I have been working out with a trainer and adding good size. The trainer I'm using tells me to go a fist away from my chest on all bench exersizes. Is this true because I have never seen anyone do this at the gym and everything that I have read seems to point that the chest is most involved in bench for about the first 6 inchs then the tris start to take over. any thoughts would be great.

"Is this true" ... true for what? There are a million ways to bench press, and no single method is going to be the right way. There are a variety of methods and sometimes the method you're not accustomed to is what will produce the most results.

Pausing above the chest keeps contraction on the chest and keeps the tension, instead of allowing you to "rest" between reps as you would should you let it actually go down and set on the chest. Furthermore, the optimal range is different for every person due to a variety of parameters such as your height, chest girth, length of your arms, etc ... in fact, going to the chest for some people entails a slight rotation of the shoulders which can result in rotator cuff impingement, so in those cases it is not recommended ... on the flipside, someone with a 60" chest would definitely want to go all the way down or else they simply won't be getting sufficient range.

Your trainer asked you to do that for a reason. The question is really - did they make that suggestion based on you and your personal history and physique, or did they simply pull out a recommendation they make with all of their clients without really knowing what it means?

Jeremy

I have been working out with a trainer and adding good size. The trainer I'm using tells me to go a fist away from my chest on all bench exersizes. Is this true because I have never seen anyone do this at the gym and everything that I have read seems to point that the chest is most involved in bench for about the first 6 inchs then the tris start to take over. any thoughts would be great.

my chest is not 60inches. He says that he feels that extra range of motion is useless and has all his clients and himself go a fist away. He made the same arguements as you. Also kind of curious if you go all the way down. I have added alot to my bench with this method and my shoulders also are no longer bothering me.

One reason to why you can have added a lot is that you might have been bouncing the weight off your chest before. I see pretty much everybody do this in the gym. Slam the bar down hard on your chest, and throw it back up with the momentum it recieves from your chest. You won't add much strength that way. Stopping a few inches from your chest eliminates this, forcing your muscles to do the work.

Personally, I go all the way down to my chest. I have never had any problems with my shoulders if you disregard a football injury I had a few years back (not benching related in any ways, and my performance in the weight room has not been hindered by it).