Bench Press Grip and Push Up Hand Position
It's time to get a grip, a better bench press grip that is.
We all know that the bench press and pushups are great exercises for working the chest, but did you know that your hand position can greatly affect the amount of muscle fiber usage, and therefore growth, in your chest? We all know that muscle groups only call more fibers into action when the ones being used can't handle the load.
That's a good thing, they are calling for help, because they are being stimulated.
A study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research revealed that a wide bench press grip of about 190 percent of shoulder width, creates more muscle stimulation than doing the bench press with a narrower grip (shoulder width and 130 percent of shoulder width).
On the bench press, the wider the grip, the more the pectoralis major muscle group is engaged, and the narrower the grip, the more the triceps kick in and help with the load.
Since pushups generally only have a load of your own bodyweight, the opposite is true.
The pecs are more active, therefore receive more stimulation, when your hands are closer together.
When your hands are closer together in a pushup position, it causes the pecs to be in a shorter position.
Your muscles generate less power at shorter lengths than at longer lengths, so using narrower hand position actually forces the pectoralis major to activate more muscle fibers to complete a full up and down pushup.
We all know that the bench press and pushups are great exercises for working the chest, but did you know that your hand position can greatly affect the amount of muscle fiber usage, and therefore growth, in your chest? We all know that muscle groups only call more fibers into action when the ones being used can't handle the load.
That's a good thing, they are calling for help, because they are being stimulated.
A study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research revealed that a wide bench press grip of about 190 percent of shoulder width, creates more muscle stimulation than doing the bench press with a narrower grip (shoulder width and 130 percent of shoulder width).
On the bench press, the wider the grip, the more the pectoralis major muscle group is engaged, and the narrower the grip, the more the triceps kick in and help with the load.
Since pushups generally only have a load of your own bodyweight, the opposite is true.
The pecs are more active, therefore receive more stimulation, when your hands are closer together.
When your hands are closer together in a pushup position, it causes the pecs to be in a shorter position.
Your muscles generate less power at shorter lengths than at longer lengths, so using narrower hand position actually forces the pectoralis major to activate more muscle fibers to complete a full up and down pushup.
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