Close Grip Bench Press-Wrist rolling

[ReaperX]

I've been doing close grip bench press for my triceps on the smith machine. Lately, I've had a few close calls with my wrist rolling (usually only one of the hands).

I'm using the regular grip not reverse.


Is this because my grip is weak ? These close calls are scaring the **** out of me.



My hands are positioned so that my pinkies are just barely touching the rough part, but the rest of my hands are on the smooth middle part. Is my grip close enough ?

 

[ReaperX]

i've been piss ass tired/burned out, the past 4 weeks because of finals and projects for grad school.


this probably has something to do with it too....................

 

[Disturbed]

It sounds like your grip is too close.I would go two fingers on the smooth at most.

 

[suncloud]

maybe try either wrist wraps or gloves to make sure it doesn't happen? i'm assuming its stress. could be finals though in a different way - if you're typing a lot of final papers maybe your wrist is simply tired from having it resting above the keyboard 24/7.

 

[ReaperX]

sounds good. I do have have wrist wraps, but i don't use them for this exercise. I'll try it out. I'll also space out my grip some. I wasn't exactly sure quite how 'close' it should be.

 

[Rhyno]

It sounds like your grip is too close.I would go two fingers on the smooth at most.

x2

Along with a less narrow grip, you could try holding the bar differently. When you grip it, **** your wrists back very slightly, and then supinate them a tad. To get the right motion, imagine trying to bend the bar into an upward U shape above your head. If you are there should be more pressure on the outside of your palms. This was kinda hard to put into words, if need be, I'll try to put a vid up.

 

[ReaperX]

tuck elbows in or flare them out ?

 

[Rhyno]

I usually tuck them on the eccentric portion of the rep, and flare out just at the peak of the concentic. Add a tricep squeeze for an extra burn.:twisted:

 

[Mulletsoldier]

I tuck to protect the shoulder cavity, but my grip is also quite close. Maybe only 6" between my hands. How close is the bar to your chin?

 

[Rhyno]

I tuck to protect the shoulder cavity, but my grip is also quite close. Maybe only 6" between my hands. How close is the bar to your chin?

Protecting the shoulder cavity, eh? :think: No wonder I always end up with some sort of mild shoulder impingement when I do them.

I usually bring the bar down to my sternum. If your bringing it to your chin with your elbows tucked then it sounds like more of a jm press to me. Just as good as cg bench, if not better.

You can skip the intro; the explanation is about 4 minutes in.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxfzWbEKd6s&feature=related"]YouTube - JM Press with intro[/ame]

 

[ReaperX]

I usually bring the bar down below my pecs. This is what I have been told, and have been doing it like this for awhile

 

[ReaperX]

im not sure what a jm press is.

 

[ReaperX]

^ I youtube the jm press. Its like a close grip but being lowered to the chin. I'll try that out next time. I'm just leery about my wrist rolling the way it does. I used to do close grip on a regular bench, but after those close calls, I only do them on the smith now.


Pushing up feels weird unless my elbows are flared way out.

 

[p5sky]

I keep the elbows in tight!

 

[Sunder]

I'm trying to mimic the close grip bench in front of my computer right now. It looks like I tuck my elbows in close to my body, which is interesting because I have a nasty habit of flaring out my elbows in regular bench press. It's a good thing I rarely flat bench anymore, lol.

As for closeness of grip, it depends on the weight for me, but my grip is often at a distance where the 2 thumbs can touch each other unless it's too heavy and feels wrong on my wrists.

Oh man, I'm so close grip benching tomorrow now. I can't believe how excited I get over doing an exercise I haven't done in a while, lol.

 

[Mulletsoldier]

Protecting the shoulder cavity, eh? :think: No wonder I always end up with some sort of mild shoulder impingement when I do them.

I usually bring the bar down to my sternum. If your bringing it to your chin with your elbows tucked then it sounds like more of a jm press to me. Just as good as cg bench, if not better.

You can skip the intro; the explanation is about 4 minutes in.

YouTube - JM Press with intro

No, no, I'm not bringing the bar to my chin. I was asking Reaper how far forward the bar was in his stance. If he is brining it near his chin, his wrists would be bent and therefore may roll. I bring the bar to about my solar plexus.

 

[ReaperX]

Thanks for the tips. Ill see if I can get this right next time I go to the gym.

Like sunder, I stop doing barbell bench. I get better pec contraction when I use dumbbells/hammer strength machines.