reverse or close grip bench?

longlac · Mar 15, 2009

Is close grip bench or reverse grip bench better for building triceps??

617ricky · Mar 15, 2009

Close grip IMO. And not regular bench presses either - skull crushers.

mville1035 · Mar 15, 2009

i personally feel close grip is the best exercise for tris period. i love it.
respect,
mville1035

ScottMcD1 · Mar 15, 2009

Both are great, I feel wide reverse grip presses in the smith are better for me than close grips. I use both regularly(as well as dips) for triceps.

jimmyjones · Mar 15, 2009

How close is your grip on the bar to those who are doing closegrips?

SacToSD · Mar 15, 2009

I've been stacking on lots more weight onto my close grip bp's, lately. It has made me wonder how much work I'm really doing with my chest when I do normal bench presses, though, since I can close grip bp quite a bit. I'd be curious to know if I'm really hitting my chest at all when I do bench press (I'm exaggerating here... but still). Not quite a thread hijack.

tatteredxangelx · Mar 15, 2009

I like medium grip bench presses ... should be pinky on ring as opposed to index.

617ricky · Mar 15, 2009

jimmyjones said:
How close is your grip on the bar to those who are doing closegrips?

I hold the bar so if I pointed my thumbs in (like to give a thumbs up), they just barely touch.

SABAGOY · Mar 15, 2009

I go shoulder width and bring my hands down towards my arm pits.

norm1220 · Mar 16, 2009

Close grips seem to hit my tri's better, reverse grips work them pretty well too but seem to use a lot more delt and pec.

I don't do flat bench presses anymore, too many shoulder injuries and pec tears. But I still hit the reverse grips pretty hard. LOL... it kinda freaks people out to see me crank out reps with 315 using a reverse grip. I know some of them would just love to tell me I benching wrong but they won't because they are embarrassed that I'm doing more weight than they can bench the 'right' way. :cheeky:sm

GoneForFuckingEver8 · Mar 16, 2009

norm1220 said:
Close grips seem to hit my tri's better, reverse grips work them pretty well too but seem to use a lot more delt and pec.

I don't do flat bench presses anymore, too many shoulder injuries and pec tears. But I still hit the reverse grips pretty hard. LOL... it kinda freaks people out to see me crank out reps with 315 using a reverse grip. I know some of them would just love to tell me I benching wrong but they won't because they are embarrassed that I'm doing more weight than they can bench the 'right' way. :cheeky:sm

how wide is your grip when you do reverse benches with that weight (very impressive BTW)? also do you find it difficult to take the bar off the rack with a reverse grip?

617ricky · Mar 16, 2009

He's gotta have a spotter helping him get it off the rack.

longlac · Mar 16, 2009

jimmyjones said:
How close is your grip on the bar to those who are doing closegrips?

about a hand apart

longlac · Mar 16, 2009

norm1220 said:
Close grips seem to hit my tri's better, reverse grips work them pretty well too but seem to use a lot more delt and pec.

I don't do flat bench presses anymore, too many shoulder injuries and pec tears. But I still hit the reverse grips pretty hard. LOL... it kinda freaks people out to see me crank out reps with 315 using a reverse grip. I know some of them would just love to tell me I benching wrong but they won't because they are embarrassed that I'm doing more weight than they can bench the 'right' way. :cheeky:sm

315 reverse!!!

jm425 · Mar 16, 2009

617ricky said:
I hold the bar so if I pointed my thumbs in (like to give a thumbs up), they just barely touch.

That's a great way to injure your wrist. Studies show that it makes no difference as long as your hands are 15 inches apart and no closer I believe. Doing closed grip bps with an even closer grip is not going to stimulate your tris more. I was once young and stupid enough to put my hands too close to each other and it really put a strain on my wrists and I injured them and it took me awhile till I could bench again without pain in my wrists. I would highly advise you not to bring your hands in that close.

617ricky · Mar 16, 2009

jm425 said:
That's a great way to injure your wrist. Studies show that it makes no difference as long as your hands are 15 inches apart and no closer I believe. Doing closed grip bps with an even closer grip is not going to stimulate your tris more. I was once young and stupid enough to put my hands too close to each other and it really put a strain on my wrists and I injured them and it took me awhile till I could bench again without pain in my wrists. I would highly advise you not to bring your hands in that close.

I'm not talking for regular bench presses tho. I'm talking about skull-crushers which have a totally different movement.. Never felt any pain in my wrists

moregunsthanroses · Mar 16, 2009

I'm a big fan of close grip bench press although I've only done a few workouts with reverse grip I'm not sure it just feels awkward. I should throw it into one of my workout sessions.

gridlock · Mar 16, 2009

close grip all the way. i could never feel it doing reverse as much as i could on reverse grips

lazer · Mar 16, 2009

Close grip for me, hands shoulder width or so apart. Putting your hands closer just puts extra strain on the wrists and does not put more of the weight on the tris so keep the hands apart a bit.

15 inches would be about perfect for most on close grip, good info here.

gordo14 · Mar 16, 2009

Reverse grip for me............

I do em in the smith the same way Jason Wojo does in his dc training vid. Check u tube. Pressing 315 for reps this way is going to build more massive tris than some 70# skull crushers. Just my opinion. Close grips are good as well, flat bench i stay away from though. I also do weighted dips for tris.