Close-Grip Bench Press

What is the Close-Grip Bench Press?

The close-grip bench press is a compound pressing movement with the hands set roughly shoulder-width, which shifts the emphasis from the chest onto the triceps. Because it’s a press rather than an isolation, it lets you load the triceps far more heavily than an extension, making it a top choice for building triceps strength and mass.

Muscles worked

Primary: Triceps

The triceps does the bulk of the work extending the elbows to lock out the bar; the narrower grip increases the range the elbows travel, loading the triceps heavily.

Secondary: Chest

The chest still assists in driving the bar off the chest, though far less than in a standard-grip bench press.

How to perform the Close-Grip Bench Press

1. Set up like a regular bench press: shoulder blades retracted and depressed, feet planted, slight upper-back arch.
2. Grip the bar with hands just inside shoulder width, about a thumb's-distance closer than your standard bench grip; do not narrow the grip beyond shoulder width or the wrists collapse.
3. Unrack the bar and bring it over the lower chest with elbows tucked at about a 20–30 degree angle from the torso (much tighter than a regular bench).
4. Lower the bar under control to the lower sternum or upper abdomen, letting the elbows track back rather than flaring outward.
5. Press the bar straight up by extending the elbows; keep the wrists stacked over the elbows so the load runs through the triceps, not the wrist joint.
6. Lock out without bouncing the bar off the chest, and reset the brace before the next rep.

Suggested working range: 8–12 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Mechanics

A bilateral horizontal press with a narrow grip: both the shoulder and the elbow move under load, so it’s a compound lift, but bringing the hands in makes elbow extension, and therefore the triceps, the dominant driver rather than the chest.

Form cues

• •Set the hands around shoulder-width, not so narrow that the wrists strain.
• •Tuck the elbows toward the body as you lower rather than flaring them wide.
• •Touch the bar to the lower chest and drive it straight up by extending the elbows.
• •Keep the shoulder blades retracted and the feet planted for a stable press.

Common mistakes

• •Gripping the bar narrower than shoulder width, which forces the wrists to bend painfully under load.
• •Flaring the elbows out like a regular bench press instead of keeping them tucked along the torso.
• •Letting the bar drift up toward the upper chest or neck instead of touching down at the lower sternum.
• •Hyperextending the wrists so the bar sits back on the heel of the palm at an angle. The load should run straight down the forearm.

Variations & alternatives

• •Standard bench press, a wider grip that shifts emphasis back to the chest.
• •Dumbbell close-grip press, palms-in dumbbells for a joint-friendly triceps press.
• •Dip, a bodyweight compound that also loads the triceps heavily.
• •JM press, a hybrid of a close-grip press and a skull crusher for the triceps.

Tricep Pushdown

Triceps · Cable

Overhead Tricep Extension

Triceps · Dumbbell

Skull Crusher

Triceps · Barbell

Tricep Dip

Triceps · Bodyweight

Diamond Push-Up

Triceps · Bodyweight

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program the close-grip bench press in the library’s 8–12 rep range as a triceps-focused compound. Treat it like a primary press for the arms and put it early in accessory work while you’re fresh. It lets you overload the triceps far more than isolations, so progress it with small load increases over time.

Frequently asked questions