BB and DB press, to flare or not to flare?

[Hans]

And by flaring you mean its bad? Close grip despite the arch makes the bar go too low for me and forces internal rotation and loss of scapular retraction. flaring prevents that as it shortens range of motion, but I was concerned for long term safety. Thanks

With close-grip bench press, the bar is supposed to touch your body right *below* your chest (even lower if you have very long upper arms). Then if you keep your arms close to your body during the movement, there is no internal rotation at all (I imagine that I'm pressing my arms outwards on the way up (like a 'V' if seen from someone standing behind my head while I'm lying on the bench). By that, I can further reduce the risk of me accidentally flaring my arms).

Yes flaring is bad .. as has already been explained somewhere else on the board.