Close Grip Barbell Bench Press

Close Grip Barbell Bench Press Basics

Primary muscles worked: Triceps, Pecs

Synergist Muscles: Deltoids

Mechanics: Compound

Equipment: Barbell and Bench

How To Perform The Close Grip Barbell Bench Press

• To perform the close grip barbell bench press, lay with your back flat on a standard bench with your feet flat on the floor.
• Grip the barbell with an overhand "close grip", which simply means your hands are spaced shoulder width or just inside shoulder width apart.
• Now, lower the barbell towards the middle of your chest by bending at your elbows. For this lift, the arms should stay tight to the body so that your elbows actually brush against the side of your chest during the lift.
• Once the bar had contacted your chest, you may begin to press the weight back up in to starting position.
• After your arms are fully extended, you may begin another repetition.

Close Grip Barbell Bench Press Tips

• The closer your hands are spaced, the more tricep focused the lift becomes.
• Make sure you hips, back, feet, and head stay in contact with the bench or floor at all times. This will ensure your spine does not curve excessively during the lift. Excessive spinal curvature could lead to back injury.

Close Grip Barbell Bench Press and Sports Application

The close grip barbell bench press can be in any sport that requires forceful explosion from the arms and hands in tight to the body to full extension of the arms in line with the shoulders. This can be seen in sports such as pass protection in football, jamming in football, and punching in boxing just to name a few specific examples. The close grip barbell bench press is an excellent exercise for developing tricep strength in conjunction with pectoral strength support. Since most arm positions are not finite in sports, training with various grips is important for overall strength success.