How to Do the Close-Grip Bench Press for Stronger Reps
THE SMARTEST LIFTERS understand that they need multiple approaches to reach their goals. They can't just perform rep after rep of bench press, for example, and expect that they'll grow the biggest, strongest chest possible. Sure, they need to bench to get better at bench, but they also need to add complementary variations and accessory exercises to build up the other muscles involved in the movement. For bench pressers, that means the triceps—and to put even more emphasis on the tris, the close-grip bench press is the go-to exercise.
The question is, what actually qualifies as close-grip? Should your hands be so close that they touch? Do you need to approach the lift any differently than the standard bench? And what cues should you keep in mind to keep the emphasis on the triceps?
For answers to all those questions, let Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. and senior editor Brett Williams, NASM guide you through the close-grip bench's subtleties, saving you from the bad habits that are keeping you from building up your tris.
How to Do the Close-Grip Bench Press
Start by getting into the proper bench press position on a flat bench. Drive your shoulders into the bench, squeezing your abs and glutes and driving your heels into the floor.
Reach up to the bar and grasp it with your hands just narrower than shoulder-width apart. Don't use the knurling on the bench as a reference; your exact grip should be dependent on your own comfort. Turn the pits of your elbows in to "break the bar."
Once you've unracked the weight on your own or with a spotter's lift-off, lower the weight down. Keep your elbows close to your torso and lower the bar to your upper ribcage, rather than the chest. Your elbows should form an L shape with a vertical forearm; they shouldn't flare out to the sides of your torso.
Press straight back up to the top of the movement, squeezing your triceps. Don't bounce the weight off your chest.
Take note of these additional cues from Samuel to shore up your close-grip bench press form:
Not Too Close!
Eb says: The most misunderstood thing about the close-grip press is the closeness of the grip. You'll often see people grip the bar with their hands nearly touching each other, but you don't need to go nearly that narrow. Going that narrow limits how much your back muscles can help you create a proper platform for your torso, and it also forces your shoulders into a level of internal rotation. This also takes emphasis off your triceps and forces your chest and shoulders into play. Your chest and shoulders will invariably assist in close-grip pressing, but you're doing this primarily for tris, so keep the focus on them.
Elbows Tight and Forward
Eb says: You want to eliminate as much shoulder rotation from this move as possible, both to really attack your triceps and to protect your shoulders. That means really screwing in your arms hard. Once you set up with the bar, focus on rotating your elbows so they face downward, toward your legs.
This will do two things: It'll turn on your lats to help you lower the weight correctly (more on that below), and it'll also start to turn on your triceps. (It's also biasing your shoulders into external rotation, another plus!) Do your best to keep applying this pressure throughout each set. You're also staying in a position that forces your triceps to drive the motion. Your tris are responsible for extending your arm at the elbow, so you want them moving in one plane; once they're in multiple planes (because you're flaring out), other muscles are taking over.
Lower to Your Ribcage
Eb says: Conventional bench presses have you lowering the bar to your lower chest, and you may be tempted to try to do that with the close-grip press. Don't. Instead, think about lowering the bar to your upper ribcage. If you try to lower to your chest, you'll place unnecessary mechanical stress on your elbows and wrists. That's going to prevent you from focusing on your triceps. Eventually, it'll limit your ability to really add weight to the move.
Think about lowering the weight so your arms form an "L" at the bottom. Your forearms should stay perpendicular to the ground at all times. That will allow you to generate upward force primarily with your triceps.
Smart Bench Rules
Eb says: Your arms are executing a different motion than a standard bench press, but your lower body is not. So adhere to all good bench press rules for body position. That means heels flat on the floor, glutes and abs squeezed, and elbows driving into the bench—and never bounce the weight off your torso.
Benefits of the Close-Grip Bench Press
By narrowing your grip, you'll shift the major focus of the standard bench press to the triceps, which are the synergist (the muscle group that assists the primary mover of an exercise, in this case the chest/pectoral muscles) of the standard variation. You'll be able to train your triceps with heavier weights than you would with standard single-joint isolation movements, which will result in strength and size gains. You'll also see payoffs in your standard bench press, thanks to work you've put in to develop your tris.
Muscles Worked By the Close-Grip Bench Press
The close-grip bench press is a bench press, so the main focus will be on the chest muscles. Thanks to the narrower grip, there is an increased recruitment of the triceps, which is why you'd want to include it into your workout. Other muscles involved include the shoulder muscles (rotator cuff/front delts), which help to stabilize the movement.
Common Close-Grip Bench Press Mistakes
There is such a thing as too close when is comes to close-grip bench press. Make sure to keep your hands closer than shoulder-width apart—but remember, you don't need to have such a narrow grip that your hands touch. If your elbows flare out away from your torso and you have to shift your bar path because of your hand placement, you're too close.
How to Add the Close-Grip Bench Press to Your Workouts
Start by adding the close-grip bench press to your workouts as a supplement to the standard benching you already. Start with 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, adding load as you progress. Once you're more confident with the movement and your grip, you can go even heavier and work in a 4 to 6 rep range to build strength.
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