The affect of grip width on bench press performance and risk of injury

Bodybuilders, athletes, and recreational lifters select a grip width during the bench press that they believe will produce a greater force output. Research has demonstrated that a wide grip (> 1.5 biacromial width) may increase the risk of shoulder injury, including anterior shoulder instability, atraumatic osteolysis of distal clavicle, and pectoralis major rupture. Reducing grip width to <= 1.5 biacromial width appears to reduce this risk and does not affect muscle recruitment patterns, only resulting in a +/- 5% difference in one repetition maximum.