Fixing The Bench Press: Getting Your Grip Right

Mark Rippetoe paying special attention to this girls ... bench press grip width

If there’s one thing that matters when you’re bench pressing, it’s definitely your grip.

Why Is Your Grip So Important?

Here’s the thing — your body is a connected, cohesively working unit … so … when one link in the chain is weak, it makes the whole body weak.

So in order to get that body — your body — stronger, more powerful, and able to bench press more weight … you need to eliminate the weak points.

One of which is your grip.

Plus, there’s just some important things most people don’t realize that matter a LOT when it comes to bench pressing.

First, Use Your Thumbs

This is a given.

Yes, it may feel more comfortable when you’re first starting out to use a thumbless grip … or … you may feel you can press more easily … but … it’s not worth the safety hazard.

To prove this, I give you this delightful video of a guy dropping 396 pounds of iron onto his chest because he decided to use a thumbless grip.

Benching without your thumbs is silly.

If you are going to be working out … like Mr. Rippetoe says … you should not be doing silly things.

Second, Find The Right Width.

This is important … and … I didn’ t realize how important it was until I took some advice from my resident Bench Press expert, Jabba The Bench, which went a little something like this …

Jabba: “Caleb, your grip looks a little wide for a wide grip, I’d move my hands in till my pinkie was inside the ring”

Me: “Okay … you don’t squat for sh*t … and you love Benching, so you must know what you’re talking about”

So I did. Long story short?

The wider grip didn’t hurt my shoulders like he said it would … and … all my pressing numbers went down.

The moral of the story? We’re all built different, and while I can give you a lot of suggestions as to what is “standard” … you kind of always have to find your “groove” when it comes to lifting in the most efficient and safe manner.

So you should try a wider grip … a narrower grip … or a more neutral grip to try in figure out what works the best for you.

Third, It’s All About Tension.

Lastly … but certainly not “leastly” … you need to squeeze the crap out of the bar.

This will increase your tension … which increases your strength … and you bench more.

Another good mental cue is thinking of “breaking” the bar in half, like if you were holding a bunch of spaghetti out in front of you at shoulder height. This will keep you shoulders down and back and help you fire the muscles in the right way.

So there you have it, some tips to help you when you’re bench pressing to get the right grip.