Intermediate

Close-Grip Bench Press

By bringing the hands to about shoulder width and keeping the elbows tucked, you turn the bench press into a heavy triceps builder that still lets you load real weight. It carries over directly to lockout strength on your regular pressing. This is the best compound movement for adding triceps mass and strength together.

Equipment
Barbell, Bench
Body part
Triceps
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Horizontal Press
Muscles worked
Target
Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head
Secondary
Pectoralis Major Sternocostal, Deltoid Anterior

How to do it

  1. 1

    Lie on a flat bench and grip the bar about shoulder-width apart.

  2. 2

    Unrack and hold the bar over your chest with wrists stacked over elbows.

  3. 3

    Tuck your elbows toward your torso as you lower the bar to your lower chest.

  4. 4

    Keep the descent controlled and your forearms vertical.

  5. 5

    Press the bar back up by driving through the triceps to lockout.

  6. 6

    Lock out and repeat, breathing out through the press.

Tips

  • Don't grip too narrow; shoulder width protects the wrists and still hammers the triceps.
  • Keep your elbows tucked at roughly 45 degrees, not flared to the sides.
  • Touch the lower chest, not the neck, to keep the bar path efficient.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Letting the wrists fold back under the bar. A narrower grip puts the bar nearer the base of the palm, so stack the knuckles over the wrists and hold that line all the way to lockout.
  • Unracking without pulling the shoulder blades back and down, so they slide up the bench and the shoulders roll forward at the bottom. Pin the blades first and keep the chest tall.
  • Stopping the bar an inch or two off the chest to keep it moving. The triceps do their hardest work coming out of the bottom, so touch the lower chest and press from there.
  • Bouncing the bar off the sternum to start the press. With the elbows tucked, that rebound travels through the wrists and elbows rather than the chest; lower under control and pause.
  • Keeping your regular bench load when you bring the hands in. The triceps take on a larger share of the lift, so expect the bar to feel heavier and start noticeably lighter.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the close-grip bench press should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Three or four sets of 6 to 10, with two minutes of rest between them. Start at roughly two thirds of what you bench with your normal grip and work up over a few sessions, since the change in leverage alters how the lift feels, not only how heavy it is. Use safeties or a spotter from the first set. Add weight once you reach the top of the rep range on every set with the elbows tucked and the bar touching your lower chest.
What can I do instead of the close-grip bench press with no barbell?
Dumbbells held with the palms facing each other and the elbows tucked give you a close-grip press you can bail out of safely, on a bench or on the floor. A Smith machine runs the same lift on a fixed path. Without weights, diamond push-ups load the triceps hard, and raising your feet on a step adds difficulty; dips with the torso upright do the same job with your full bodyweight.
What is the close-grip bench press for?
It builds triceps mass and strength with a load no isolation exercise can match, and it carries over directly to locking out your regular bench press, which is why intermediate lifters chasing pressing strength lean on it. It is a poor choice when your wrists or elbows are unhappy, because a narrow grip loads both, and it is not the tool for the long head, which needs the arm overhead. Bringing the hands closer than shoulder width does not make it more of a triceps exercise; it mostly hurts the wrists.

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