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🏋️‍♂️ does bench press grip actually matter?

Author

Ricky Goodrich
July 19, 2024

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Here’s what’s up in today’s edition:

  • Muscle activation and your bench press grip

  • The power of the 21 workout

  • Larry Wheels deadlifts… with one hand

Exercise Tips

Get a Grip

Credit: BarBend

One of the little intricacies of using the bench press in bodybuilding training has always been finding a grip width to maximize your muscle activation.

Except, maybe it’s not? 

According to a research paper, your grip width when using a barbell to bench may be one of the least pressing concerns you could have. It seems axiomatic that a narrow grip will hit the triceps more, and a wider grip will hit the shoulders a little more (and the study shows this to be mostly true). These truisms bury the lede: chest muscle activation seems to be fairly constant throughout all the grip widths. 

The study doesn’t go into the ongoing debate about whether the bench press is strictly necessary, at all, for chest hypertrophy, but, after reading it, you may realize you don’t need to worry about the small stuff quite so much.

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Workouts

Hit Me!

Credit: Giphy

Anyone who trained arms before they discovered the internet heard of, and engaged in, the “21s” workout. In the modern world of information shooting off of satellites and social media “experts” criticizing everything to death, this classic biceps training technique has sometimes been shuffled off into the back room as a “bro workout.”

You can’t keep big biceps out of style forever, and with the buzzword “lengthened partials” on everyone’s lips, it’s time for you to rediscover an old friend in the form of doing 21s.

The concept is simple: you do seven partials from the bottom position of a curl, seven from the top, and then force your blood-engorged muscles through the movement’s entire range of motion for seven more reps. The result is an arm workout that doesn’t take very long, can be used with practically any curl variant, and leaves you feeling as pumped up as an early ‘90s basketball shoe. Step up to the Blackjack table and take the 21s challenge.

Friday Feats

With one hand tied behind his back

Credit: @LarryWheels / Instagram

With palmarės across the wide worlds of both powerlifting and bodybuilding, Larry Wheels is no stranger to engaging in all sorts of feats of strength. So when he walks up to a barbell loaded to 675 pounds, you would expect something cool to happen, but you still might not expect him to reach down and lift the weight with just one hand.

A tried-and-true “get off my platform” move, the single-handed deadlift isn’t exactly an officially documented world record. Nonetheless, ripping a healthy amount of weight off the ground for all the internet to see is a power move that says, “I’ve still got it,” after what has been a challenging year for Mr. Wheels. Discover his whole story, and imbibe the impressive feat, right here on BarBend.

Everything Else

Yellow Light, Green Light

Credit: Chris Bumstead / YouTube