JM Press

What is the JM Press?

The JM press is a triceps-focused pressing movement that hybridises a close-grip bench press and a skull crusher. You lower the bar toward the throat with the elbows tucked and forearms angled back, then press up, loading the triceps like a skull crusher but with the heavy, pressable position of a bench, so you can overload the muscle well beyond an isolation.

Muscles worked

Primary: Triceps

The triceps does the bulk of the work, extending the elbows out of a deep, tucked bottom position that keeps tension on the muscle far more than a standard bench press.

Secondary: Chest, Shoulders

The chest and front shoulders assist in driving the bar, though the tucked, skull-crusher-like path keeps the triceps dominant.

How to perform the JM Press

1. Set up on a bench as if to close-grip press, gripping the barbell about shoulder-width with the wrists stacked over the elbows.
2. The JM press is a hybrid of a close-grip bench and a skullcrusher, so it loads the triceps long head hard while staying pressing-friendly.
3. Unrack the bar over the upper chest and begin lowering it toward the base of the neck while letting the elbows travel forward.
4. As the bar descends, tuck it back toward the throat so the forearms fold almost onto the biceps at the bottom.
5. Stop in that deep folded position where the triceps are loaded, keeping the elbows under the bar.
6. Press the bar back up by aggressively extending the elbows, driving it up and slightly back to lockout.

Suggested working range: 6–10 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Mechanics

A bilateral horizontal press that blends a close grip with a skull-crusher path: both the shoulder and elbow move, so it’s a compound, but lowering the bar toward the throat with the elbows tucked shifts the load heavily onto elbow extension and the triceps.

Form cues

• •Take a close, shoulder-width grip and keep the elbows tucked, not flared.
• •Lower the bar toward your upper chest or throat with the forearms angling back.
• •Stop in the deep bottom position, then press up by extending the elbows hard.
• •Keep the movement controlled: it loads the elbow under a tucked stretch.

Common mistakes

• •Turning it into a plain close-grip bench by not tucking the bar back toward the throat.
• •Letting the elbows flare out instead of keeping them under the bar as it folds.
• •Lowering the bar too far and losing the loaded triceps fold at the bottom.
• •Bouncing out of the deep bottom position rather than driving up with elbow extension.

Variations & alternatives

• •Close-grip bench press, a more standard heavy triceps press.
• •Skull crusher, the isolation half of the JM press’s hybrid.
• •Decline close-grip bench, a decline-angle heavy triceps press.
• •Dip, a bodyweight triceps compound alternative.

Tricep Pushdown

Triceps · Cable

Overhead Tricep Extension

Triceps · Dumbbell

Skull Crusher

Triceps · Barbell

Tricep Dip

Triceps · Bodyweight

Close-Grip Bench Press

Triceps · Barbell

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program the JM press in the library’s 6–10 rep range as a heavy triceps compound. Treat it like a primary press for the arms and put it early in accessory work while you’re fresh. Build the load slowly and keep the elbows tucked; the deep tucked bottom is demanding, so don’t grind sloppy reps. It’s a strength-and-mass builder.

Frequently asked questions