Wide vs. Close. Maybe it doesn't really matter?
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The elbow and shoulder are both joints. I'd do what promotes less wear on them. That would seem to me to be the wide grip, which is what I always used. I used to bench 250. These days I just do the machines, although I think freeweights help build strength faster.
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Two thoughts I have on this:
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Sometimes injuries make controversies like this moot. I don’t dare widen my grip after the rotator tear.
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I have long wondered about the quality and quantity of empirical evidence behind all the claims you hear about fitness.
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I've been lifting for over 50 years - always a wider grip. - less risk of joint injury - paricularly at this point in my life. At one point, my max benchpress was 315 - which was decent given that at the time I weighed 145.
At a certain age, one needs to back off a bit - and I'm long past it, I no longer lift for a maximum single lift. I don't attempt any weight that I don't think I can lift a set of 10. For most of my life, I was using free weights - but my ortho asked me what the heck I'd done to damage the thumb joints in my hands. Arthritis and the bench lifts caused some serious damage. As a result, i no longer use free weights. I have a levergym - which while using free weights - allows me to not put as much pressure on the joints in the thumb. While I used to work up to sets at 225, my levergym has me working at higher weights with less adverse impact.
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The last time I lifted any weights I think Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. I keep meaning to get around to it.
