Why bench press?
The bench press, a horizontal press, recruits the triceps, anterior delts (front of shoulders), and pectorals (chest) as prime movers. A properly executed bench also involves plenty of stabilization from the core/abdominals and many other upper body muscles of the shoulder girdle and upper back.
Width of Grip – The wider your hands, the more of the work can be done by the shoulder adductors (pectorals and deltoids). Therefore, a narrow grip tends to emphasize the triceps to a greater extent (and reduce the loading possible – as your chest and shoulders help out less). The degree to which the chest and shoulders are emphasized at the wider grips depends on your personal muscle dominances. I find a medium to narrow grip (about 18 inches between index fingers) provides me with the best of all worlds. Vary it up, and find what works for you.
Angle of bench/torso - Traditional bench presses are performed on a flat bench (parallel to the floor), but the press may be performed on various degrees of incline or decline. Greater incline results in increased shoulder involvement and decreased chest involvement – as it becomes more like an overhead press the higher the bench angle gets. Likewise, decline angles increase the activation of the chest and reduce the recruitment of the shoulder as the movement becomes more like the action of a dip.
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