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Your Best Bench Press Grip

Here's how to determine the ideal grip width on bench press to maximize upper body power and strength and keep your shoulder joints healthy. All it takes is one simple formula.

Your Best Bench Press Grip

The barbell bench press is one of the most polarizing exercises you can find. Pretty much everyone agrees that it's a great move for building maximal upper body pressing strength. But the bench press "haters" will say the exercise is a surefire way to hurt your shoulders and possibly tear a pec muscle.

Not if you do it correctly!

The position of your upper arms (where your elbows are pointing) is the key to a safe and effective bench press. You don't want your elbows pointing straight out to the sides with your upper arms perpendicular to your torso; not only does this put undue stress on the shoulder joints, but it limits your pressing power and strength.

Here's an example of TOO WIDE OF A GRIP on bench press. For the sake of your shoulder joint health, this is what NOT TO DO.

The sweet spot for your upper arms on bench press is somewhere between a 30-60-degree angle with your torso. This is not only a more stable position for the shoulders, but it also allows you to use more of your lats. Yes, the bench press is primarily a chest exercise (with the shoulders and triceps playing direct roles as well), but the more total muscles you have helping out, the more weight you'll be able to lift.

Here's the CORRECT upper arm angle for the strongest and safest possible bench press:

Long story short, it all starts with the grip. If your hands are too wide, you won't be able to tuck your elbows in enough. If your grip is too narrow, you're doing close-grip bench – a great triceps exercise, but not exactly the best way to push the most weight.

So how do you know what the right grip is? My favorite way to figure it out is through a simple formula that incorporates your "biacromial distance."

You have protruding bumps on either side of your shoulders called the acromion processes. The distance between these bumps is your biacromial distance. Mine, for example, is 14 inches.

Take the biacromial distance and multiple it by 1.5, and that's your ideal bench press grip width. In my case, it's 21 inches. So when I do bench, that's how far apart I space my hands. From the middle of the bar, I'll measure out 10.5 inches to each side, and that's where my thumbs will hit (not my pinkies).

Not much to it. Just a simple formula:

Biacromial Distance x 1.5 = Ideal Bench Press Grip Width

Next time bench day rolls around (and every time you bench press thereafter), lock into that grip for maximal power and strength – plus the piece of mind that you're doing everything you can to keep your shoulders healthy.

Here's the full video of me explaining the biacromial distance formula and why it's the best way to bench:

 


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