gym sometimes. He's not a body builder, but I kind of give him credit for actually competing in weight lifting. So he should understand some kind of science behind it. From what he told me is that the half of the positive or negative that is close to your chest is the actually part of the lift that focuses more on your chest muscles. The part when your arms are more extended works on your arms more. So he said a good way of concentrating on your chest muscles would be to do a bunch of half reps (the half closer to your chest) followed by a few full reps per set. That and heavy dumbbell flies. He said doing those, you imagine yourself bear hugging a thick tree.

That guy is full of shit.
That's like saying you should do half squats because they "work your legs more".

And if he is actually a weightlifter, why would he know shit about the benchpress?

[beergoggles]

I use a very wide grip because I have very broad shoulders and long arms. So relatively speaking I use what would be a normal grip for me. I place my middle finger over the outside line on the olympic bar.

As far as weights I do high-weight, high-rep. I do usually 12,12,10 or 12,10,8 for my reps with the weight increasing each time, and I go to failure on the last set. I make sure to put enough weight on there so that the last reps are absolute torture.

I don't do bench-press too often because of problems with a pinched nerve in my neck effecting the strength of my triceps. I stick more with dumbbell presses.

[master killer]

I use a very wide grip because I have very broad shoulders and long arms. So relatively speaking I use what would be a normal grip for me. I place my middle finger over the outside line on the olympic bar.

As far as weights I do high-weight, high-rep. I do usually 12,12,10 or 12,10,8 for my reps with the weight increasing each time, and I go to failure on the last set. I make sure to put enough weight on there so that the last reps are absolute torture.

I don't do bench-press too often because of problems with a pinched nerve in my neck effecting the strength of my triceps. I stick more with dumbbell presses.


Pushups and dips for you, kind sir. :mad:

[beergoggles]

Pushups and dips for you, kind sir. :mad:

I do dips with 85lbs strapped to a dipping belt ;) Shit, if I can I'll post a vid if you don't believe me. I'd just feel like an idiot filming myself in the gym :(

My bench is by no means weak, but I don't have any explosiveness and sometimes the triceps poop out and I can't lift anymore.

Dips use back muscles and pec muscles as well as triceps so I seem to have less of a problem with these.

As far as the weakness in my triceps it's something I've worked very hard to adjust. I have a disc out of alignment in my neck and it's pinching a nerve. This causes not only numbness in my arms but weakness as well.

[master killer]

I do dips with 85lbs strapped to a dipping belt ;) Shit, if I can I'll post a vid if you don't believe me. I'd just feel like an idiot filming myself in the gym :(

My bench is by no means weak, but I don't have any explosiveness and sometimes the triceps poop out and I can't lift anymore.

Dips use back muscles and pec muscles as well as triceps so I seem to have less of a problem with these.

As far as the weakness in my triceps it's something I've worked very hard to adjust. I have a disc out of alignment in my neck and it's pinching a nerve. This causes not only numbness in my arms but weakness as well.

Nice one.

Have you tried ring dips?

But yeah, I had an arm injury that wouldn't let me bench, it still bothers me from time to time.

And film yourself if you can.

It's not that I don't believe you, but it would be cool to see those dips. :cool:

[beergoggles]

It's not that I don't believe you, but it would be cool to see those dips. :cool:

Alright, I will post them then. I just did them today so my next tricep workout will probably be on Thursday. I'll PM it to you.

[master killer]

Alright, I will post them then. I just did them today so my next tricep workout will probably be on Thursday. I'll PM it to you.

Nice. :)

But deliver, or I'll switch your whey for laxatives when you aren't looking. :mad:

[beergoggles]

Nice. :)

But deliver, or I'll switch your whey for laxatives when you aren't looking. :mad:

Just switch whey isolate for whey concentrate. I'm lactose intolerant :(

[master killer]

Just switch whey isolate for whey concentrate. I'm lactose intolerant :(

Oh.

To what degree? :)

[beergoggles]

Oh.

To what degree? :)

To the point where even the whey isolate, which has very little lactose, gives me the worst smelling farts ever.

[master killer]

To the point where even the whey isolate, which has very little lactose, gives me the worst smelling farts ever.

Hahaha.

So no milk for you, then?

[beergoggles]

Hahaha.

So no milk for you, then?

No sir. I hate the stuff anywho.

[master killer]

No sir. I hate the stuff anywho.

Well, it has a lot of protein, fat and a little extra something called IGF-1, which is an awesome hormone.

Have you tried lactose-free?

[PROJECT PAT]

this has probably been said already.

wide arms builds more chest muscles

close arms builds your triceps more.

[BiggLJ]

As far as weights I do high-weight, high-rep. I do usually 12,12,10 or 12,10,8 for my reps with the weight increasing each time, and I go to failure on the last set. I make sure to put enough weight on there so that the last reps are absolute torture.

There's no such thing as high weight, high rep. If you can do a lot of reps then obviously the weight isn't that heavy for you.

[beergoggles]

There's no such thing as high weight, high rep. If you can do a lot of reps then obviously the weight isn't that heavy for you.

Watch Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, and Markus Ruhl workout and tell me that's not true. It IS heavy weight, but I push myself almost beyond my limits. I do three forced reps when most people would give up because "their set is done and it hurts".

I always go to failure and many times do forced reps. It's how I get the best results.

[BiggLJ]

Watch Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, and Markus Ruhl workout and tell me that's not true. It IS heavy weight, but I push myself almost beyond my limits. I do three forced reps when most people would give up because "their set is done and it hurts".

I always go to failure and many times do forced reps. It's how I get the best results.

It doesn't matter whether it's heavy to the average Joe. It's about what's heavy for you, and if you can do 12 reps with it (legit reps, without a bunch of bullshit forced reps), it's not heavy for you, you're doing medium reps with a medium weight. If Ronnie Coleman benches 300lbs for 20 reps, he's doing high reps/light weight, because it's light for him.