To fix bent wrist position on the bench press, rotate your hands as if to create a diamond when you set your hands on the bar. This technique allows you to place the bar lower in the palm, which helps maintain a straighter wrist alignment.
The Grip Rotation Technique Explained
Proper hand and wrist positioning is crucial for a safe and effective bench press. Bent wrists, often looking like they are hyperextended backward, can lead to discomfort and potential injury. The reference describes a specific setup method to counteract this:
- Identify the Problem: Bent wrists occur when the bar is placed too high in the palm, causing the wrist to extend backward under load.
- Implement the Fix: Before gripping the bar, rotate your hands inward slightly towards each other, as if you were forming a diamond shape between your thumbs and index fingers if you were touching your hands together below the bar.
- Grab the Bar: Maintain this inward rotation as you reach up to grasp the bar.
- Lower Bar Placement: Gripping the bar with this slight inward hand rotation allows the bar to naturally sit lower in the heel of your palm, rather than higher towards your fingers.
Why Grip Placement Matters
Placing the bar lower in the palm aligns the weight more directly over your forearm bones (radius and ulna). This creates a stronger, more stable base, allowing your forearms to support the load vertically. When the bar is higher in the palm, the force creates a leverage issue, bending the wrist backward and placing stress on the joint and surrounding tissues.
Consider the difference:
| Incorrect Grip | Correct Grip |
|---|---|
| Bar sits high in palm | Bar sits lower in palm |
| Wrist is bent backward | Wrist is straighter |
| Load misaligned | Load aligned over forearm |
| Increased wrist stress | Reduced wrist stress |
By rotating your hands slightly inward during setup to ensure the bar sits low in your palm, you create a more stacked and stable wrist position, directly addressing the issue of bent wrists during the bench press.
