help w/close grip bench 4 tri's???

[adidamps2]

ok i've started the 5x5 routine i found here in the trainin forum...the one posted as a sticky ...this is my 1st week on it and i like it already...but heres my question, i tried the close grip bench...
and either
A) i'm not doin them right or
B) its an ineffective exercise for me.
For what ever the reason I do not feel much in my tri's more in my front delts than any thing else. so i would like to know the proper form for this exercise or an alternate 5x5 excercise to use in place of it ...any advise or help you guys could provide would be appreciated...thank you

 

[huskyguy]

a good alternative is skull crushers or tricep cable pushdowns with the rope apparatus

 

[RippedMass]

a good alternative is skull crushers or tricep cable pushdowns with the rope apparatus

True.

In my opinion, MY opinion, as long as your tris are the first muscle to fail, then the tris are what are being worked the hardist and your doing them right.

If your delts fail b4 your tris, that means your tris did not get much out of it, and it was like 70% delts.

 

[Mudge]

Are your elbows all the way inside? I dont go down about the last 3 inches or so, no point. Slow the weight down until you find that you are targeting your triceps.

 

[Mudge]

Thanks to whoever posted this one.

 

[DADAWG]

mudge has a point there is no need to go all the way down with close grip . there are also many other HEAVY tri excercises to try instead like rack lockouts , reverse grip benching , board presses , etc. just in case close grip doesnt work well for you .

 

[Firehawk734]

Damn that close grip isn't very close at all. I usually have my hands about 5 inches apart and thats it! Is that too close?

 

[RippedMass]

Damn that close grip isn't very close at all. I usually have my hands about 5 inches apart and thats it! Is that too close?

As long as your tris are doing most of the work, and your chest and delts are doing the least possible, your doing it right. You should be able to feel it.

My normal bench is really wide, and my close grip is a tad more narrow than most peoples normal grip. Im 5'11, so its not because im tall. It does not need to be very close gripped. Make sure your wrists dont hurt, if they do, grip it wider.

Yeah, in my opinion 5 inches apart is way to close.

 

[adidamps2]

wow guys..thanks for the quick responces here...it appears that i may grip to close..i place my grip were my two thumbs touch each other...then i press from there.i keep my elbows in real tight to my sides and press down slowly from there ...but lookin at the pic provided i my open my grip up a lil and try it like that...dadawg i have question about some of the exercises u posted also...what are board presses, rack outs and revese grip bench presses (although this one sounds self explanitory how is it performed properly to effect the tri's???) ..again guys thats for the quick responces here

 

[Mudge]

Damn that close grip isn't very close at all. I usually have my hands about 5 inches apart and thats it! Is that too close?

Thats plenty closer than a standard bench. I like my hands where the knurling of the bar begins, which is enough to avoid placing strain on the wrists on the way down. So basically with the elbows at the side, it is just about enough distance to have the arms exactly straight up, no angle means no strain on the wrist. Otherwise yes it would be half way a deltoid press when you angle the arms.

 

[Mudge]

what are board presses, rack outs and revese grip bench presses (although this one sounds self explanitory how is it performed properly to effect the tri's???) ..again guys thats for the quick responces here

Board presses are just like in the picture, 2x4s under the bar (just without the close grip). Between 1 and 5 boards are used, I used to do my CGs with 2 to 3 boards, until they were taken out of the gym.

Reverse grip benches pull more shoulders out of the movement, making it more tricep intensive, because of the rotational difference of the wrist. I was able to reverse 90% of my standard flat bench.

Rack lockouts, are done in a power rack moving the last 4-6 inches or so locking the bar out. This can be done with very heavy weights, in order to get the tricep strength bumped up a bit.

There are videos lockouts and board presses in Pullinbig's training video sticky at the top of this forum.

 

[Firehawk734]

You're right about the strain on the wrist. Just last bench day i found that out lol. I moved my hands in even closer and at the bottom my wrists were killing me, so i moved them back out. Hmm I guess I just wanna get optimal work from the exercise...

 

[blackbeard]

mudge has a point there is no need to go all the way down with close grip . there are also many other HEAVY tri excercises to try instead like rack lockouts , reverse grip benching , board presses , etc. just in case close grip doesnt work well for you .

i like close grips..i also like reverse grips benches..
ive learned something over the last 7 weeks or so:

i dont care if your a bodybuilder or a powerlifter..board presses absolutely destroy my tris..i generally stick with lower reps as well yet after ME bench days my tris are packed with blood..i hate to use this word lol but i have gotten more of a pump from hitting boards then i ever did from any BB'ing tricep routine..

if your a strict BB thats fine you dont have to hit a 1RM instead work in sets of whatever rep range you feel works best for you but ill tell you this your tris will grow..i generally place my pinky just inside the ring

 

[pullinbig]

close grip is ideally about shoulder width. wide grip is index fingers on the outside rings. (32" between the index fingers)

 

[adidamps2]

thanks for the tips and i'll give close grip another shot this up coming week also i think ill try the rev grip bench for a secondary exercise instead of the skull crushers (2x8-10)..as far as board presses go i do not believe my gym has those...but u can bet ill check on it now ...i think with this now my 5x5 will just get better .....again guys i appreciate all the help here..

 

[pullinbig]

we built our boards. you can see them the video clips.

 

[Firehawk734]

close grip is ideally about shoulder width. wide grip is index fingers on the outside rings. (32" between the index fingers)

Well shucks, I use index fingers on the rings and thought it was just the "normal" grip for me to use. My forearms are perpendicular to the ground when my hands are at that position. WOuld this then be considered competition grip and not wide grip for me?

Or what? lol

 

[Soul Rebel]

Yeah, I guess I'm goin way too close too, I usually go about 6-7 inches apart. And my wrist hurts like hell, even if I'm only doing 215 or so. May try the boards this week instead. Thanks for the alternatives, I'm also on the 5x5 but may switch to one of the routines in IA's sticky.

 

[pullinbig]

Well shucks, I use index fingers on the rings and thought it was just the "normal" grip for me to use. My forearms are perpendicular to the ground when my hands are at that position. WOuld this then be considered competition grip and not wide grip for me?

Or what? lol

wide grip and competetion grip are one in the same.

 

[adidamps2]

one more question on rev grip bench were am i bringing the bar down to?? chest, sternum or abb's???also i viewd PB's videos wich were really helpful 4 the rack lockouts and board press's, so big thanks 2 PB!!also on the rack lockouts how much movent up down should u have...when i watched the video there didnot look like a whole lot of movement involved ....it basically looked like unracking and reracking for a bench press or is that the idea behind the movement???thanks