Wide Grip Bench Press
A barbell bench press with your hands set wider than usual, which shortens the press and puts more stretch on your chest, with your front delts and triceps still helping.
- Primary muscles
- Upper chest, Middle chest, Lower chest
- Secondary
- Front delts, Triceps
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
Widening your grip shortens the distance the bar travels and puts your chest under more stretch at the bottom, while asking less of your triceps than a standard or close grip. It suits lifters who already bench comfortably and want more chest focus, or who press better over a shorter range. The trade-off is more load on your shoulders, so set your hands only moderately wider than your normal grip and never out at the collars.
How to do it
Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar and your feet planted, then grip the bar wider than shoulder-width.
Unrack the bar and hold it over your chest with straight arms.
Lower it to your lower chest, letting your elbows flare out more than on a standard bench press.
Press back up. The wider grip shortens the range of motion and puts more stretch on the chest, but it also loads the shoulders more, so don't take the grip out to the collars.
Common mistakes
Gripping too wide
Taking your hands out toward the collars loads your shoulders more without giving your chest much extra. Go only a little wider than your normal grip.
Touching too high on your chest
With a wide grip, bringing the bar to your upper chest or neck puts your shoulders in an awkward position. Lower it to your lower chest instead.
Losing your shoulder blade setup
The wide grip makes it easy for your shoulders to roll forward off the bench. Pull your shoulder blades back and down before unracking and keep them pinned throughout.
Bouncing out of the stretch
The bottom is where the wide grip stretches your chest most, and a bounce skips it. Touch your chest lightly, pause for a moment if needed, then press.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
