Close-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.

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

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.