Does wide grip bench press lead to injury? I had an exercise science professor teach us never to do anything wider than medium grip bench press because wide grip would lead to shoulder joint injury over time. I'd like to incorporate wide grip bench into my training but I don't know if I will get fukkd from doing that. Anyone know anything more about this?
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08-27-2021, 03:35 AM #1
Does wide grip bench press lead to injury?
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08-27-2021, 03:47 AM #2
"To potentially minimize the risk of injury, the bench press should be performed with a grip ≤1.5 biacromial width to maintain shoulder abduction within 45° (8, 10)."
https://basratprod.blob.core.windows...urnal_2007.pdf
Lead to injury? Nope! Maybe increase the risk of injury, according to science.
But, you know... YOLO. Just kidding!I like to learn from the mistakes of the people who take my advice.
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08-27-2021, 05:21 AM #3
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08-27-2021, 06:49 AM #4
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This will vary person to person. Some do great with it, others not so much. Don't think there's any set rules here to apply to every single person.
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08-27-2021, 06:58 AM #5
A wide grip with mostly flared elbows has always felt the most natural for me, and only one time have I ever had a shoulder issue from benching: after stopping presses altogether for two months during the lockdown last year, I reattempted to press too heavy, too soon, and had a mild/moderate pain in my shoulder for about two weeks. Dropped the weight and worked through it, making sure not to use it as an excuse to stop benching, and it went away completely with no trace.
That said, I'd just be careful and not attempt significantly more than you know you can do. If you ease into it, and experience no issues, then I wouldn't worry about it at all. Also, if you have longer arms, a normal grip relative to your frame will appear "wide" on the bar, but your own relative joint leverages across the range of motion are what defines this.Bench: 350
Squat: 405
Deadlift: 505
"... But always, there remained, the discipline of steel!"
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08-27-2021, 08:33 AM #6
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08-27-2021, 10:42 AM #7
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Narrow and tucked has consistently been more injuruous to me.
Wide has been my default when working around minor bicep injuries.
For what its worth my very experienced coach has also observed similar.
Worth adding, poor load selection being the main cause of injury, varying your grip by a large amount without significantly reducing the load may well lead to injury. Which may be why we see some people who only benched narrow jump to max width, get hurt and then falsely attribute the grip width to the injury.5 day full body crew
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08-27-2021, 10:44 AM #8
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08-27-2021, 10:56 AM #9
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08-27-2021, 10:59 AM #10
Well, I've seen this often in the gym "you'll add 15 pounds man if you just learn to tuck your elbows," etc., and I'm honestly not sure whether or not that's true. Whenever I try it, it's a much weaker press, but that could be neural adaptation or technique that I'm lacking. It's still shoulder abduction so I doubt it uses any of the relevant muscles more, overall.
Bench: 350
Squat: 405
Deadlift: 505
"... But always, there remained, the discipline of steel!"
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08-27-2021, 12:13 PM #11
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08-27-2021, 12:23 PM #12
When I first started lifting, I found I'd put my elbows really close to my sides and bring the bar low. I thought I was supposed to have my elbows out, but my shoulders wouldn't let me so I did it "my way". Then I realized most stuff online recommends ~45 degrees and "my way" was only slightly closer to my sides. A few months ago I was doing close grip and it was almost as strong as regular grip.
Lately I've been having some pretty significant left shoulder pain I've been meaning to try and figure out. Might be creeping my shoulders wider lately... Idk. Or maybe just using all delts. Delts are always the first to fatigue. Every few months I have to try and troubleshoot something and it gets annoying.2022 -- Just maintaining and doing the van life
April 2021.................16 week cut.................168 lbs
2020......................375 / 285 / 505..............186 lbs
Pre-COVID..............335 / 295 / 499..............185 lbs
July 1, 2019................9 week cut.................164 lbs
Late April 2019.........285 / 275 / 440.............178 lbs
Oct, 2018..............175x6 / 145x6 / 275x5......163 lbs
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08-28-2021, 07:45 PM #13
I like to do all my horizontal presses on the ground, so i've never had any problems arise from grip widths. Be it wide or narrow, they always feel really good. I've tried benchpressing before, but I never really felt as strong and stable as when done from the floor. I guess in a rack with safeties set at a correct height i'd feel better about using a bench with, but floor press has always served me well I think.
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08-28-2021, 07:55 PM #14
Not a matter of the exercise it's more a matter of your posterior leveraging. I feel like a lot of people it's going to be a matter of your particular tensile coordination at the back, but it is possible train from quite a disposition from optimal power widths inclusive of keeping regard for hypertrophy stimulus emphasis on the target muscle.
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08-29-2021, 09:54 AM #15
I think your more prone to a possible injury with shoulder or outer pec strain/tear.
That being said there is no rule other than be careful,don't max out with the wide grip,and go for a feel for bodybuilding purposes.
Many old school bodybuilders did these for the outer pec line.
There is a picture somewhere of Sergio Oliva doing them with a collar to collar grip on the bar.
I would just experiment and see how they feel for you and be aware of any weird feelings that might happen.
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