Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Press

What is the Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Press?

The Smith-machine close-grip bench press trains the triceps-focused close-grip press along the machine’s fixed vertical path. The guided bar removes the balancing demand, so you can keep the elbows tucked and push the triceps close to failure safely, a stable way to overload the muscle, useful when training alone.

Muscles worked

Primary: Triceps

The triceps does most of the work extending the elbows to lock out the bar; the narrow grip on a fixed path keeps elbow extension the dominant driver.

Secondary: Chest, Shoulders

The chest assists in driving the bar off the chest, along with the front shoulders, though far less than a wide-grip press.

How to perform the Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Press

1. Lie on a flat bench under the Smith bar, positioned so the fixed bar path lowers to your lower chest.
2. Grip the bar about shoulder-width with the wrists stacked over the elbows for the close-grip pattern.
3. The Smith bar fixes the path, so you can focus on tucking the elbows and pressing the triceps without balancing the bar.
4. Unlock the bar, then lower it under control to the lower chest while keeping the elbows tucked to the ribs.
5. Touch lightly and press the bar straight up the fixed track by extending the elbows.
6. Lock out over the chest without flaring the elbows or bouncing the bar off the chest.

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

Mechanics

A bilateral horizontal press on the Smith machine’s fixed vertical track with a narrow grip: the elbows and shoulders move under load, so it’s a compound, but the close grip makes the triceps dominant. The guided bar removes the need to balance, letting you focus on tucking the elbows and pressing.

Form cues

• •Set the bench so the fixed bar path touches your lower chest at the bottom.
• •Take a grip about shoulder-width and keep the elbows tucked as you lower.
• •Drive the bar up by extending the elbows to a full lockout.
• •Rotate the bar to unrack and rerack rather than pressing into the hooks.

Common mistakes

• •Flaring the elbows out instead of tucking them to the ribs for the triceps bias.
• •Gripping the bar too narrow so the wrists collapse under the fixed load.
• •Bouncing the bar off the chest rather than touching lightly and pressing.
• •Letting the wrists bend back so the load runs into the joint instead of down the forearm.

Variations & alternatives

• •Free-barbell close-grip bench press: adds a balancing and stabilising demand.
• •Decline close-grip bench, a decline-angle heavy triceps press.
• •Dumbbell close-grip press, a neutral-grip, joint-friendly triceps press.
• •JM press, a hybrid close-grip and skull-crusher triceps press.

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 Smith close-grip bench press in the library’s 6–10 rep range as a heavy triceps compound, early in accessory work. The fixed path makes it safe to push near failure when training alone, so overload the triceps in small steps and keep the elbows tucked. Pair it with an extension for stretch-position work.

Frequently asked questions