Wide bench press creates a trash physique

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

Some of you guys are power lifters and might need wide bench in your repertoire. I respect that

For everyone else…

Tricep dominant bench press is the way. If your chest out grows your delts and arms you will look retarded.

I’d go so far as to say pecs in general are a goofy muscle.

Boxers have big shoulders..grapplers have big backs.. wrestlers have big legs

If there was weight class based sumo wrestling then chest might get its chance to shine

Also… big traps make you look violent.

 

[PeakyBlinder]

I think with bench a lot of the time it comes down to people's body mechanics and what they can handle, of course for Powerlifters many do bench wide for comp reasons, allowing them to move the most load.

But I know people who simply cannot bench with a closer grip, and vice versa, just feels horrible for them.

I find its the same with all the compound lifts, your body, the natural leverage you create, and your mechanics often dictate how much you can move.

Fwiw I dont like a too wide grip on bench.

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

if you’re an intermediate you should put on muscle by any means (clean bulking of course)

If your chest outpaces your shoulders that will just motivate you to blast shoulders even harder. That’s a good thing

Still don’t do it. Wide benching is an injury risk

 

[Baby Hanma]

The best bench press form in my opinion is slightly wider than shoulder width, and then pause at the bottom for every rep.

Wide grip bench presses have no point to them other than shortening range of motion in powerlifting. The best way to bench is to have chest, shoulder, and tricep development all in mind.

 

[ASUThermo]

Some of you guys are power lifters and might need wide bench in your repertoire. I respect that

For everyone else…

Tricep dominant bench press is the way. If your chest out grows your delts and arms you will look retarded.

I’d go so far as to say pecs in general are a goofy muscle.

Boxers have big shoulders..grapplers have big backs.. wrestlers have big legs

If there was weight class based sumo wrestling then chest might get its chance to shine

Also… big traps make you look violent.

You're a kid right? Like 14?

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

You're a kid right? Like 14?

Where’s the lie?

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

You're a kid right? Like 14?

And yes, it’s an exaggerated posting style. “That shit is garbage” is a childish take



I mean God forbid we have a little bit of fun in here… and if you want the serious version —- I’ve seen my physique change for the worse every single time I concentrated on pec development . You might be built different. I still feel very strongly that chest is an accessory piece —- delts are the main attraction

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

Some of you guys are power lifters and might need wide bench in your repertoire. I respect that

For everyone else…

Tricep dominant bench press is the way. If your chest out grows your delts and arms you will look retarded.

I’d go so far as to say pecs in general are a goofy muscle.

Boxers have big shoulders..grapplers have big backs.. wrestlers have big legs

If there was weight class based sumo wrestling then chest might get its chance to shine

Also… big traps make you look violent.

Are you advocating for close grip bench press?

A normal bench press is a pectoral dominant exercise.

While you're correct that the wide grip makes the ROM shorter, it also recruits more of the anterior deltoids(as well as shoulders overall) which you claim should be the goal.


This post reads like "I am terrible at this form/variation of the bench press so here are some very trust me bro excuses/reasons for why it's bad."

It would be like me claiming squats are a terrible exercise and everyone should do step ups and lunges and all because I am complete shit at it. Something something tough on the spine and joints/knees, tough to master, doesn't fit all the different anatomies/leverages, if you keep it up you won't be able to walk at 40, trust me bro....

It is usually a good idea to rotate (ie periodize) your training, exercise selections and variations, reps, volume, etc...

I am waiting for the Joel Seedman type post of "lowering the bar on the bench press past a slight elbow bend is dangerous."

Strong / big pecs are very important for NFL (freedom football) defensive linemen, linebackers and some other positions and tearing a pec has cost more than one player months of their seasons(or even full seasons). So yea pecs are pretty damn important.

I am not well versed on Rugby but it has similar issues to American Football when it comes to pectoral tears.

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

Are you advocating for close grip bench press?

A normal bench press is a pectoral dominant exercise.

While you're correct that the wide grip makes the ROM shorter, it also recruits more of the anterior deltoids(as well as shoulders overall) which you claim should be the goal.


This post reads like "I am terrible at this form/variation of the bench press so here are some very trust me bro excuses/reasons for why it's bad."

It would be like me claiming squats are a terrible exercise and everyone should do step ups and lunges and all because I am complete shit at it. Something something tough on the spine and joints/knees, tough to master, doesn't fit all the different anatomies/leverages, if you keep it up you won't be able to walk at 40, trust me bro....

It is usually a good idea to rotate (ie periodize) your training, exercise selections and variations, reps, volume, etc...

I am waiting for the Joel Seedman type post of "lowering the bar on the bench press past a slight elbow bend is dangerous."

Strong / big pecs are very important for NFL (freedom football) defensive linemen, linebackers and some other positions and tearing a pec has cost more than one player months of their seasons(or even full seasons). So yea pecs are pretty damn important.

I am not well versed on Rugby but it has similar issues to American Football when it comes to pectoral tears.

I will concede your point about nfl athletes. I also saw a study correlating max bench with cross hooks

I am advocating for a regular grip bench press. For me that’s pinky on ring. If I do middle finger on ring I have about the same performance and I feel the pump shift entirely to my pecs. And I look like shit that night


You might be a more experienced lifter then me, but I’ve put my work in that I can speak on things I’ve noticed over the years

Every time I hammered wide grip bench, I saw my physique become more boxy, centered, stubby etc

I think it comes down to frame —- my homie is 6’ 2, wiry and a similar level of strength (except I whoop his ass at everything.. even shit I don’t take seriously like bench)

I don’t think he could ever get the boxy look even if he only did wide grip benching twice a week and no other upper body movements

But if you have a more compact frame and you specialize in wide grip benching (or even regular bench press) you might end up looking like this

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

I will concede your point about nfl athletes. I also saw a study correlating max bench with cross hooks

I am advocating for a regular grip bench press. For me that’s pinky on ring. If I do middle finger on ring I have about the same performance and I feel the pump shift entirely to my pecs. And I look like shit that night

Surely you must realize how ridiculous you sound trying to say a single workout changes how you look and all because your slightly changed your grip?

You might be a more experienced lifter then me, but I’ve put my work in that I can speak on things I’ve noticed over the years

Every time I hammered wide grip bench, I saw my physique become more boxy, centered, stubby etc

I suspect this is all in your mind.

I think it comes down to frame —- my homie is 6’ 2, wiry and a similar level of strength (except I whoop his ass at everything.. even shit I don’t take seriously like bench)

I don’t think he could ever get the boxy look even if he only did wide grip benching twice a week and no other upper body movements

But if you have a more compact frame and you specialize in wide grip benching (or even regular bench press) you might end up looking like this

View attachment 1133040

I have long arms and bench is by no means a lift that plays to my leverages but wide grip with some practice is still an excellent and most effective way to bench the most weight for me(and I suspect for most other people).

It's a bit like people were saying Bjornsson was using a perfectly efficient form to deadlift 1000 even though it was obvious to me that it wasn't and likely the same thing for some other lifters who are much stronger than me. However when it came time to break the deadlift world record, he still changed his form(narrowed his stance and grip) for the most mechanically advantageous. The lesson is that very often genetically gifted people can succeed in spite of their flawed form/lift mechanics.

I have also benched with pinkies on outer rings for many years and used narrower grip for close grip bench press. I will say that if you want to bench the most weight and build strength then wide grip is probably the way to go. But I am not saying there's a single best way to bench nor do I hallucinate physical transformations in my physique after a single workout.

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

Surely you must realize how ridiculous you sound trying to say a single workout changes how you look and all because your slightly changed your grip?


I suspect this is all in your mind.


I have long arms and bench is by no means a lift that plays to my leverages but wide grip with some practice is still an excellent and most effective way to bench the most weight for me(and I suspect for most other people).

It's a bit like people were saying Bjornsson was using a perfectly efficient form to deadlift 1000 even though it was obvious to me that it wasn't and likely the same thing for some other lifters who are much stronger than me. However when it came time to break the deadlift world record, he still changed his form(narrowed his stance and grip) for the most mechanically advantageous. The lesson is that very often genetically gifted people can succeed in spite of their flawed form/lift mechanics.

I have also benched with pinkies on outer rings for many years and used narrower grip for close grip bench press. I will say that if you want to bench the most weight and build strength then wide grip is probably the way to go. But I am not saying there's a single best way to bench nor do I hallucinate physical transformations in my physique after a single workout.

That 3 inches makes a huge difference man

Now concurrently — that wide grip bench came during phases where I was really trying to blow my bench up and so I’d do a wide grip day and a regular day. Remember I was blasting a ton of shit so I could see a very stark difference in my physique after each workout.. after the wide grip training sessions I’d be looking way different.

No I’m not hallucinating and seeing my physique change. I did 200 mg prop and lifted for 3 hours. So yes I could see my physique change before my eyes. I’d drink a gallon of water in 6 hours


Ehh.. you bring up a good point. Bench press is such a good driver of growth and if you blow that chest up.. now you create that impetus to transition to a shoulder heavy phase and look better. Shoulders don’t drive Tricep growth at all.. that’s an issue that arises

Ight man.. we can agree to disagree.. but surely you have to acknowledge that there’s a contingent of stubby benchers who look hilarious like Colin Weng