I go relatively heavy on them (fail on 6-8 reps) because my grip strength affects my bench press, however i have started to feel some moderate pain on my left wrist (joint), it happens when i try to squeeze something. Is this normal? Also are there any other exercises that possibly don’t use the wrist joint as much?
Yeah that’s right. I think my first max hang was around 45, so not much more. You should see improvements to your grip pretty quick. If you get to through the last round easy then increase time the next session, if it’s a struggle to get through the last round then maybe use the same time.
I gotta say, it seems strange that grip strength would hold back your bench. One cue I found that might help is thinking about trying to bend the bar throughout the lift. It helps further employ your lats in the lift (assuming you have already engaged your lats to pull your shoulder blades in and down as part of your setup).
Actually it does feel like that I can grip the bar a bit more firmly now so it does seem to work
On the topic of grip affecting my bench, after reading the comments here, I think it has more to do with the fact that i don’t do deadlifts, i’ve had a lot of posture issues throughout childhood (it has improved tremendously through out the time I’ve been working out tho), and i’ve never been able to get the form quite right and i don’t want to risk injuring my spine, i’ll probably start doing them in a few weeks i think…
Sounds fair, I’m sure people have already said it, but in the off chance they haven’t, the Alan thrall and starting strength videos are great for helping get started. An experienced trainer is worth their weight in gold for getting it right though.