# problem wih home gym



## mr.nitrofish (Mar 1, 2006)

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## wolfyEVH (Mar 1, 2006)

how close?? too close and you're working the tris harder than the chest


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## Andrew (Mar 1, 2006)

I just did narrow-grip bench press today.  Its my favorite tricep exercise.  I also do standard grip flat benches on a different day of the week for chest.


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## powermad (Mar 1, 2006)

mr.nitrofish said:
			
		

> I got a free bench and some weights, but the bench is real narrow so my grip on the bar is very close to the center. is this a bad thing? am I still getting a good workout?



When you say the bench is narrow, are the uprights/racks which hold the bar narrow like the benches from the 60's and 70's were?  
If this is the case, then when taking the bar out of the rack you're going to have to  grip the bar outside the uprights
**any grip narrower than having your thumbs right next to the smooth part of the bar (about a 14-16" grip) is just going to stress your wrists unneccessarily.

Or is the bench pad/part you lay down on narrow?  
If this is the case, pitch it.  Anything less than 12" wide isn't big enough to get a decent setup for you upper back/traps for keeping your stability throughout the bench press movement.

Whether or not you are getting a good workout is for you to decide.  You need to learn your body and realize what works for you and how you find out what you are doing is a waste-of-time or is productive.  So if you're making gains on this bench, by all means don't change (if it isn't broke, don't fix it).  If you have the drive/willpower and confidence, you can make good gains using low-tech, older and extremely basic equipment other's woudl scoff at.

I lift (and have been for a few years) in my home gym. It started out with an olympic bar, a few 100lbs of plates, a power rack and a flat/non-adjustable bench.  I used a box that I squatted on to change the incline of the betnch and for a long time all I did were free weight exercises with a barbell.  If you have a barbell and plates (and  a bench), then you can do rows, deadlift variations, presses, power cleans, front squats, good mornings, lunges, curls, etc.  

If you are only going to use the current piece of equip you have for bench pressing and you're limited to an ultra-close grip (i.e. hands closer together than 14" measuring from the inside of each hand) then I would'nt advise using it.  This is because once you are pressing enough weight to make decent gains your wrists are going to be killing you.


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## mr.nitrofish (Mar 1, 2006)

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## Nitrateman (Mar 1, 2006)

Nitro
If you are getting something out of it, and it is merely supplemental, then what's the problem....as long as you realize everything Wolfy said is gospel.

Nitrateman


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## mr.nitrofish (Mar 1, 2006)

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## powermad (Mar 7, 2006)

MN,
16" between hands is a close-medium grip.  You should still be able to work your chest with that close of grip, just refine your technique--in fact it should help you to learn how to use the correct bench press grip/technique to attain you goals(which depends on preference, sport (i.e. powerlifting vs. bodybuilding).

Your grip plays some role in your pressing but so does the amount of elbow flare and bar placement (on the mid/upper/lower chest, etc).  By flaring your elbows wide and bringing the bar down to your mid chest while squeezing the bar hard and trying to contract your chest you will minimize triceps involvement.   IF you place the bar on the upper abs/lower chest with your elbows tucked to 45° or so and you try to "pull the bar apart" then the tris will be worked hard.


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## healthfreak (Mar 7, 2006)

it should still be fine. just do chest and tris on the same day. do yu have dumbells. you can always switch up to that every once in a while.
plus if its just for an extra workout now and then who cares. just do light weight and contract really hard.


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## UpNorth (Mar 10, 2006)

I have a home bench and can't use it because it digs into my shoulder blades because it's too wide.


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