Ross86

How close together are your hands? When I do close hand bp, my hands are about 5" apart and my thumbs are behind the bar with the rest of my fingers. To be that close to your normal numbers, you would have to be somewhat wide still.

Eric3237

^^^dude, that is a wrist problem waiting to happen. Close grip means a little closer not ridicuously close. And to add insult to injury you place your thumbs behind so that your wrists are even more rotated and vulnerable.

Close grip bench is basically shoulder width. The narrower you 'best' bench grip is the less the difference will tend to be. Some people go just a bit narrower than shoulder width for close grip but anymore and it ain't worth it.

Eric3237's Sig:

Anybody can talk a lot. Smart people listen...
-Son's first grade teacher

RobS

first of all, congrats on the pr, and i'm happy to hear i'm not the only person with similar bench and close grip bench numbers

RobS

2/22/08 Lower Body Workout #2

HANGCLEANS/FRONT SQUAT 3X5 - 135x5, 135x5, 135x5
i really, really like using this exercise to start off my workout

SQUATS 5=>5 - 295x5, 315x5, 325x5, 335x5, 345x5
i wasn't feeling all that great b/c i was a dumbass and went out drinking the night before so instead of doing a 5x5 with the same weight, i worked my way up in weight to about 5lbs more than i was planning on doing today, next week i'll go back to using the same weight for every set

SPEED (RACK)DEADLIFT 6X1 - 315x1, 315x1, 315x1, 315x1, 315x1, 315x1
i saw that you guys thought that it wouldn't be too much deadlift for one week so i kept the speed deadlift, except this week i did it without any bands and i did pulls from a power rack with the bar set about 3" below my knees

GHR 3X3 - bwx3, bwx3, bwx3
wow these are tough, by the last set i had to use my arms to push myself up quite a bit, but i'm still feeling them in my hamstrings today i'm guessing they did something

HYPEREXTENSIONS 2X10-12 - bw+45x12, bw+45x12

ABS - 3 sets of weighted obliques with a 45lb plate, 2 sets of weighted decline sit ups, 1 set of crunches on a swiss ball with a 25lb plate

widdoes2504

Eric hit the nail on the head. Close grip has its place (I use it a lot), but going to close and bad placement can lead to serious injury. I have seen people load the bar and then lose their grip because of a false grip (thumb behind the bar).

By all means use the movement, but do it smart. Good luck.

widdoes2504's Sig:

Height: 6 foot
Weight: 240 pounds

Bench: 415 (1x1)
Deads: 565 (1x1)
A2G Squat: 425 (1x1)

Cardio sucks

Pitysister

how wide do you guys go on regular bench? i been doing mine on shoulder width...

Pitysister's Sig:

Born the travesty of man
Regular pulse midst pandemonium
You're plucked to the mass
Parched with thirst for the wicked

RobS

for me on regular bench press i wrap my middle finger around the mall smooth ring in the bar, on close grip bench i usually bring my hands in to the point where i have my thumbs wrapped around the outside edge of the inner smooth ring on the bar, i dont have a bar right here in front of me to look at but i think that puts my hands at about 18" apart

TALO

regular grip I do the pinky on the edge of the rings. I dont do close grip.

TALO's Sig:

"But when do you actually grow? Well, we don't grow in the gym. In the gym, we destroy. We tear down the body. We only grow when we are recovering. That's right, I said recovery. I see it all the time--people beating themselves up in the gym and not seeing results. They don't understand that hitting the weights hard is only a small part of growing or even cutting down. I could train the same all year round and get big or get ripped just by eating different and taking different supplements"

RobS

2/25/08 Upper Body Workout 1

BENCH PRESS 5RM - 270x5*
when i went for the 5rm i had one of the student athletic trainers spot me, the first 3 reps went up nice and smooth, the fourth rep was a little slower but i got it up, then when it came to the fifth rep i brought the bar down, touched my chest, and while it was on the way up the spotter started touching the bar admittedly the bar was going up slow, but it was going up none-the-less and i think i could have gotten it if he hadn't touched the bar, so now next week i am going to have to go for a clean 270x5 again

FLOOR PRESS 3RM - 255x3
this lift was real tough, so i'm real happy that i got it

DB INCLINE BENCH PRESS 3X8-10 - 70x10, 70x10, 70x9
didn't take enough rest time before the last set b/c the first two sets went up pretty easily so i guess i didn't think that i'd need to rest as much for the last set, i was wrong

JS ROWS 5X5 - 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5

BARBELL SHRUGS 3X8-10 - 255x10, 255x10, 255x10

FACEPULLS 3X8-10 - 132x10, 132x10, 132x10
i'm starting to really, really like doing this lift

SKULLCRUCHERS 3X10-12 - 105x12, 105x12, 105x12

EZ BAR CURLS 3X8-10 - 90x10, 90x10, 90x10, 90x10*
on the last set i got the first 8 reps and then i just stood and held the weight, counted to 10 in my head, and got the last 2 reps so i figured i'd count that as getting all 10 reps