Hey i have a small bench, the widest grip i can get it about 18inches. Is that to narrow, i never feel like my chest is being involved, its mainly just triceps. Would getting a wider grip help improve chest strength and max bench?
Why not just try it? For simple movements like bench if I can’t feel the muscles then dropping the weight and doing more reps a little faster helps.
Besides, how far apart your hands will need to be will be dictated by how big of a person you are in general. If your small and narrow your going to have a small grip than a big thick dude.
18 inches is probably too small.
I just pulled out a tape here and I would estimate my grip at over 24" easy. Maybe 30"? Hard to say from the office.
I am 5’9" by the way so take that into account. Also, personal preference would be a huge factor.
31" (81cm) from memory is standard rings on a barbell, that is legal for comp benchpress, I use the middle finger on the rings of my Texas bar, so pretty much normal is 31" grip width.