Usually when I bench press, my wrists hurt. I dont' think I'm supporting the weight correctly. What am I doing wrong?

I usually do some forearm exercises just to strengthen that area up, it helps me a lot before benching. I feel like I have a better grip, but when go do the presses, it usually hurts after 6 reps or so.

Make sure your keeping your wrists straight like this:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2707/wristdn9.jpg

If your fist is leaning back then it puts a lot of extra pressure on the wrist.

It could also be due to some chronic injury like tendonitis.

Make sure your keeping your wrists straight like this:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2707/wristdn9.jpg

If your fist is leaning back then it puts a lot of extra pressure on the wrist.

It could also be due to some chronic injury like tendonitis.

/hijack

Whenever I see that pic it makes me giggle. I'm so immature.

/endhijack

Make sure you keep your wrists straight and don't let them bend backward, I've seen muscle strains and wrist fractures from that.

Make sure your keeping your wrists straight like this:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2707/wristdn9.jpg

If your fist is leaning back then it puts a lot of extra pressure on the wrist.

It could also be due to some chronic injury like tendonitis.

Chicanerous' form is correct. When you start to do heavy presses, you have to be very careful where you rest the bar. Some people like to rest the right below the pad of their hands, thus putting the angle for their wrist at around 90 -> 120%. I'm not sure about other people, but when I did that it really started to hurt my wrists.

I changed it so that the bar rests on the butt of my palm, around where the thumb bone starts. I find that for me that works best.

Also you might consider getting wrist straps. They're kinda like the lifting belt except for your wrists, they help to support the wrists.

And yes, tendinitis and RSI also play a big factor. If you type a lot and feel strain when typing, you've likely got RSI. Best thing for you is to get a wrist support guard and lay off any hardcore bar press exercises until your wrists get better.

Where does it hurt? thumb side? Pinky side? Palm side? back of wrist?

How wide do you grip the bar?

I used to get a kind of "pinching" pain in my right wrist when I did barbell bench. After a few months of dumbbell work, I went back to trying barbell again and it was fine. Can't say that it'll help you for sure, but worth a try perhaps?

Also - ice on the wrist. 20 mins on, 20 mins off. Can't hurt.

Interesting. I see I always leaned my fists back too much. I have weak wrists. I always use wrist wraps, especially for tricep exercises.

Interesting. I see I always leaned my fists back too much. I have weak wrists. I always use wrist wraps, especially for tricep exercises.

But you have strong bones if you keep them straight as Chic shows :bb:

I have never use wraps but if they work, do it.:tu:

Another trick to keep in mind is visualize yourself pulling both ends of the barbell away from each other - like you were trying to pull it apart in halves.

By keeping your wrists straight and doing that, you'll lessen the chance of reverting back to limp-wristedness.

When you get heavy, you wont be doing 90 degrees. You'll crush your thumb. You'll end up going about 120 degrees back, as BiT mentioned. However, you should be able to control the bar and not have it press your wrists back or pull them forward.

When you get heavy, you wont be doing 90 degrees. You'll crush your thumb. You'll end up going about 120 degrees back, as BiT mentioned. However, you should be able to control the bar and not have it press your wrists back or pull them forward.
Haha. What do you mean by those angles? By 90, do you mean 180? I'm not visualizing something right. 180 degrees (i.e. back of the palm in line with the forearm) would never be correct to use. Proper wrist position always puts the second joint of the fingers almost directly in line with the forearm.

Haha. What do you mean by those angles? By 90, do you mean 180? I'm not visualizing something right. 180 degrees (i.e. back of the palm in line with the forearm) would never be correct to use. Proper wrist position always puts the second joint of the fingers almost directly in line with the forearm.

:doh:
It made sense to me. I'll clarify. I took the angle between a line drawn through the front of the forearm and a line drawn through the palm of the hand. This is a fairly extreme example (see pic) for what I'm trying to describe, but I find that I need to do this when lifting in the low rep range (3 to 1 reps).

:doh:
It made sense to me. I'll clarify. I took the angle between a line drawn through the front of the forearm and a line drawn through the palm of the hand. This is a fairly extreme example (see pic) for what I'm trying to describe, but I find that I need to do this when lifting in the low rep range (3 to 1 reps).
So, you're just saying that, when you go heavy, the wrist needs to lean back a bit more than I pictured to be able to support the weight. That's definitely completely normal. The picture is just the ideal. The fist should never be tilted more forward than that or completely back, but marginally back is still fine when the weight is heavy.

The 90/180 degree thing threw me because there's never a time the line through the palm vs. the forearm is supposed to be either of those.

Some people like to rest the right below the pad of their hands, thus putting the angle for their wrist at around 90 -> 120%. I'm not sure about other people, but when I did that it really started to hurt my wrists.

I changed it so that the bar rests on the butt of my palm, around where the thumb bone starts. I find that for me that works best.
Yeah, there's a sweet spot on the palm where bar lays right across the middle and rests on the muscular pad just adjacent to the thumb. That's the ideal place for the bar to lay.

So, you're just saying that, when you go heavy, the wrist needs to lean back a bit more than I pictured to be able to support the weight. That's definitely completely normal. The picture is just the ideal. The fist should never be tilted more forward than that or completely back, but marginally back is still fine when the weight is heavy.

The 90/180 degree thing threw me because there's never a time the line through the palm vs. the forearm is supposed to be either of those.


Yeah, there's a sweet spot on the palm where bar lays right across the middle and rests on the muscular pad just adjacent to the thumb. That's the ideal place for the bar to lay.

In hindsight, I'm still not making sense. Just look at the picture. :lol:

Ok, cool guys - thanks for all the replies. Another quick question:

How far should my body be positioned on the barbell bench while doing bench presses? When I look up at the bar, where should it be relative to my body (like by the shoulders, upper chest, etc...)?

Thanks.

Depends if you have someone to unrack it for you or not. Ideally, you want your lockout to be straight up and ahead of the uprights by at least two or three inches.

Ok, cool guys - thanks for all the replies. Another quick question:

How far should my body be positioned on the barbell bench while doing bench presses? When I look up at the bar, where should it be relative to my body (like by the shoulders, upper chest, etc...)?

Thanks.

Laying under the bar, your eyes should be directly under the bar.

Laying under the bar, your eyes should be directly under the bar.
If you can move up further than that, there's no reason not to do so. You want to minimize the horizontal distance the bar must travel in order to get into position.

If you can move up further than that, there's no reason not to do so. You want to minimize the horizontal distance the bar must travel in order to get into position.

Depends on your bar path. There are two separate styles of bench pressing, one with a very straight up-and-down bar path, the other with a low arc towards the head. There are great bench pressers in both camps. Identify your style first, then figure out your body position to take it from the rack.