Close grip bench in competition?

[Andre Gregoire]

I have been lifting for 17yrs but never trained for powerlifting.

I have always done Squats & Deads but never really liked flat Bench Press as it hurts my bad shoulder so that pretty much stopped me from competing in powerlifting but I have always been interested.

Would a close grip bench press be legal in a competition?

I have considered competing in power lifting and mainly concentrating on Squats and Deads. I figured I could put up like 200lbs on the bench without hurting my shoulder and my total would suck but at least I could compete in powerlifting.

But now I am wondering if Close Grip Benching is allowed. If so I might be able to put up a lot more weight as that range of motion doesn't hurt my shoulder as much.

Sorry if this is a stupid question. I have another stupid one to ask about the Deadlift. :beer

[steve_d]

if you got used to a shirt, you might just eliminate the shoulder pain altogether...Depends on exactly what shoulder pain you have. I know for me, the shirt was actually making the pain worse because I could never get used to the position the shirt made me lift in. But you never know - it could be worth trying?

To answer your question...I am actually not sure the rules of how close your allowed. there's rules for wide grip, but how close are you talking ? like hands 6 inches from each other close?

[Andre Gregoire]

Not that close something like 12-18 inches, almost shoulder width.

From some reading I have seen like you said that in the rules they seem to only specify a maximum width. I guess there are no limits on how narrow you can go, after all it limits the weight you can lift and increases the range of motion.

[tiramisu]

It's hard to imagine a rule against close grip as it increases the distance of travel and lowers your numbers. You'ld have to read the rules for the specific organization though as there are about a million of them and they all have slightly different rules.

[sherlock]

To answer the question by OP I would think regular close grips would be out of the question in competition as I believe there are specific distance amounts in which you can place your hands.

Also, I have never seen someone actually do a close grip in competitions, although I know of a few people (myself included) whose close grip is actually stronger than flat bench.

On a side note, anyone remember that kid featured in Musclemag International probably about twenty years ago named Jungle Jim? He was something like 16-17 years old and could close grip 5 plates. Damn impressive. I've looked on the 'net to see what he's doing now but can't find a thing. Pretty impressive strength on him.

[liquidfire]

Close grip is definitely allowed in powerlifting meets. What the video in the following elitefts article and you'll see why you should bench with a wide grip and fix your problem instead of doing a close grip and ignoring the problem...

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/part-iv-so-you-think-you-can-bench/

[Andre Gregoire]

and fix your problem instead of doing a close grip and ignoring the problem...

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/part-iv-so-you-think-you-can-bench/

Dude, seriously you don't know me, you don't know what my shoulder problem is, how long I have had it and what I have already done to rehap so :moon

[Talo]

close grip or medium grip is fine . I've only see issues with going to wide.

As Steve mentioned , putting on a shirt may just take away your issues , it did for myself , but not for Steve :) so it will all depend on your injury.

Any thoughts on using gear ( shirt / suit ) to lift in ?

[liquidfire]

Dude, seriously you don't know me, you don't know what my shoulder problem is, how long I have had it and what I have already done to rehap so :moon

Just trying to help man... You're right I don't know you and your specific situation but I think the advice in that video applies to anyone with shoulder problems.

A wide grip bench (ie: ring finger to index finger on the rings) will mean less shoulder rotation and if the full range of motion hurts then boards should be used until you get healthy enough to do a full range of motion.

[Andre Gregoire]

liquidfire: Sorry if I was an ass, my shoulder is a sensitive point for me I've been dealing with it for over a decade. Problem comes and goes despite lots of rehab, rotator cuff work, stretching, lower traps strengthening, etc...

Talo: I was thinking of doing it raw mainly because Bodybuilding is my first love, I am trying this out for the off-season just for fun and to build up my strength to help increase my mass when I go back to bodybuilding training. I don't really want to invest too much time learning about the gear, how to use it and spending money on it. Also, I am more impressed by Raw lifters. I respect all powerlifters but Raw lifters have always impressed me more.