Bench press with reverse grip for more muscular arms and chest
About four years ago, I injured my left shoulder doing bench presses with heavy dumbbells. I recently found out that I had injured the limbus - the glenoid rim of the shoulder joint. I am now undergoing treatment and hope that this problem will soon be over.
In the meantime, I have spent many hours looking for alternative chest exercises. All of my old favorite exercises including flat bench presses, incline bench presses and dips gloss over my issues, so my options are limited.
I remembered reading an article years ago about reverse grip bench presses / bench presses with an underhand grip that emphasized how great this exercise is. At the time I originally read the article, I could perform any exercise I wanted, so I didn't really believe in the merits of this exercise. Luckily, I remembered this article when I needed it most.
As it turns out, I wish I had been using the reverse grip bench press all along. It's a fantastic exercise and it might even be better for chest development than regular bench presses.
The reverse grip bench press works the biceps and triceps as well as the upper and lower pecs.
The benefits of bench presses with reverse grip
Bench press is the queen of all chest exercises, right? I'm beginning to wonder how much truth there really is in that statement. I've been bench pressing for 20 years. I've bench pressed over 140 kilos on reps and trained both low volume bench presses with heavy weights and high volume bench presses with light weights.
However, one thing was always the case regardless of weight and volume - I could barely feel the exercise in my chest. When I bench press, I get a great pump in my triceps and shoulder muscles. I can feel my triceps and shoulder muscles working and also feel the mind-muscle connection. However, this is not the case with my chest.
However, the bench press with reverse grip is completely different. When I tried this exercise for the first time, I immediately felt the contraction in my chest muscles. Not only did I feel the contraction, but it was a full, deep contraction that I had never felt in my chest before - I had never felt this level of mind-muscle connection in my pecs from butterflies, dips, bench presses, or any other exercise. It was fantastic.
But the benefits don't stop there. Not only did my pecs contract, but so did my triceps and biceps. Who would expect to feel a bicep contraction during a chest exercise?
Another benefit I felt from the reverse grip bench press was the lack of shoulder muscle activation. My pecs, biceps and triceps were doing most of the work. For the first time, my shoulder muscles were not the first muscles to give up on the bench press because they had to carry the biggest load.
When performing reverse grip bench presses, you will work many muscles including pecs, biceps, triceps and front & side shoulder muscles, but primarily you will be working the muscles that will help you achieve more muscular arms and pecs.
Bench press with reverse grip for the upper pecs
Many sources will tell you that the reverse grip bench press is an exercise for the upper chest. I don't want to contradict that, but I also want to tell you that this is also an exercise for the lower chest. Bench press with reverse grip is an all-encompassing chest exercise. Everyone likes to cite a study that showed increased activity in the upper pecs when bench presses were performed with an underhand grip (reverse grip) (1). However, what everyone seems to overlook is what the study doesn't say. At no point does the study indicate that bench pressing with a reverse grip reduces lower pectoral muscle activity.
The study says that bench pressing with a close grip reduced lower pec activation, but when the grip was swapped for an underhand grip, there was no reduction in lower pec activity!
My interpretation of this study is that reverse grip bench presses increase activation of the upper pecs without inhibiting activation of the lower pecs. So you should get all the benefits of bench presses for the lower pecs PLUS additional benefits for the upper pecs.
Beyond this study, I can confirm from personal experience that reverse grip bench presses are an excellent exercise for overall chest development.
Bench press with reverse grip for the triceps
Just like regular bench presses, reverse grip bench presses use the triceps in addition to the pecs to push the weight up. If your goal is to get the most out of your triceps during this exercise, then I recommend using a tighter grip.
The same study I just cited observed increased triceps activation when a tighter grip was used during the bench press. This applies to both regular bench presses and bench presses with a reverse grip. The tighter the grip, the greater the triceps activation.
The study I am quoting here shows that activation of the lower chest is reduced when using a narrow grip during regular bench presses. This means that in regular bench presses, a close grip increases triceps activation but reduces chest activation. What is unique about the reverse grip bench press is that you can use a tighter grip and increase triceps activation without reducing pectoral activation.
According to this study, pec activation was not reduced when a close grip was used if a reverse grip was used. As I interpret this study, this means that you can increase triceps activation by using a close grip without reducing pec activation as long as a reverse grip is used.
That sounds pretty good, right?
Bench press with reverse grip, in addition to being a great exercise for the pecs, is definitely an excellent triceps exercise as well. This makes it the perfect exercise for building more muscular arms and a more muscular chest.
Bench press with reverse grip for the biceps
Bicep training during a bench press exercise? Yes, that's right. Unlike regular bench presses, reverse grip bench presses train the biceps in addition to the pecs and triceps. This one exercise trains all the muscles of the arms and chest.
Due to the position of the elbows and shoulders, the biceps are more involved in this exercise, especially during the concentric (lifting) phase of the movement. When you lower the weight again, your biceps also help to prevent the weight from coming down too quickly.
Have you ever tried forced negative repetitions? Here, a training partner helps you to lift the weight, after which you slowly lower the weight again. You can't move the weight up on your own, but you can prevent yourself from lowering the weight too quickly.
The reverse grip bench press is almost like performing a set of forced negative repetitions for your biceps. These try to control the weight but require support from the biceps and triceps.
It's unlikely that insufficient bicep strength will prevent you from performing this exercise, so you don't need to worry if your biceps can't keep up with the rest of your arms and chest. Perform reverse grip bench presses for a while and they will be able to keep up!
The correct form for performing bench presses with reverse grip
Tighten your chest muscles. Then raise your arms 90 degrees and try to tighten your chest muscles. What did you find out? I guess you couldn't get a good contraction with your arms raised.
Have you ever seen a bodybuilder tighten his pecs on stage? What position were his arms in? My guess is that you will see that his arms are pointing down and his elbows and hands are in the lower abdomen / belly button area.
The natural position in which it is easiest to tighten the pectoral muscles is with the arms raised about 15 to 20 degrees.
What role does this play?
The correct form of the bench press with reverse grip puts us in exactly this position! I believe this is the secret behind the activation of the pecs and the better mind-muscle connection in the reverse grip bench press. You are able to engage your pecs during this exercise because this exercise puts you in a position where it is naturally easy to engage the pecs!
Most of us perform regular bench presses with the upper arms at a 65 to 75 degree angle to the body. Although it is possible to tighten the chest at this angle, it is far more difficult.
The form of the exercise differs significantly between the regular bench press and the bench press with reverse grip. In the reverse grip, the bar will be slightly lower over your chest than in the regular bench press.
As the weight moves down towards your chest, it will also move slightly towards your feet so that the bar will be slightly below your chest at its lowest position.
When you push the bar upwards, it will not only move upwards but also slightly towards your head. I believe that this slight forward and backward movement increases the contraction of the chest muscles.
The grip width is variable, but I find a shoulder width grip the most comfortable. This is also the grip width where I feel the strongest contraction.
You will find that performing this exercise correctly will bring your arms to a 15 to 20 degree angle relative to your torso.
A quick note about putting the weight down and pushing the weight out of the rack. If you are training alone, you may find it difficult to push the weight out of the rack and put it back down when performing bench presses with a reverse grip. To solve this problem, I perform the exercise in my power rack and start the exercise in the lowest position with the bar resting on the safety rack of my rack.
I also finish the set in the lowest position. I adjust the safety rack so that I can just squeeze myself under the bar. If you position the safety rack correctly, you can continue to perform the exercise over the full range of motion.
Performing bench presses with reverse grip in this way allows me to use maximum weight without having to worry about the weight falling on my face when I start or finish the exercise.
Bench press with reverse grip for shoulder pain
I started this article by telling you how my shoulder injury led me to discover the benefits of reverse grip bench presses. Even though I am anything but happy about my shoulder injury, I am glad to have found the reverse grip bench press as an exercise. This exercise has certainly contributed to my gains in the pectoral area.
Reverse grip bench presses tend to put less stress on the shoulder joint than regular bench presses. The natural position of the press and the underhand grip allow the shoulder to remain in a more externally rotated position during the exercise. This makes shoulder impingement less likely.
There are many different types of shoulder injuries and problems and reverse grip bench presses may not be the right exercise for everyone with every injury. For my situation, however, this exercise was a blessing. Reverse grip bench presses allowed me to continue training despite my injury. While regular bench presses aggravated my injury, I hardly feel it when I perform reverse grip bench presses.
How to avoid wrist pain when bench pressing with reverse grip
The most common complaint about reverse grip bench presses is that this exercise causes pain in the wrists. I've had problems like this too.
The problem is that many exercisers cannot turn their hands far enough outwards in the underhand grip to be able to grip the bar in a reverse position. This problem can be solved in different ways.
Bench press with reverse grip with dumbbells
The reverse grip bench press with dumbbells is a great alternative for anyone with wrist pain. I like this exercise and use it regularly.
I particularly like the dumbbell variation with a close grip and love the deliberate hard contraction at the highest point of the movement.
Reverse grip bench presses with dumbbells allow you to rotate the dumbbells to a slightly more neutral position, which reduces the stress on the wrists.
The problem with using dumbbells, however, is that this variation can limit your ability to increase the weight further. You may run out of dumbbells before you have reached your full strength potential.
If you want to use reverse grip bench presses as a substitute for regular bench presses, then you need to be able to move heavy weights.
I would therefore use reverse grip bench presses with dumbbells more as a supporting exercise, perhaps as a second or third exercise in your chest training.
But what can you do if you want to do heavy reverse grip bench presses but suffer from pain in your wrists? Here are some options.
Use a straight bar, but change your grip
One option to minimize wrist pain is to change your grip. Instead of gripping the bar so that it runs horizontally across your hand, try gripping it at a slight angle.
The bar should run from the top of your palm on the thumb side to the middle/bottom of the palm on the other side. This may be uncomfortable for the hands, but it should allow you to perform the exercise successfully.
Use a curl bar
This is my favorite. A curl bar - also known as a SZ bar - will allow you to perform reverse grip bench presses without the wrist pain that can occur when using a straight bar.
Your wrists will be in a slightly less rotated position than when using a straight bar, while still using an underhand grip.
This exercise will feel similar to the dumbbell variation but will give you the stability of a barbell.
There's just one problem here. A SZ bar is often too short to place on the rack. You can't use it in the power rack or on a regular bench press station. You can't load it in the rack and perform the exercise.
At some point, as with the dumbbell variation, you will reach a point where you can no longer lift the weight off the floor to perform the exercise. Here too, the equipment is a limitation.
What is the solution?
The solution is a longer dumbbell bar that is just as long as a regular barbell bar. This bar is also known as a rackable curl bar. It will allow you to increase the weight until you run out of weight plates.
What about incline bench presses with reverse grip?
Incline bench press with reverse grip is possibly the ultimate exercise for developing the upper pecs.
Scientific research has shown that reverse grip bench presses can increase activation of the upper pecs by up to 30%. Another study has shown that incline bench presses increase activation of the upper pecs by around 5% (2).
This means a combined increase in upper pecs of 35% compared to regular bench presses. I believe it could be even more, but there is no study to date that has directly examined incline bench presses with reverse grip.
In my experience, regular incline bench presses are an excellent exercise for the shoulder muscles, but not so much for the pecs. I have spoken to other exercisers and they share my view.
Incline bench presses with reverse grip take some of the pressure off the shoulders, which allows you to contract the chest more. I find that I can achieve a much better contraction and a much better mind-muscle connection with incline bench presses with reverse grip than with regular incline bench presses.
Conclusion
Bench press with reverse grip has a multitude of benefits. It is an excellent exercise for anyone who wants to develop more muscular arms and a fuller chest. Bench press with reverse grip is not just an exercise for the upper chest, but an exercise that will work the upper and lower pecs, triceps and biceps.
Bench press with reverse grip ...
- Is an excellent exercise for the upper chest
- Is an excellent exercise for the lower chest
- Trains the biceps
- Trains the triceps
- Trains the shoulders
- Is an excellent exercise if you suffer from shoulder pain
- Offers variations for people with wrist problems
If you're looking for an upper body exercise to develop a more muscular chest and arms, then you should give the reverse grip bench press a try. I think you'll love this exercise and find the contraction, pump and mind-muscle connection you're looking for.
References:
Source: https://pumpsomeiron.com/reverse-grip-bench-press-for-bigger-arms-and-chest/