Join date: Jun 2006
Location: Michigan, USA
Posts: 174
I was training yesterday and was approached by a friend who went away to school on a football/ wrestling scholarship, and during my bench press warm up sets he mentioned something about a suicide grip.
Which is, instead of wrapping your thumb around the bar you place it behind your index finger and craddle the bar in your palm. He said all the athletes at his school use this grip, because it promotes wrist strength and proper bar placement.
My questions are, is it safe, and practicle? How many of you use it, or have used it, and anyone ever had the bar slip out? Which it would seem prone to doing in this position.
Join date: May 2007
Location: Ontario, CAN
Posts: 330
It's awesome if you like dropping the bar on your face. It isn't better for your wrists either, it's worse, think about it, you're bending your wrist back putting it in a weaker position.
Join date: Dec 2006
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 20
Wrap your thumbs around the bar, squeeze the hell out of it and you will lift more weight. You will also not have to worry about having the bar fall on your chest.
Join date: Jun 2005
Location: District of Columbia, USA
Posts: 1124
Ugh! I'm sure someone will disagree with me, but this is a myth started by bodybuilders who were tyring to recruit more triceps fibers into the movement. The false grip doesn't promote wrist strength at all and it puts your triceps in a much less leveraged position to contract fully and complete the lift.
You generate your force on the bench by having the bar deep at the end of the palm loaded on the nook between the ulna and the radius which can only be done properly with a straight wrist and thus a regular grip.
people think that with the false grip they are getting the same benefit because the bar is still resting on the edge of the palm, but the pinning back of the wrists negates much of the extension reflex.
People find the false grip easier primarily because they hold the bar wrong to begin with on the regular grip, usually having the bar too high in the palm. The regular grip though with proper bar placement actually allows you to generate much more force and move much more weight but will require a stronger wrist.
As far as safety goes that's your call. The stronger grip you have on the weight the generally ``safer'' you're going to be. For me the false grip vs. regular grip has less to do with safety and more to do with the most efficient way to get the bar to lockout.
Join date: May 2005
Location: California, USA
Posts: 604
Joe84 wrote:
It's awesome if you like dropping the bar on your face. It isn't better for your wrists either, it's worse, think about it, you're bending your wrist back putting it in a weaker position.
And yes I've seen people drop the bar doing this.
where do you guys come up with this? you are not going to drop the bar on your face. Imo it feels better than wrapping your thumb around the bar. Think about it when you do push ups or when you push against an object where's your thumb? I have been using this grip for 6 years
Join date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 1583
I've been using a hook grip for benching (and everything else; trying to get myself acclimated) and have found I can get an extra rep or two. Strange but true. Using a thumbless grip I actually feel weaker.
A tight grip on the bar is better for performance as well as safety. In any case, it's not called a SUICIDE grip for nothing.
Join date: May 2005
Location: California, USA
Posts: 604
robo1 wrote:
Ugh! I'm sure someone will disagree with me, but this is a myth started by bodybuilders who were tyring to recruit more triceps fibers into the movement. The false grip doesn't promote wrist strength at all and it puts your triceps in a much less leveraged position to contract fully and complete the lift.
You generate your force on the bench by having the bar deep at the end of the palm loaded on the nook between the ulna and the radius which can only be done properly with a straight wrist and thus a regular grip.
people think that with the false grip they are getting the same benefit because the bar is still resting on the edge of the palm, but the pinning back of the wrists negates much of the extension reflex.
People find the false grip easier primarily because they hold the bar wrong to begin with on the regular grip, usually having the bar too high in the palm. The regular grip though with proper bar placement actually allows you to generate much more force and move much more weight but will require a stronger wrist.
As far as safety goes that's your call. The stronger grip you have on the weight the generally ``safer'' you're going to be. For me the false grip vs. regular grip has less to do with safety and more to do with the most efficient way to get the bar to lockout.
Negative people do not find the false grip easier because the hold the bar wrong to begin with...like i mentioned before when you do pushups or push against an objects where's your thumb?
Join date: Jun 2005
Location: District of Columbia, USA
Posts: 1124
Mad Titan wrote:
Negative people do not find the false grip easier because the hold the bar wrong to begin with...like i mentioned before when you do pushups or push against an objects where's your thumb?
Madtitan, We'll have to agree to disagree. I've been arguing for the regular grip on the bench for years. I've yet to hear a plausible argument for how the false grip is more advantageous on the bench than the regular grip.
the point is to get the bar lined up perfectly with the two bones, which i beleive is almost biomechanically impossible to do with your wrists bent backwards. Plus I'm not sure your push up analogy works as the body mechanics wouldn't even allow you to place the stress fully between the 2 bones.
im talking about the best way to generate force when pressing a dead barbell off your chest. Try a set of push ups off your fists instead of off your palms and see what im talking about
Join date: Nov 2005
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 565
suicide grip is exaclty that, suicide, its just not smart, and as everyone excpt a few have said, regular grip is the CORRECT way. You're doing nothing but damaging your wrist, and not having enough control of the bar.
In regards to why people use suicide grip, I've heard that BB's use it so they don't grip the hell outa the bar and they can focus on contracting the pecs more.
summary, if you are training for sports (especially PL, suicide grip isn't allowed)use a normal grip and crush the hell outa the bar. If not training for sports, do what ever you want...
Join date: Jun 2005
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 62
I used to use the thumbless grip.....until I dropped 225 on my chest and was out of commission for about 2 months. Thankfully I was still warming up or it could have been really bad.
Join date: May 2005
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 5262
Mad Titan wrote:
Negative people do not find the false grip easier because the hold the bar wrong to begin with...like i mentioned before when you do pushups or push against an objects where's your thumb?
I say, if it works for you, and you can feel that you have complete control over the weight that way, go ahead and do it, but I don't agree with your logic about where your thumb is when pushing against flat objects. It's kind of hard to wrap your thumb around the ground.
Just as you asked that question, I'll ask where your thumb is when you catch a ball, or grab onto a bar?
If you jump up to a bar, to pull yourself up, or grab a dumbbell off the floor, or any other bar, where does your thumb naturally go?
I think the thumb was meant to be wrapped around things that it is capable of wrapping around. But I agree that if you are benching against a solid platform, it would be impossible to wrap your thumb around it.
Join date: Nov 2005
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 565
AminoBoss wrote:
Suicide grip gone wrong..
perfect example of why not to suicide grip, this was obviously not a sanctioned meet (never would have let him use that grip), looked like the high school football coach trying to show off
If you look his thumbs are wrapped around the bar.
You guys need some fucking glasses. Enlarge the video HE IS NOT USING A SUICIDE GRIP.
That being said I like the feel of what I call a thumbless grip. Its much more comfortable for me. Maybe its got something to do with how I bench, the size of my hands or my bone structure.
There might be some truth in what some of you are saying. I realize in PL competitions you have to sign a waver to use it. But in all my years of lifting I have never ever had a problem I don't think Swarchenegger did either.
Join date: Apr 2003
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 14604
His thumbs were around the bar. You guys need to look closer.
I have been gripping the bar for almost every lift with my thumbs behind the bar for over 20 years. That includes pull ups, rows, OH presses, bench presses, among others. The only time I wrap my thumbs is deads and curls.
I do it because it's comfortable. If you can't make the lift it don't really matter what grip you use.
Anyone tells me that I am "doing it wrong" had better be a shitload bigger and stronger than I am.
Join date: May 2005
Location: New York, USA
Posts: 5262
I've had the bar snap out of my hands during a low pin press, and my thumbs were wrapped around the bar. It was almost instant, and if the safety pins weren't there, I'd have been in the hospital.
So if you lose control of it, I don't think the thumb is going to help much anyway. There was no way my wrists would be able to pull that kind of weight back into position once it started coming forward (towards my feet).
Keeping my thumb around it just feels best to me, and I feel stronger with it that way.
rainjack wrote:
His thumbs were around the bar. You guys need to look closer.
I have been gripping the bar for almost every lift with my thumbs behind the bar for over 20 years. That includes pull ups, rows, OH presses, bench presses, among others. The only time I wrap my thumbs is deads and curls.
I do it because it's comfortable. If you can't make the lift it don't really matter what grip you use.
Anyone tells me that I am "doing it wrong" had better be a shitload bigger and stronger than I am.
Join date: May 2005
Location: California, USA
Posts: 604
AminoBoss wrote:
Suicide grip gone wrong..
wrong! his thumb was around the bar....you just refuted everybody who's saying thumb around the bar is safer....I'm interested in taking a poll on the people arguing thumb around the bar is safer how many years they have been lifting...there's no right or wrong answer here aboutn lenght of trainging or grip on bench press
go
ninearms wrote:
Regardless of which grip is safer, how the hell are you supposed to squeeze the fuck out of the bar and pull it apart with a false grip?
I've been doing it wrong all these years. I thought just pushed the bar up. I didn't realize you had to squeeze, and fuck it.
Join date: Jun 2005
Location: District of Columbia, USA
Posts: 1124
ninearms wrote:
Regardless of which grip is safer, how the hell are you supposed to squeeze the fuck out of the bar and pull it apart with a false grip?
