The bench press is one of the most popular weight-lifting exercises, used by both men and women for chest, shoulder, triceps and back muscle development. It is also a common source of injury for users who use improper form while lifting. Many experts believe that having your grip too wide on the bar while lifting increases your chances for injuring your shoulder muscles.
Increased Shoulder Stress
Competitive bodybuilder Lee Hayward says one of the leading causes of increased stress and injury to your shoulder while bench pressing is flaring your elbows out. When your hands hold the bar with a grip that is too wide, your elbows may bend away from your body as a natural reaction to the wide grip. This moves the stress of the exercise away from the desired areas like your triceps and pectoralis major to your shoulders, also known as your deltoids.
Proper Grip Width
Former power lifter Stuart McRobert says his experience as a professional lifter proved that a grip around 32 inches or more is harmful to the shoulders. Though making your grip too narrow presents challenges, such as having to lift the bar farther to complete a repetition, it cuts down on the strain on your deltoids. He says the ideal grip width is 24 inches, not too narrow and not too wide.
Angle of Bench
A November 1995 study published in the "Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research" found that the grip you use may not be the only factor in shoulder injuries. After studying six male weightlifters in a variety of training positions and grips, the researchers found that the more inclined the bench presser was, the more the shoulders were engaged. This means that if you perform the inclined bench press regularly, you should pay particular attention that your grip does not become too wide.
Shoulder Injury Prevention
After placing your grip in the correct position on the bar, you can further decrease your chances for shoulder injury by compacting them. Pressing your shoulder blades against each other limits their actual movement during the bench press. Ball State University strength coach Matt Wenning recommends developing your back muscles fully with other exercises to cut down on shoulder stress during the bench press.
References
- Ball State University: Building a Strong Bench Press for Powerlifers and Athletics
- Bodybuilding.com: Experiments in the Gym -- The Bench Press!
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles
- Lee Hayward's Total Fitness Body Building: How to Increase Your Bench Press with Proper Technique
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