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Just what the title asks. Should you bench press with your elbows at a 90 degree angle (as in 90 degrees from your body, not from going down on the press) and not hit your chest or have your elbows in a little and touch your chest?
The reason I ask is because I have always touched my chest and had my elbows slightly in but a trainer at the gym I go to told me to keep my elbows out and to not touch my chest.
do whatever you feel better, elbows out is using more chest and elbows in more triceps
The trainer's right. Once you are within 3 inches or so of your chest it puts a lot of strain on your rotator cuff and can very easily cause injury. It won't hinder chest development to stop slightly away from touching. You only NEED to touch if you're training for some sort of PL event.
You should keep your elbows out unless trying to hit the triceps with a close-grip in which case they should be by your sides.
Elbows should really be near a 45 degree angle to avoid shoulder injury, you want to really get almost below your chest
[QUOTE=alex493;895708751]Elbows should really be near a 45 degree angle to avoid shoulder injury, you want to really get almost below your chest[/QUOTE]
What do you mean below your chest?
[QUOTE=super2333;895715511]What do you mean below your chest?[/QUOTE]
Barbell in line with your nipples kinda
I also ask this because my grip is somewhat narrow and i lift pretty heavy, repping 285x6, 3 sets. (I use a a thumb length away from the smooth part of the bar, can't really explain it better than that).
[QUOTE=super2333;895723371]I also ask this because my grip is somewhat narrow and i lift pretty heavy, repping 285x6, 3 sets. (I use a a thumb length away from the smooth part of the bar, can't really explain it better than that).[/QUOTE]
Use a wider grip
Your elbows should be "tucked" in, they shouldn't flare out and touch your chest.
Depends on your goals.
Mass gaining: You're training your chest with the bench press, so you want to flare your elbows out to about 90 degrees, and really feel the tension in your pecs.
Powerlifting: 45 degree angle, you're using a bit more delt and a lot more triceps, more of a primal movement than the bodybuilding form.
Strogman: WTF are you benching for? Overhead press.
good advice ^
I disagree with pretty much everything in this thread. Flaring your elbows is asking for a shoulder injury. Don't tuck them excessively like a shirted bencher, but you should have a moderate tuck and you should touch around your upper abs. A small arch in your back will protect your shoulders a bit more and bring chest into the movement a bit more.