Bench press and wrist support

[Gary]

Does anyone here use any form of wrist support or glove to support the wrist/hand while benching? My wrist has been bothering me for a few months now, nothing serious, and really only affects my BP, not other pushing movements like military presses and such.

I've recently added wrist straps for my deadlift and love them... wondering if there's anything that would give me the same benefit for my BP.



Let me close by saying yes, it is my dominant hand (right) and no, it is not a masturbation injury. :whistling:

[MichelleS]

i use wrist straps and gloves but i may be just a :baby:

[kelster]

Does anyone here use any form of wrist support or glove to support the wrist/hand while benching? My wrist has been bothering me for a few months now, nothing serious, and really only affects my BP, not other pushing movements like military presses and such.

I've recently added wrist straps for my deadlift and love them... wondering if there's anything that would give me the same benefit for my BP.



Let me close by saying yes, it is my dominant hand (right) and no, it is not a masturbation injury. :whistling:
ok, i can be of any help on ur ?? but i gotta say this cracked me up :funny: :hehe:

[Gary]

i use wrist straps and gloves but i may be just a :baby:
Straps for bench pressing?

[MichelleS]

Straps for bench pressing?
yes they are just the kind witht the thumb loop and it helps support my wrists. i have very weak wrists. always have many sprains growing up. I'm not taking any chances.

[3xKrazy]

yes they are just the kind witht the thumb loop and it helps support my wrists. i have very weak wrists. always have many sprains growing up. I'm not taking any chances.

u mean wrist wraps....?

[MichelleS]

u mean wrist wraps....?
:doh: yeah

[Neely]

For me, if I wear my gloves with the wrist supports during a BP, I feel as though my form falters. Locks me up too tight :shrug:

[Chelsinator]

Inzer Wrist Wraps. They're fantastic.

http://www.inzernet.com/detail.asp?product_id=WRAPS_IRON_WRISTZ

I have the sort ones and I recommend them. Not too much bulk; just enough support.

:)

[char-dawg]

Del wrote a great post on benching grip. I tried it and liked it a lot. Helps take the strain off the wrists and makes me a little stronger at the same time.

Basically, what you do is put the bar right on the heel of your hand, so that it feels like it's almost going to roll off. Then you close your fingers on it, which will mean that only your fingertips are "gripping" the bar, not that they're wrapped around it. Then you squeeze. Then you squeeze some more. Then a little more.

Once you're squeezing for all you're worth (and your upper body is concomitantly tight), you take your thumbs and wrap them around the bar like normal. They'll feel a little out of place, but if you've got the bar positioned correctly, they'll go, and the bar won't fall out of your hands. It's easier and better than the usual bench grip because this way you've got the weight positioned more or less directly over the major forearm bones.

Try it. You'll like it. There's is a slight issue of the bar starting to hurt if you're doing lots of reps, but you can certainly use the technique on your heavy sets and on warm-ups until your hands toughen up.

[Chelsinator]

Del wrote a great post on benching grip. I tried it and liked it a lot. Helps take the strain off the wrists and makes me a little stronger at the same time.

Basically, what you do is put the bar right on the heel of your hand, so that it feels like it's almost going to roll off. Then you close your fingers on it, which will mean that only your fingertips are "gripping" the bar, not that they're wrapped around it. Then you squeeze. Then you squeeze some more. Then a little more.

Once you're squeezing for all you're worth (and your upper body is concomitantly tight), you take your thumbs and wrap them around the bar like normal. They'll feel a little out of place, but if you've got the bar positioned correctly, they'll go, and the bar won't fall out of your hands. It's easier and better than the usual bench grip because this way you've got the weight positioned more or less directly over the major forearm bones.

Try it. You'll like it. There's is a slight issue of the bar starting to hurt if you're doing lots of reps, but you can certainly use the technique on your heavy sets and on warm-ups until your hands toughen up.

This is great advice, and exactly the way I bench actually, but the fact is, sometimes that is just not enough, especially for me with the fact that I have a chronically dislocated scaphoid and lunte in one wrist, and a dislocated lunate in the other....so no matter how perfectly positioned the bar is, I get pain in my wrists. Just something to be aware of; check all injuries!

[Gary]

Inzer Wrist Wraps. They're fantastic.

http://www.inzernet.com/detail.asp?product_id=WRAPS_IRON_WRISTZ

I have the sort ones and I recommend them. Not too much bulk; just enough support.

:)
Thanks Chels, I will check those out.

[Gary]

Del wrote a great post on benching grip. I tried it and liked it a lot. Helps take the strain off the wrists and makes me a little stronger at the same time.

Basically, what you do is put the bar right on the heel of your hand, so that it feels like it's almost going to roll off. Then you close your fingers on it, which will mean that only your fingertips are "gripping" the bar, not that they're wrapped around it. Then you squeeze. Then you squeeze some more. Then a little more.

Once you're squeezing for all you're worth (and your upper body is concomitantly tight), you take your thumbs and wrap them around the bar like normal. They'll feel a little out of place, but if you've got the bar positioned correctly, they'll go, and the bar won't fall out of your hands. It's easier and better than the usual bench grip because this way you've got the weight positioned more or less directly over the major forearm bones.

Try it. You'll like it. There's is a slight issue of the bar starting to hurt if you're doing lots of reps, but you can certainly use the technique on your heavy sets and on warm-ups until your hands toughen up.
Good stuff, thanks Char!

[Gary]

Wow, thanks for posting that Char! (And thanks for writing it Dan!)

I will admit when I first read that I kind of thought it sounded a little simplistic but I had the chance to try it today. Amazing how much difference such a small adjustment can make.

[synergyb3]

Del wrote a great post on benching grip. I tried it and liked it a lot. Helps take the strain off the wrists and makes me a little stronger at the same time.

Basically, what you do is put the bar right on the heel of your hand, so that it feels like it's almost going to roll off. Then you close your fingers on it, which will mean that only your fingertips are "gripping" the bar, not that they're wrapped around it. Then you squeeze. Then you squeeze some more. Then a little more.

Once you're squeezing for all you're worth (and your upper body is concomitantly tight), you take your thumbs and wrap them around the bar like normal. They'll feel a little out of place, but if you've got the bar positioned correctly, they'll go, and the bar won't fall out of your hands. It's easier and better than the usual bench grip because this way you've got the weight positioned more or less directly over the major forearm bones.

Try it. You'll like it. There's is a slight issue of the bar starting to hurt if you're doing lots of reps, but you can certainly use the technique on your heavy sets and on warm-ups until your hands toughen up.

Thanks for sharing this. :thumb:

I'm going to have to try it. I have small wrists & use wrist wraps for support sometimes when lifting heavy.

[TheDeliverator]

Wrist support during the bench press is a big thing for me these days, as I popped a tendon in my forearm while bench pressing in February (the extensor digitorum communis for the geeks on board). Strengthening everything involved with holding a bar (in everything from the bench press to the deadlift) has become really important.

The bar position in the hand is very important, and the goal is get the bar as much on top of the bones of the forearm as possible, while still keeping the thumb wrapped around the bar. Squeezing with the fingers is very, very important, and in truth, we don't really squeeze with the thumb, it's just there to keep the bar from falling on our bloated faces and popping them.

The trick is to think about crushing the bar with your fingers and your palm throughout the entire movement.

This is why I believe grip training is one of the most important aspects of weight lifting, regardless of goals, because a stronger grip means more weight, and, a strong grip means less chance of an injury.

When you first start correctly placing and holding the bar during the bench press, it will feel pretty awkward, and, it will feel very unreliable as far as keeping the bar safely in hand. But, consistent practice makes this go away pretty quickly, think two or three pressing sessions or so.

The best methods for training the forearms for a bench press (and for just about everything) is to include a variety of grip work in your training. The simplest way is to avoid using straps on every barbell movement, and as many DB movements as possible. Other than rack pulls or shrugs, I believe any movement with a barbell should be done without straps. For DB movements, like rows or whatnot, it's common for us to row much more with DB's than we can hold on to, so we use straps for our heaviest stuff.

A useful movement is to pinch plates. We like to use tens and face them towards eachother, working up to 3 or 4 of them per hand. The trick with pinching is to keep the fingers flat against the plates, and work on flexing the palm to crush the plates. Think of your hand as a duck mouth (quack quack quack).

We have a few more toys to use for grip training (various blocks and blobs, eagle loops, etc.) but those tricks will work well for any gym. We have one lifter who does a lot of wrist curls and wrist extensions, because he spiral fractured (shattered would be more accurate) his forearm in a wrestling match and has plates in his arm from his elbow to his hand and finds that it has taken away a lot of pain for him, but, he is the only lifter we have who does them.

I recommend wrist wraps for heavier work (I also wear them squatting, sometimes) and have used Inzer Iron Z's for years now. 17 bucks a pair, get the 36" version, the shorter wraps are silly and don't offer much support.

[char-dawg]

Wow, thanks for posting that Char! (And thanks for writing it Dan!)

I will admit when I first read that I kind of thought it sounded a little simplistic but I had the chance to try it today. Amazing how much difference such a small adjustment can make.
There's no advice like taken advice. :wink: