Effect of grip width on exercise volume in bench press with a controlled movement tempo in women

Abstract

Background: The bench press (BP) is a complex upper body exercise. Despite numerous scientific studies, it remains unknown which grip width is optimal for the development of strength and power in the bench press. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of different grip widths on exercise volume, evaluate the time under tension (TUT) and the number of repetitions (REP) completed during 5 consecutive sets of the BP. Material and methods: ‪The study involved 16 women with a minimum of one year of resistance training experience. Two independent experimental sessions were randomly selected. Participants performed 5 sets of the bench press during each session, with the maximal number of repetitions, using either the WGBP or the CGBP with a constant movement tempo of 2/0/2/0 at 70%1RM. Results: ‪A one-way ANOVA for repeated measures was used, with significance set at p<0.05. The study did not show significant differences in the REP, TUT nor the total number of repetitions (TREP) or the total time under tension (TTUT) between the WGBP and the CGBP. Conclusions: ‪Grip width of the barbell in the bench press does not affect exercise volume during strength training in women.