Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press

Fine, I’m a noob, I dont know shit… yet.

Neutral grip dumbbell bench presses seem to be a lot easier on my wrists than the regular version and barbell bench presses.

So i wanna include them a lot more in my chest workouts, only i rarely, if ever, see other people doing them at the gym, never seem to see them in internet or magazine routines.

What gives?

I feel it is an exercise that compliments the other chest exercises. It uses the same muscles but in different ways. I don’t think it’s an exercise that your ego can dictate…
It’s not about how much weight you can use, but the muscles you stimulate and strengthen to compliment and balance your big bad bench :stuck_out_tongue:

They just suck for bodybuilding most of the time.

If you have some kind of injury they are useful if you want to keep on exercising through a non-painful range of motion.

But if you want your pecs to grow, regular barbell and dumbbell benching is where it’s at… if these hurt your wrists, you probably aren’t doing them correctly.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with neutral grip bench pressing, even for bodybuilding. They’ll hit your shoudlers and triceps a bit more and your chest a bit less, which means you may need a bit more direct chest work to make up for this.

What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.
[/quote]

LOL. When you push the dumbell it doesn’t go anywhere…the lifter just grunts like a revving engine.

[quote]mr popular wrote:
They just suck for bodybuilding most of the time.
[/quote]

Bullshit. How are these any worse than normal grip db benching? I am thinking you are going to say that the triceps and delts are involved too much, but I am going to disagree. I do db benching this way. I only do the bottom half of the movement (no locking out) and I feel it in my chest just fine. The ‘normal’ db grip aggravets my shoulders.

People should train in ways that are comforatble to them, while keeping stimulus on the desired muscle groups. I would understand if someone is attempting to train their chest this way and finding that their triceps and delts take on most of the work, but if the lifter knows how to contract the specific muscles he wants, then there shouldn’t be any issue at all.

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.
[/quote]

palms inward.

[quote]phatkins187 wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:
What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.

LOL. When you push the dumbell it doesn’t go anywhere…the lifter just grunts like a revving engine.[/quote]

It all makes sense now, lmao. They do seem like they would suck for bodybuilding. Suck for everything, really.

[quote]Der Candy wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:
What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.

palms inward.[/quote]

Any idea why it’s called neutral grip? Not to argue semantics, just curious.

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Der Candy wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:
What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.

palms inward.

Any idea why it’s called neutral grip? Not to argue semantics, just curious.[/quote]

I think it’s neutral relative to pronated or supinated. I first heard the term with respect to pull/chin ups, where those are the other two alternatives. That’s just a guess though.

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.[/quote]

Say what now? Dumbbell curl… hammer curl… Zottman curl. Bent over dumbbell row… rear-delt emphasis bent over dumbbell row… reverse-grip dumbbell row. A diverse exercise vocabulary is a good thing.

Like someone said, the neutral grip (sometimes called hammer grip or semi-supinated grip) is easier on the shoulder joint, and it allows the elbows to be “tucked” closer to the body for a close grip press (killer triceps work).

And here’s a semi-rhetorical question… if dips are done with a neutral grip, and dumbbell flyes are generally done with a neutral grip, why wouldn’t a neutral-grip dumbbell press be a decent option? Not to mention that all sorts of grips are commonly used for row and pulldown variations.

I hurt both of my shoulders so I tend to do most of my db work with a neutral grip. Most people can do more weight with a regular grip so they prefer to do db pressing in their stronger/natural grip. I like to do light bb bench press to the neck/touching my chin to emphasize more of the pecs/stretch them. I rarely see anyone doing those also.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:
What is “neutral grip”? I thought there was only 1 way to grip a dumbbell.

Say what now? Dumbbell curl… hammer curl… Zottman curl. Bent over dumbbell row… rear-delt emphasis bent over dumbbell row… reverse-grip dumbbell row. A diverse exercise vocabulary is a good thing.

[/quote]

I’m not sure if you’re trying to make me look retarded but for all of those different “grips” my hands are placed on the dumbbell exactly the same way. I grab the dumbbell by the handle. The only variables are how my wrists are turned or the motions I’m making.

i do most of my dumbell work using a neutral grip. it really destroys the inner tricep around the elbow. which in turn, increases my competition bench press.

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Chris Colucci wrote:
Say what now? Dumbbell curl… hammer curl… Zottman curl. Bent over dumbbell row… rear-delt emphasis bent over dumbbell row… reverse-grip dumbbell row. A diverse exercise vocabulary is a good thing.

I’m not sure if you’re trying to make me look retarded but for all of those different “grips” my hands are placed on the dumbbell exactly the same way. I grab the dumbbell by the handle.[/quote]

No, no. I was just addressing your comment, not trying to call you out specifically. Sorry about that. Technically, yeah, there’s only one way to hold a dumbbell - wrap the fingers and thumb around the handle, and commence with your exercise.

That’s what we’re talking about when we refer to different ways to grip a dumbbell. Supination, pronation, or neutral-grip. It’s more obvious when we’re dealing with a barbell, but the concept is still the same with a dumbbell.

Each type of “grip” (or wrist movement, twist, whatever we want to call it) will turn the basic exercise (curl, press, extension, row, etc.) into something slightly different which can target or emphasize different muscles.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:

That’s what we’re talking about when we refer to different ways to grip a dumbbell. Supination, pronation, or neutral-grip. It’s more obvious when we’re dealing with a barbell, but the concept is still the same with a dumbbell.

Each type of “grip” (or wrist movement, twist, whatever we want to call it) will turn the basic exercise (curl, press, extension, row, etc.) into something slightly different which can target or emphasize different muscles.[/quote]

Makes sense, no point arguing semantics. Thanks for that.

I use neutral-grip presses with my elbows totally tucked on tricep day. It is a GREAT tricep builder.

Never tried them with “normal” elbow positioning. Meat that is a very good point, I think I will give them a try on chest day.

[quote]doubleh wrote:
I use neutral-grip presses with my elbows totally tucked on tricep day. It is a GREAT tricep builder.

Never tried them with “normal” elbow positioning. Meat that is a very good point, I think I will give them a try on chest day.[/quote]

after i do my two ME movements i try to make everything after that tricep dominant. i love to do neutral grip dumbell floor presses really tucking the elbows and pausing at the bottom and then going to a forceful lockout. it really transfers well to a competition bench press.

[quote]Der Candy wrote:

Bullshit. How are these any worse than normal grip db benching? I am thinking you are going to say that the triceps and delts are involved too much, but I am going to disagree. I do db benching this way. I only do the bottom half of the movement (no locking out) and I feel it in my chest just fine. The ‘normal’ db grip aggravets my shoulders.

People should train in ways that are comforatble to them, while keeping stimulus on the desired muscle groups. I would understand if someone is attempting to train their chest this way and finding that their triceps and delts take on most of the work, but if the lifter knows how to contract the specific muscles he wants, then there shouldn’t be any issue at all.[/quote]

oh do you now? i’m sorry, are you a huge mass monster now because of ‘nutral grip db presses’