[icehog3]

Different grips will alter both the location of muscle stimulation in the chest, as well as stress on the delts and triceps, Dan. I used to bench with a very wide grip when I was younger, but found later that for muscle building a narrower grip worked better for me. Keep in mind that I am not benching for a "max" or powerlifting purposes anymore. A couple inches wider than shoulder width is my norm, but I will vary the width some days to hit my chest in a different way.

Anything that causes pain (other than muscle soreness) is not a good thing, no matter what your lifting partner tells you.