Diamond Grip for the Press and Bench Press

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 02/11/22)

When learning to press or bench press, getting the correct grip can be tricky at first. A very common error is to take a grip that carries the bar back in the fingers (Figure 1).

Figure 1: This is no good.

Let’s fix this.

When we press or bench press, we’d like the barbell to be supported directly over the bones of the forearms, and to do this, we pronate our grip so that the bar sits on the heel of the palm. This provides for excellent force transfer between our arms and hands and the bar, whereas holding the bar back in the fingers with wrists in full extension creates a very weak and flimsy position.

Pronating your grip (Figure 2) simply means that you’re going to rotate your thumbs down toward your feet, and after that, you squeeze the bar tightly with your fingers (“crush the bar” is a good cue).

Figure 2: This . . . is much better.

With this said, new lifters sometimes screw up the pronation step, either rotating their hands the wrong way or spinning their hands on top of the bar (in the press). If this is you, take the “diamond grip” approach as shown in Figure 3:

Figure 3: The Diamond Grip approach

Step 1
Place your palms on the bar - palms will face the wall (not the floor) with thumbs below the bar and in contact with each other.

Step 2
Rotate your hands so that your index fingers are now in contact with each other (above the bar). The gap between your hands will make a diamond if you’ve done this correctly.

Step 3
Slide your hands away from each other until you reach the correct grip width - narrow for the press (about shoulder width) and about a hand-width wider than that for the bench press.

Step 4
Squeeze the bar tightly with your fingers.

Make a diamond with your hands and then slide your hands outward - it’s that simple.

We hope this helps you get stronger and live better!

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STOP Bench Pressing VERTICALLY! How to Bench Press Correctly

Are you bench pressing in a nice, straight, vertical line? Well . . . don't do that. Phil covers how and why to bench correctly.

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(3 MISTAKES) When Pressing with Your HIPS

There are 3 mistakes you might be making with your hips when you press - let's fix all 3 in under 3 minutes.

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The FWYS Principle: If You Don't Change This, Your Press Will ALWAYS Suffer

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 12/24/21)

A common problem with new lifters and the press is achieving the correct start position for each rep - specifically, achieving the correct start position for every rep after your first rep.

After all, the correct start position for the first rep should be accomplished by correctly gripping and unracking the bar in the first place (watch the included video that covers this), but today, we're specifically talking about getting the correct start position for the rest of your set (e.g., your 2nd rep all the way to the end of the set).

Figure 1

The key is to finish the press where you start the press, so make sure that you start with elbows slightly in front of the bar, squeezing the bar tightly and with relatively straight wrists (technically, they will be slightly in extension) as you see in Figure 1. Then, after locking out the rep overhead, simply remind yourself to lower it back to this exact same position.

Figure 2: Don’t be like this fool.

Specifically, we do not want to lower the bar back to the position you see in Figure 2, where the lifter has his elbows behind the bar and wrists in severe extension. It’s a weaker position - it’s tough to support a heavy weight in this position, and now you’ve got to spend time and energy getting back to the correct start position.

Even worse, if you don’t spend that time and energy getting back to the correct position, it’s harder to press the bar overhead from this weak position. This poor position often contributes to a forward bar path on the next rep, which can easily be the difference between a successful rep and a missed rep at challenging weights.

Figure 3

Again, the key is to finish where you start (FWYS).

If you still find that lowering the bar consistently to the correct start position is difficult, try this mental picture (Figure 3) - imagine that you are standing very close to a wall with the bar locked out overhead. While lowering the bar, picture yourself dragging your elbows down the wall while keeping your fists (and therefore the bar) away from the wall.

Remember to aim for your nose with the bar on the way down as well as on the way up. This “elbows-dragging-down-the-wall” image is a slightly exaggerated picture of what we actually want to happen (watch the included video to see this in action), but a number of our members have found this very useful.

We hope this helps you get stronger and live better!

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If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Why Your Press is WEAK! Fix Your Unrack and Your Grip with this Simple Mnemonic Device.

Struggling with the press (i.e., the overhead press or shoulder press)? Here's a simple mnemonic device to help you fix your unrack and your grip - it'll pay big dividends.

(This is a Blast from the Past video originally published on 03/14/22.)

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Use This Grip for a BIGGER Bench Press and Press!

Want a bigger bench? A bigger press? Of course you do. Let’s get right to it.

figure 1: Compression grip (bench press configuration)

This article is the first in our short series on the correct grip for each lift - from pushing movements like a bench press or a press to pulling movements like a deadlift or a row, and we’ll also discuss the differences that come into play when you have an Olympic movement like a snatch or clean.

Today’s Topic: Pushing Movements
The grip we are covering today is the type of grip you would take for the bench press (Figure 1), the press, the incline bench press, the close grip bench press, etc. This grip is commonly referred to as a compression grip.

An important concept to remember is that - and this is true for both pushing and pulling movements - gravity alway wants objects to move downward.

This includes the barbell that’s in your hands, so when you’re pushing on the bar, you don’t want to put the bar in a position that permits the bar to accidentally reach a lower position (in your hands) than the position it’s already occupying. In other words, make sure that the bar is in the lowest, stable position you can achieve . . . right from the start.

figure 2: Do not put the bar up here.

What NOT To Do
For example, when you unrack the press, don’t support the barbell up high in the hand (Figure 2). If you do this with a heavy weight, it’s simply going to bend your wrist backward (thus lowering the bar). As a result, your flimsy, little, dainty, baby wrists are in a rather unstable position of extreme extension (Figure 3).

You’ve created an energy leak, and this is not a productive position from which to press or bench heavy weights. What to do?

figure 3: wrists in extreme extension - don’t be like this fool.

Figure 4

The Answer
Before unracking either the press or the bench, get the bar sitting over the base of the palms - not up by the base of your fingers, but at the base of your actual hand (Figure 4).

This position permits the bar to be stacked right over the bones of the forearms, which is excellent for force transfer.

From here, pronate your grip just enough that your thumbs can grip the bar (Figure 5). This positions the thumbs so that they can wrap around the bar in the opposite direction of the rest of your fingers.

Squeeze the bar tightly, and that’s it - this is your grip (Figure 6).

figure 5: pronate the grip slightly until the thumbs are below the bar.

The Result
This grip permits the bar to sit deep in the base of your palm - whether you’re benching or pressing. Your wrists are as straight as they can be, although they won’t be entirely straight - let’s call it a neutral position.

As a side not, wrist wraps can help achieve and maintain this position, but they shouldn’t be a crutch - learn to achieve the correct position without wraps, and then start using wraps as your work weights get heavier.

Figure 6: squeeze the bar tightly.

The wrists certainly are no longer bent back in extreme extension, and they also aren’t so straight that it feels like the bar is pushing down on the webbing of your thumb.

As previously mentioned, the bar is now positioned right over the bones of the forearm (Figure 7), which makes for efficient force transfer between your arms, hands, and the bar, and this makes for a stronger press or bench press.

figure 7: compression grip (press width)

Next up - the tension grip.

As always, we hope these tips help you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?