@@fernandoluengo9045 Absolutely. You have to hot that sweet spot for your physiological build. Then the stress is more even proportioned between the pecs delts and triceps.
I just tried this grip. The deviation from what I was using less than 0.75 inch HOWEVER, the effect was AMAZING. Much more natural. Less shoulder impingement too. Thank you, MARK!
Holy shit, same. My hands shifted out at most an inch, but when I hit the max range of motion I didn't feel the 'pinch' in my left shoulder like I have my whole life.
Great tip. I tried it out today and my bench efficiency increased by a significant margin. Not only that, but it felt smoother and more natural. You guys are doing great work. Thanks.
This is excellent, there's an article in SS website about the close grip bench press that is also very enlightening. I haven't measured the central part of the bar in my gym, but narrowing the stance a bit has absolutely fixed my elbow/shoulder discomfort. My bench is progressing again after being stalled for a while and my elbow and shoulder are getting noticeably better. This man is a treasure!
Not going to lie , the way he simplifies lifts has made me 10x better than I was . Everyone else tries to break it down almost too much over complicating things
This is great, thank you! I was just in the middle of my 531 session and thought I should look into my current width and find out the ideal. Turns out I was using wide-grip. Your explanation saved me from having to break out the tape measure so thank you!
I have always opted, in terms of bodybuilding, for a slightly wider grip vs vertical forearm. I want my pecs to work a little harder then my triceps. Something like 60% chest stress and 40% triceps stress. Works for me anyway!
I will try this but it also depends on whether every bench knurl gap or whatever is equal. You may have to measure 16.5 inches and then do the hand over hand thing if your bar smoothness/knurl ratio is different. But, I'm trying this tomorrow during my incline bench routine.
holy fucking shit,crazy how a simple adjustment can make you feel so much more comfortable bench pressing,i always hated it because of the stress on everything but my actual chest!tried it for fun today and it felt so smooth and controlled,obviously i was doing it wrong this whole time
Oh, guess I've been doing a "close grip" bench press then -- I line up with the edges of my index fingers just touching those 16.5" lines where the smooth parts of the bar meet the knurl. Will try this wider grip next warmup and ask someone at the gym to tell me whether my forearms are vertical, from the side and looking from my feet as well.
That was great. I have kinda started my own gym for friends and fam. I was getting a bit lost but you’re video has been an awesome refresher. Thank you 👍🏻
I’ve been doing this grip since reading SS way back when, but I’ve found that my triceps have become much overall stronger than my chest in this movement
The legend, I remember when I started lifting I came across some sht on 4chan a decade plus ago about some workout routine that seemed strange at the time that none of my coaches agreed with, I stuck to it for 3 months from 145 bench to 225, though I did modify it a bit by training 5 to 6 times a week I definitely made a sht ton more progress than anybody else in my strength and conditioning class
Also is you hold your thumb out , the width of the hand is same as the length of thumb from wrist ... instead of reaching up to grab then moving hands out to grab again
My grip is noticeably wider what is recommended here, and am experiencing some discomfort in my left shoulder joint. My left shoulder about a year ago was irritated before this instant and i think that the leading cause of that was also too wide of a grip. I'm going to see if this helps!
Hm. If you define the effective range of motion as the vertical distance traveled by the bar, the grip that produces the longest range of motion is the grip that generates a vertical forearm at the top of the movement, isn’t it? For it’s the grip that brings the bar as high as possible. And it would be a narrower grip. I do like the narrower grip personally.
The way I've seen SS teach the bench, there's a vertical forearm on the top and bottom of the movement since the bar travels diagonally/in an arch rather than straight up and down. I think their point is longest effective range of motion too
Doing so reduces the amount of shoulder abduction and so reduces the amount of work being taken up by the pectoral muscles. We bench with the standard grip width for its global effect on the upper body musculature. The close grip is an excellent assistance exercise but the reasons for programming one over the other is fairly clear.
Only if your touch point or arch changes, I think..... Hold these two points constant: arch (z-axis,) and touch point (y-axis.) And the plane created by vertical forearms is in the x-axis. Then only one solution, geometrically speaking, is possible.
Been saying this for YEARS to anyone that asks me for bench advice, yet CrossFit coaches wanna teach people to use their clean grip width. I position my hands for a vertical forearm and out bench people that are close to 100lbs more than I weigh and still set personal bests while others and their narrow grip can’t ever seem to make progress.
Very helpful. Personally I don't think it's necessary for powerlifting meets to make a vertical forearm rule. My grip is very normal, and I do see some powerlifters with a huge arch and extremely wide grip, where they're going for the shortest range of motion possible, but to each their own. People who bench like that probably aren't going to get as much out of their workouts as I do, and their numbers would almost certainly be way down if they tried to bench like I do, but that's their problem.
You can achieve vertical forearms by visualizing bending the bar or attempting to in your mind. But whatever works for you. Whatever Rip talks about he is usually right.
That will only achieve vertical from a front view (if I understand what you say as a cue for tucking). If the grip is wrong, they won't be vertical from a side view.
@D B no this would be in your head basically but if you wanted to break it all the way down to the bare bones with a coach and cue everything then yeah I guess it could be a cue
Now that i starded lifting and buying weigths noticed that some standars bench press do not have a wide bar holders? They are more closer together . Guess only the big Olympic bench press are wider. Don't know if matters i just prefer it that way.
Reminds me of one of the kindest teachers I had in High school , my weight training teacher. I'm missing my right hand up to the wrist so when I bench it's hard to calculate the grip on my wrist side since I have no hand I have to imagine the grip and look at my elbow position.
Because it allows eliminating judge participation in the lift. Similar to a Strengthlifting meet, it could allow all three lifts to be performed by the lifter without any commands from the judge, leaving it the lifter's responsibility alone to adhere to the rules.
Why touch and go for a meet? Surely that’ll just incentivise excessive slamming and rebounding of the bar off the chest to lift more weight, which looks just as bad as the wide grip, tiny range of motion benches currently in powerlifting that Rip detests
Egregious bouncing doesn't work as well when the weight is heavy. If you really want to keep it aesthetic, you could probably just ban heaving/collapsing. Additionally, perhaps the heels can't go behind the butt.
@Max Mustermann arch height easier to judge than touch and go? The forearm vertical grip: why did we care so much? Isnt it just about how much you can lift from the bench?
😇 Nice one! Using our online training program, we teach people how to incorporate exercise with the special needs population. Check out our website and keep it as a resource 🤗 😇
That's ridiculous. You can maintain vertical forearms when the bar is touching the chest by simply flaring the elbows to literally however wide you want to go until the bar is over your clavicle. The bar simply slides up or down the chest to accommodate. Even out there, you can maintain vertical forearms, although not advisable... That's not a guide... If you DONT have vertical forearms, you *will* eventually hurt yourself, tearing something in your shoulder.... What he *probably* meant to say was vertical forearms at the top (?). But that's not necessary and is arbitrary. I'm sure Rip would coach somebody correctly in person. But that explanation of "vertical forearms" just confuses people.
@@ChernobylAudio666 you're such an alpha. Insulting people on the internet. Your mother must be proud... That's the true sign of dominance after all--name calling somebody who is a safe distance from you. Real tough hombre. Of course, it's also an insult using stock Rip cult terminology. Which makes it more weak-kneed. You're not even your own man. You're a little kid on a playground, rushing in because somebody said something about your daddy. But.. got it. Peacock away with your small weenie. You don't know me, but my bench press is doing just fine, brother. Not weight dropping, I'll just say I finish somewhere in the top 5 in most meets I'm in on bench. I can have an opinion.
@@johnh6928 not misunderstanding anything other than that he's being confusing. ~00:20 - 00:48:... It's just wrong. Or he explains it very poorly. You only simply have to rotate your arms outward to compensate for a wider grip, or inward for a narrow one to maintain vertical forearms. That's not complicated... That's not an effective reference point discussion. There's no "pulling the elbows up," if you allow that the reference point of bar location on the chest is allowed to slide where it needs to be. If instead, you lock the bar on one position on your chest, then sure, you'll end up with un-vertical forearms and be a weirdo. But that's not how anybody who benches wide or narrow does it. The rest of it is fine where he's talking about reference point measuring. Ok.... But my point is that whole business about "vertical forearms" and "pulls the the elbows up" is confusing at best, wrong at worst.... Since this is a tutorial reference video, it's relevant to comment on how it was explained.
By "vertical" Rip actually means orthogonal to the floor. You can produce this in bottom position for grip widths between shoulder width and ellbow span by adjusting the touching point on the chest, and this will be unique for a chosen grip. Thus Rip is right in the sense that if you keep a constant touching point, there will be exactly one grip producing "vertical forearms". He is not right with the "max range of motion" part, because that would obviously be a shoulder wide grip, maximizing bar travel distance, but resulting in a very low touching point on the torso for "vertical forearms".
Update6 months and I'm still loving this bench. ruclips.net/user/postUgkxo_64lVTGMk7y4aXTPxPOcQ3YTLyQ6kYV I use it almost daily. I've gotten used to the small wobble and it's no problem at all. Love the storage, it folds right next to my weight set in the garage and hardly takes any space. I wish the covering material was a little bit tougher. I have a feeling that in a couple years it'll tear, but the bench is very well priced that I would just buy a new one.3 month usage review. Awesome bench for someone looking for compactness and storage. I did have to drill a couple holes to adjust my preferred seating position and leg bar position but that's only due to my personal preference. It's very sturdy for normal workouts, but for anyone going above 100# dumbbell press it wobbles ever so slightly. I would probably go with a fixed bench if that's the case. That being said i can accomplish 99% of my normal gym workout with this setup. Very happy with the purchase.
This grip completely alleviated the shoulder pain I was feeling while doing bench press!
@Max Mustermann I was, actually. Just about an inch and a half, but just enough apparently.
@@TestarossaMusicista Nearly everyone does it. I do it. Nearly all the heavier lifters at the gym I go to, do it. It is a very hard habit to break.
Year old so id be surprised if you responded but i think ive been benching too wide too. Did you start benching less weight when you made it closer?
Same to me, a little close grip alleviated 70% of my shoulder pain
@@fernandoluengo9045
Absolutely. You have to hot that sweet spot for your physiological build. Then the stress is more even proportioned between the pecs delts and triceps.
I’m just excited to hear greeeup
Wahd greeup
Bro said greeeup with so much intensity.
I didnt know wtf u were talking about until 30 seconds into the vid, then completely lost it
Cannot unhear
I just tried this grip. The deviation from what I was using less than 0.75 inch HOWEVER,
the effect was AMAZING. Much more natural. Less shoulder impingement too.
Thank you, MARK!
Holy shit, same. My hands shifted out at most an inch, but when I hit the max range of motion I didn't feel the 'pinch' in my left shoulder like I have my whole life.
Great tip. I tried it out today and my bench efficiency increased by a significant margin. Not only that, but it felt smoother and more natural. You guys are doing great work. Thanks.
This is excellent, there's an article in SS website about the close grip bench press that is also very enlightening. I haven't measured the central part of the bar in my gym, but narrowing the stance a bit has absolutely fixed my elbow/shoulder discomfort. My bench is progressing again after being stalled for a while and my elbow and shoulder are getting noticeably better. This man is a treasure!
Rip makes sence every time. It's starts to be rare set of skills these days
Gotta love rip for all he’s done for people. Can’t wait to try this out!
Not going to lie , the way he simplifies lifts has made me 10x better than I was . Everyone else tries to break it down almost too much over complicating things
0:23 THE GREEUP WEEUDTH.
😂
This is great, thank you! I was just in the middle of my 531 session and thought I should look into my current width and find out the ideal. Turns out I was using wide-grip. Your explanation saved me from having to break out the tape measure so thank you!
This was a big problem for me initally until I did something similar but using tip of my thumb (on edge of knurling) to determine the grip width.
I have always opted, in terms of bodybuilding, for a slightly wider grip vs vertical forearm. I want my pecs to work a little harder then my triceps. Something like 60% chest stress and 40% triceps stress. Works for me anyway!
Turns out I've basically been doing this grip by default because I simply wanted bigger triceps.
Sick.
feels so much better too. That wide grip be making me feel a lil discomfort
??? Triceps close grip is narrower than that. Just outside of shoulders.
I will try this but it also depends on whether every bench knurl gap or whatever is equal. You may have to measure 16.5 inches and then do the hand over hand thing if your bar smoothness/knurl ratio is different. But, I'm trying this tomorrow during my incline bench routine.
Great, going to use this!
Imma try it today thanks sir
Simple yet effective. Thank you.
Ty this help alot
holy fucking shit,crazy how a simple adjustment can make you feel so much more comfortable bench pressing,i always hated it because of the stress on everything but my actual chest!tried it for fun today and it felt so smooth and controlled,obviously i was doing it wrong this whole time
Oh, guess I've been doing a "close grip" bench press then -- I line up with the edges of my index fingers just touching those 16.5" lines where the smooth parts of the bar meet the knurl. Will try this wider grip next warmup and ask someone at the gym to tell me whether my forearms are vertical, from the side and looking from my feet as well.
That was great. I have kinda started my own gym for friends and fam. I was getting a bit lost but you’re video has been an awesome refresher. Thank you 👍🏻
I’ve been doing this grip since reading SS way back when, but I’ve found that my triceps have become much overall stronger than my chest in this movement
I used this method last time I benched, the DOMS are real! Thanks you Mark Rippetoe.
Thank-you! I used this while in the gym 🏋️♀️
The legend, I remember when I started lifting I came across some sht on 4chan a decade plus ago about some workout routine that seemed strange at the time that none of my coaches agreed with, I stuck to it for 3 months from 145 bench to 225, though I did modify it a bit by training 5 to 6 times a week I definitely made a sht ton more progress than anybody else in my strength and conditioning class
Thanks so much
Awesome video Rip. I’m going to test out this method tomorrow :)
I usually just put my pinky fingers on the ring between the knurling. Bars in my gym only have one ring on each side, not two like shown here.
Thanks rip this is a great video thanks 😊
Awesome vid! I have really wide broad shoulders and this helped so much!
Great tip! Thanks
Thankyou mark
Best videos. Best tutorials
I've been grabbing the bar at the outer kerning hand inwards which is too wide by this definition. I'll try this next time I bench.
Thanks Grip!
This is the grip width I use
BUT WHAT ABOUT incline bench and ohp? Should we keep it the same or go more narrow ?
Thanks
Standard grip position is simply two times the length of ur clavicle (end to end).
Also is you hold your thumb out , the width of the hand is same as the length of thumb from wrist ... instead of reaching up to grab then moving hands out to grab again
Very important information..
Tnks coach...
My grip is noticeably wider what is recommended here, and am experiencing some discomfort in my left shoulder joint. My left shoulder about a year ago was irritated before this instant and i think that the leading cause of that was also too wide of a grip. I'm going to see if this helps!
Did it help
he explains so well
Will this work for upright rows?
I used a Swiss bar neutral grip
Why do I get the feeling Rip is making an effort to speak much faster in this video than he normally would....
Because you weren't bored to tears.
Would this be the same for rows?
This method is sound for using a compound movement that places greater emphasis on your triceps: however; a wider grip favours the chest!!!
Beautiful!
Cant wait to do this, hopefully it fixing the pain innmy left elbow every time I bench heavy
That's a clean bar
Hm. If you define the effective range of motion as the vertical distance traveled by the bar, the grip that produces the longest range of motion is the grip that generates a vertical forearm at the top of the movement, isn’t it? For it’s the grip that brings the bar as high as possible. And it would be a narrower grip. I do like the narrower grip personally.
The way I've seen SS teach the bench, there's a vertical forearm on the top and bottom of the movement since the bar travels diagonally/in an arch rather than straight up and down. I think their point is longest effective range of motion too
Doing so reduces the amount of shoulder abduction and so reduces the amount of work being taken up by the pectoral muscles. We bench with the standard grip width for its global effect on the upper body musculature. The close grip is an excellent assistance exercise but the reasons for programming one over the other is fairly clear.
I'll have to try this. It seems like I could keep a vertical forearm with different widths by moving my elbow in or out...
Only if your touch point or arch changes, I think.....
Hold these two points constant:
arch (z-axis,) and
touch point (y-axis.)
And the plane created by vertical forearms is in the x-axis.
Then only one solution, geometrically speaking, is possible.
Thank you big help, just hit a pr after watching and my shoulder felt much less strain
Been saying this for YEARS to anyone that asks me for bench advice, yet CrossFit coaches wanna teach people to use their clean grip width. I position my hands for a vertical forearm and out bench people that are close to 100lbs more than I weigh and still set personal bests while others and their narrow grip can’t ever seem to make progress.
Thanks
Are adjustable benches worth it?
Greeup draauve
That for the good info
Legend
Hope this is updated in the latest edition, Uncle Rip
👎
Very helpful. Personally I don't think it's necessary for powerlifting meets to make a vertical forearm rule. My grip is very normal, and I do see some powerlifters with a huge arch and extremely wide grip, where they're going for the shortest range of motion possible, but to each their own. People who bench like that probably aren't going to get as much out of their workouts as I do, and their numbers would almost certainly be way down if they tried to bench like I do, but that's their problem.
Nice!
What about shortest range of motion
Grip width is relative to shoulder and humerus length.
Correct. He explained why this works.
You can achieve vertical forearms by visualizing bending the bar or attempting to in your mind. But whatever works for you. Whatever Rip talks about he is usually right.
That will only achieve vertical from a front view (if I understand what you say as a cue for tucking). If the grip is wrong, they won't be vertical from a side view.
@@KriegWaters I'll put it into practice my next IG video and see what I see. Thanks brother!
@D B no this would be in your head basically but if you wanted to break it all the way down to the bare bones with a coach and cue everything then yeah I guess it could be a cue
One can always use more grip draaave
😂
Thanks ripped toes.
Or you could place the empty bar at the chest touch point and figure it from there.
Now that i starded lifting and buying weigths noticed that some standars bench press do not have a wide bar holders? They are more closer together . Guess only the big Olympic bench press are wider. Don't know if matters i just prefer it that way.
Reminds me of one of the kindest teachers I had in High school , my weight training teacher. I'm missing my right hand up to the wrist so when I bench it's hard to calculate the grip on my wrist side since I have no hand I have to imagine the grip and look at my elbow position.
Nice video papa grip
2:43 why touch n' go?
because of the inconsistency on press commands.
Because it allows eliminating judge participation in the lift. Similar to a Strengthlifting meet, it could allow all three lifts to be performed by the lifter without any commands from the judge, leaving it the lifter's responsibility alone to adhere to the rules.
Why touch and go for a meet? Surely that’ll just incentivise excessive slamming and rebounding of the bar off the chest to lift more weight, which looks just as bad as the wide grip, tiny range of motion benches currently in powerlifting that Rip detests
Egregious bouncing doesn't work as well when the weight is heavy. If you really want to keep it aesthetic, you could probably just ban heaving/collapsing. Additionally, perhaps the heels can't go behind the butt.
Touch and go with vertical forearm in powerlifting. Hmm
@Max Mustermann arch height easier to judge than touch and go? The forearm vertical grip: why did we care so much? Isnt it just about how much you can lift from the bench?
Grrryyypp wiidddd
When Chuck Norris teaches weight training, he turns himself into Mark Rippetoe.
High bar squat has a longer range of motion as well.
lmao
😇 Nice one! Using our online training program, we teach people how to incorporate exercise with the special needs population. Check out our website and keep it as a resource 🤗 😇
NOOOO BUT I NEED LE WIDE GRIP TO REDUCE ROM I NEED TO FLARE OUT MY ELBOWS NOOO
Thumbs up for that competition rule.
Anyone else have too close of a grip?
So pinky on the first ring?
I have small hands. Nowhere near there.
I don’t feel like standard flat bench works my chest
Put some weights on the bar, maybe? :)
Alex Cristescu yeah maybe that’s it
Rom: the arms would be vertical and straight at lock out.
But basically that's keeping the hands flush with that first knurling
In the book it says 28 inches... That's the ring finger on the first knurling...
Knurling or ring?
@@Nickraculous knurling
@@Nickraculous it's the marks on the barbell
Probably close for most but it depends on the size of your hands. That’s the point of the method.
That's ridiculous. You can maintain vertical forearms when the bar is touching the chest by simply flaring the elbows to literally however wide you want to go until the bar is over your clavicle. The bar simply slides up or down the chest to accommodate. Even out there, you can maintain vertical forearms, although not advisable... That's not a guide... If you DONT have vertical forearms, you *will* eventually hurt yourself, tearing something in your shoulder....
What he *probably* meant to say was vertical forearms at the top (?). But that's not necessary and is arbitrary.
I'm sure Rip would coach somebody correctly in person. But that explanation of "vertical forearms" just confuses people.
Rip's explanation in the video was clear and easy to understand. Your explanation was confusing. Stop being a gamma.
What? I think u are misunderstanding something here
@@ChernobylAudio666 you're such an alpha. Insulting people on the internet. Your mother must be proud... That's the true sign of dominance after all--name calling somebody who is a safe distance from you. Real tough hombre.
Of course, it's also an insult using stock Rip cult terminology. Which makes it more weak-kneed. You're not even your own man. You're a little kid on a playground, rushing in because somebody said something about your daddy.
But.. got it. Peacock away with your small weenie. You don't know me, but my bench press is doing just fine, brother. Not weight dropping, I'll just say I finish somewhere in the top 5 in most meets I'm in on bench. I can have an opinion.
@@johnh6928 not misunderstanding anything other than that he's being confusing. ~00:20 - 00:48:...
It's just wrong. Or he explains it very poorly. You only simply have to rotate your arms outward to compensate for a wider grip, or inward for a narrow one to maintain vertical forearms. That's not complicated... That's not an effective reference point discussion. There's no "pulling the elbows up," if you allow that the reference point of bar location on the chest is allowed to slide where it needs to be. If instead, you lock the bar on one position on your chest, then sure, you'll end up with un-vertical forearms and be a weirdo. But that's not how anybody who benches wide or narrow does it.
The rest of it is fine where he's talking about reference point measuring. Ok.... But my point is that whole business about "vertical forearms" and "pulls the the elbows up" is confusing at best, wrong at worst....
Since this is a tutorial reference video, it's relevant to comment on how it was explained.
By "vertical" Rip actually means orthogonal to the floor. You can produce this in bottom position for grip widths between shoulder width and ellbow span by adjusting the touching point on the chest, and this will be unique for a chosen grip.
Thus Rip is right in the sense that if you keep a constant touching point, there will be exactly one grip producing "vertical forearms". He is not right with the "max range of motion" part, because that would obviously be a shoulder wide grip, maximizing bar travel distance, but resulting in a very low touching point on the torso for "vertical forearms".
Update6 months and I'm still loving this bench. ruclips.net/user/postUgkxo_64lVTGMk7y4aXTPxPOcQ3YTLyQ6kYV I use it almost daily. I've gotten used to the small wobble and it's no problem at all. Love the storage, it folds right next to my weight set in the garage and hardly takes any space. I wish the covering material was a little bit tougher. I have a feeling that in a couple years it'll tear, but the bench is very well priced that I would just buy a new one.3 month usage review. Awesome bench for someone looking for compactness and storage. I did have to drill a couple holes to adjust my preferred seating position and leg bar position but that's only due to my personal preference. It's very sturdy for normal workouts, but for anyone going above 100# dumbbell press it wobbles ever so slightly. I would probably go with a fixed bench if that's the case. That being said i can accomplish 99% of my normal gym workout with this setup. Very happy with the purchase.
thanks