Hey, what's up guys?
I'm Scott from Muscularstrength.com and today we're going to focus on fixing your hand grip on some of your favorite
Exercises in the gym and now it might not seem all that
Important but believe it or not proper hand placement when performing an exercise can be the difference between not only avoiding an injury
but actually targeting the intended muscles the exercise is supposed to train now it
May take some time for you to apply all the changes in this video
But don't get discouraged guys
If you've been performing an exercise of a specific way for a long time, your body has now adapted to what you've been doing
So when you start making corrections
It's not unusual to feel weaker at first but in time you will be stronger than ever
So let's get started. First up is the close grip bench, press I have to be honest guys for a long time
I made this mistake as well. In fact, I think that the majority of us who went to the gym pre-youtube
started out close grip bench
pressing with terrible form and the bad hand placement in question is
When your hands are super close together like this in the middle of the barbell now
This is bad for many reasons guys
Number one having to balance the barbell with your hands this close together
That's just wasted energy that could go towards more reps and more weight number two
You'll tend to bench more over your chest instead of your core
Which is the proper range of motion to target your triceps number three this grip forces your elbows to be flared out
instead of being close to the sides of your torso and
Four if you think in terms of the path of least resistance in order to lift as heavy as you can
with your hands in this position
you're placing a lot of that pushing force in your elbows and wrists which can over time lead to wrist and elbow pain or
Possible injury. So what is proper hand placement on this exercise? Well, believe it or not
It's with your hands about shoulder-width. So why do people do it this way?
well
I think it comes down to that most people associate a wider grip with the benchpress because they don't really have a proper understanding
Of the movement pattern of the barbell when close grip bench pressing
They think that if they have their hands any wider than this the exercise is automatically a bench
But the close grip bench press isn't the same exact form of a barbell bench press with just your hands closer together
It's not how it works. In fact in order to execute the movement properly
You need to tuck your elbows in and press up over your torso, which is very different from a bench
Press where you're pressing up and over your chest. So
lower the weight fix your grip and stop finally utilizing this amazing exercise the correct way and
Speaking of the bench press that's our second exercise
But this is more for safety rather being bad form
And what I'm referring to is using a false grip also known as a suicide grip when performing the movement now
for those of you who don't know a
suicide grip is when you place your thumb on the same side as the rest of your fingers when gripping the barbell and if
executed correctly
It can help reduce the amount of internal rotation and flared elbows out
position that happens when using a traditional grip or thumb around the barbell
But the problem is that most people don't know how to execute this grip properly
Okay
It's much more than just going like this with your thumb and as a result can be
Seriously injured if the barbell slips out of their hands crushing their face or neck
That's why it's also known as a suicide grip
now if you guys would like a video on how to properly
Use the false grip when benching tap that like button and comment below and I'd be more than happy to film a tutorial video
But in the meantime your best bet is to stay safe work on your shoulder flexibility and use a traditional grip when benching
Especially if you don't have a spotter
You'll have a lot more control over the weight with the traditional grip and it's a lot easier to continue to make gains
When you're not dead from barbells, next up is the hammer curl
I know guys not a hard exercise to execute, right?
Well, there's always room for improvement if I can help you guys lift just a bit heavier. That's what I'm going to do
So in most cases, we just walk over to the rack grab a pair of dumbbells, and then it's off to the races
But pay attention next time to your hand placement when you grab the dumbbells
it's
Instinct to grab them in the middle because that's the easiest way to hold them
Balanced in your hands as you remove them from the rack
but grabbing in the middle means that there will be a lot of wasted energy on your
Forearms as you tried to keep this grip as you complete your repetitions
so as soon as you're about to begin your first set
Loosen your hands up a bit and slide them to the top of the dumbbells this way
The upper plate can rest a bit on your hands and you won't have to squeeze the handle so hard to hold the weight
I know guys. It's a simple adjustment
But it will really come in handy
When you're a grip is fatiguing and you still have three or four reps left in the tank
the fourth exercise is the barbell back squat and I actually
Just released a really great video going over all the pain points to the squat
That could be preventing you from going full range of motion and how to fix them
So if you missed that video, I'll link it for you guys below but let's dive a bit more into hand placement here guys
It's super important
whether high or low bar squatting that the barbell is securely placed and held on your back and shoulders if
Not as you perform the movement
There's a good chance the body will move which can throw off the entire set loose weight is not only dangerous
But it can also impede the maximum amount of weight that you can lift
So when you set up for your squat
Try your best to keep a narrow grip and your wrists neutral
This is going to be the best way to make sure the barbell is
Secure the entire set so it should go without saying that if you can't quite get to a narrow grip
Do the best you can while continuously working on your shoulder and wrist flexibility week to week
Now before we get to the final exercise
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All right. So the final exercise we're going to cover today is the upright row
Now before everyone gets upset again, alright, let me just make a few things very clear with this exercise
I have zero shoulder pain and no previous injuries impeding my ability to perform this exercise correctly
alright
So if you do it is 100% okay to switch the dumbbells and at this point the hand placement doesn't even matter
So you're good to go
But if you're like me and you really enjoy this exercise with a barbell here is what you need to do
Firstly when I use the upright row guys, I am never
Overloading with this exercise. In fact, it should never be used that way
I only use it for high volume sets and to be honest
It's probably because of this that I've never had any issues with this exercise you see
Most people end up hurting themselves because when they grab the barbell with their hands super close together like this, which is wrong
They're a lot they're able to pull more weight up, but not necessarily target your rear delts and shoulders more or your traps
so all this really accomplishes is
Internal shoulder rotation which leads to shoulder impingement and a future injury to execute the movement
Properly you need to grab the barbell with your hands about shoulder width or a tiny bit wider
So that as you get to the top of the movement
You can pull your elbows back and down to properly target your traps and deltoids
so if you can't do this even with a barbell then switch the dumbbells and once again
Continue to work on your shoulder flexibility
I hope this video helps you guys lift with better form in the gym
And remember that when applying these tips, you will need to lower the weight, but I guarantee
That once you nail down the proper grip
How much weight you can lift and all your working sets will go up and as always more good stuff coming soon
Did you learn a lot from today's video?
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