Close-Grip Bench

Coached by Justin

Also called: Close-Grip Bench Press · Close Grip Bench

Primary: triceps
Secondary: chest · shoulders
Equipment: barbell
Mechanic: compound
Force: push
Category: strength

Tricep support on Chest day · Power (tricep) PR on Arm day.

Execution

Not as narrow as the conventional close grip — hands just inside shoulder width. Forget the tucked-elbow cue: tuck the elbows tight to the ribs and it turns into a front-delt press with no triceps in it. Hold your hands with the elbows out and flare your lats underneath, so you set your arms on your lats like a shelf and press from there. It's hard to get the feel for, but it really works the lower triceps. Here's the reasoning for the short range. To work the tricep you need to extend the forearm. If you go below a certain point — for me that's a couple of inches above the chest — the angle at my elbow doesn't increase anymore. All that happens is my upper arm moves down, and the bottom portion is essentially just a chest and shoulder movement. So that point is the bottom. Keep the elbows out and keep them high the whole time: imagine doing an extension without your elbows moving at all, so the only elbow movement you get is the minimum required. That places the most emphasis on the tricep. Work that range at a fast, pumping pace. On Arm day it's a PR — chase total reps across both sets, or more weight once you hit 2×10.

The cue that matters

Elbows flared and high, only the forearm moving — you're changing the angle at the elbow across a short bar path, not pressing the bar down to your chest.

Common mistake

Tucking the elbows to the ribs and driving the bar all the way to the chest — that's the "standard" close-grip that never built anything for me. Done my way, close-grip made my triceps possibly my best body part. And if the short range looks wrong to you: you're using the bench press as a tool to work a muscle, so any way you vary that exercise to work the muscle better is going to benefit you as a bodybuilder — whether or not you're doing the movement the way it's officially described in some magazine from 60 years ago.

Power Bodybuilding Bro Split — Day 1 (Chest, support) & Day 4 (Arms, Power).