elbow position for bench press

**gbharris** · 01-29-2009, 01:54 PM

I am an experienced lifter and have struggled with this for years. I go through spells were i tuck my elbows as close to my side as posible when i bench press as i have been told this is supposed to be the strongest position to push from for big weights. But, when i lift like this, i do not get very sore in my chest and feel like i am using too much triceps. I go through spells were i will bench with elbows out wide so that my arms are straight out 90 degress from my body. I feel very sore in the chest when i do this but my strength really suffers and it is bad on my joints when i try to go heavy. It would seem to me that somwhere in between would be best for both size and strenght but when i bench with my elbows at a 45 degree angle from my side (in between tightly tucked and straight out) most of my soreness the next day is in my front delts and when pressing it feels like it is really stretching my fronts delts. So, Which is the best elbow position for both maximum strenght and chest growth for thickness? I have gone back and forth between powerlifting and bodybuilding over the years and i know that for powerlifting, tucked elbow are best. My question is, if i tuck my elbows tight when benching, will i still get as much chest size compared to elbows at a 45 or 90 angle to my side? Thanks for any opinions.