Exercise description of the incline close grip barbell bench press.  Learn about the incline close grip barbell bench press with video and pictures.  Also learn how the incline close grip barbell bench press can improve your sports performance.

Primary muscles worked:  Triceps, Pecs

Synergist Muscles:  Deltoids

Mechanics:  Compound

Equipment:  Barbell, Incline Bench

How to perform the exercise:  The athlete first set up for the incline close grip bench press by laying with their back flat on an incline bench with feet flat on the floor. The athlete will then grip the barbell with a "close grip" which simply means about 3 to 6 inches inside shoulder width hand placement on each side. Next, the weight will be unracked so that it is directly over the middle of the chest with arms fully extended. Now, the athlete will lower the bar towards the chest bending at elbows and bring the arms down towards the side of the body. This is different than a traditional incline press which has the elbows flaring out. When the bar touches the chest, the athlete will immediately press the weight back up so that the arms return to full extension. This will require significantly more tricep strength than the incline barbell bench press so the athlete may need to adjust the weight accordingly.

Spotting the exercise:  The spotter for the incline close grip barbell bench press should stand on the side of the bench where the athlete's head is located. That spotter should be on a platform, if possible, to be in the best position possible to assist the athlete. During the lift, if the athlete becomes unable to perform the lift on their own, the spotter will utilize a mixed grip (one hand underhand one hand overhand) on the bar and slightly pull up with just enough force to help the athlete reach full extension.

Sport specific application:  The incline close grip barbell bench press is a variation of the traditional barbell bench press. This means that it too is a variation of sports maneuvers such as pass protection in football, punching in boxing, and chest passing in basketball to name a few. With this particular exercise, emphasis is placed more on the triceps. This can improve coordination between tricep and pec which may result in efficient more powerful movements when extending the arm.