Close-Grip Bench Press: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The close-grip bench press works your triceps first, with your chest and shoulders assisting to press the bar up. Bringing your hands closer together than a standard bench press narrows your elbow angle, shifting more of the pressing demand onto the back of your arms.
- Primary muscle:
- Triceps
- Secondary muscles:
- Chest, Shoulders
Muscles worked
Your triceps are the prime mover. The narrower grip keeps your elbows closer to your torso through the press, which loads the triceps more directly than a wider grip does.
Your chest and shoulders still assist in driving the bar off your chest and stabilizing the movement, but they share less of the load than on a standard-width bench press because the pressing angle favors the triceps.
Log Close-Grip Bench Press in PR Streak
PR Streak's library has 873 exercises, each with photos and step-by-step instructions like this one. Log this move and see what you lifted last time right next to every set, with every PR caught automatically and a chart for every exercise.
How to do it
- Lie back on a flat bench. Using a close grip (around shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
- As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest. Tip: Make sure that - as opposed to a regular bench press - you keep the elbows close to the torso at all times in order to maximize triceps involvement.
- After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your triceps muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Form tips
- Grip the bar about shoulder width, or just inside it, not so narrow that your wrists bend awkwardly.
- Keep your elbows tracking close to your body rather than flaring out.
- Lower the bar to your lower chest, in a straight line, not toward your neck.
- Press the bar back up in the same straight line you lowered it.
- Use a spotter or safeties as you increase the weight on this lift.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Barbell |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close should my grip be on the close-grip bench press?
About shoulder width, or just inside it, is a common starting point. Going much narrower can strain your wrists without adding meaningful triceps benefit, so find a width where your wrists stay straight and your elbows can travel close to your torso through the press.
Is the close-grip bench press good for building triceps size?
Yes. Because it puts your triceps in the prime-mover role instead of a supporting one, it's a useful compound alternative to isolation work like pushdowns. 6-12 reps per set at a challenging weight fits the standard range for building triceps size.
What's a good complement to the close-grip bench press?
Pair it with an isolation move like the diamond push-up or a cable pushdown to hit your triceps from a different angle without adding more heavy pressing volume to your week.
More triceps exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
