# close grip bench



## Stani L'Abbate (Apr 23, 2010)

does the close grip bench work the triceps more than the regular bench?
can anyone shed some light?
thanks


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## ceazur (Apr 23, 2010)

yes sir they do. that's there purpose.


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## fufu (Apr 23, 2010)

Yes, increased elbow ROM and decreased shoulder abduction (arms remain closer to the sides of the body) means more stress on the triceps.


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## Stewart14 (Apr 23, 2010)

just to add a little to this...you don't necessarily want your grip to be TOO close on this exercise, I would say if you kept your hands about 12-14 inches apart, that would be the ideal spacing.

reason being, if you go too close, you are going to limit the weight you can use, and also put unnecessary stress on your wrists.  Trust me, your triceps will be find with a hand spacing like I suggested, no need to go closer.


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## Stani L'Abbate (Apr 23, 2010)

thanks for the good advice fellas. 
One more question: does close grip bench also work the front delts more than the regular bench?


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## ceazur (Apr 23, 2010)

The standard bench press activates the chest, front delts and triceps. 
 By bringing the hands in along the bar and taking a close shoulder-width grip, the chest becomes largely inactive in the lift and the stress shifts to the triceps, with help from the front delts. 
 To understand why the closer grip eliminates pectoral involvement, think about what the chest actually does. It pulls your upper arm across your body. This is most obvious in flyes or pec-deck, but you can see it in the standard bench press too. 
 If you watch someone benching with a normal or wide grip, you’ll see that as they press, their upper arms move closer to the centreline of their body. The pecs are the muscles that make this happen. 
 So by taking a close grip with elbows tucked – there is no lateral movement of the upper arm towards the centre of the body during the lift. As such, the stress shifts over to the triceps - which means big gains in tricep size and pressing strength. 

*A narrower grip shortens the range of motion at the bottom, lessening  the role of the deltoids and pectorals. *


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## kyle64 (Apr 23, 2010)

at 14" apart grip my triceps are getting a fantastic pump but also I am noticing that my lower/inner pecs are getting hit hard and I am getting an excellent development which is improving the shape of my pecs.


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## sassy69 (Apr 23, 2010)

I like to super close grip press w/ skull crushers. I have a tweaky shoulder so the width of my grip is what doesn't hurt - hands are not right next to each other but within 1 handwidth apart. You should also be able FEEL what muscles are getting hit - in all my training I do a lot of visualization to increase the "mind-muscle connection" and get more in tune w/ which muscles are being activated and also to "know" that I'm hitting the stuff I'm intending to hit.


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## angelo212 (Apr 23, 2010)

sassy69 said:


> I like to super close grip press w/ skull crushers. I have a tweaky shoulder so the width of my grip is what doesn't hurt - hands are not right next to each other but within 1 handwidth apart. You should also be able FEEL what muscles are getting hit - in all my training I do a lot of visualization to increase the "mind-muscle connection" and get more in tune w/ which muscles are being activated and also to "know" that I'm hitting the stuff I'm intending to hit.




Like you, I have a "tweaky shoulder" but, I need to space my hands out a bit when doing skull crushers. If I go to close (1 handwidth apart) I feel it in my shoulder. I need to go about 3 handwidths apart.


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## zarrin77 (Apr 23, 2010)

Stani L'Abbate said:


> thanks for the good advice fellas.
> One more question: does close grip bench also work the front delts more than the regular bench?



Yes they do, a little bit.  Think of it like this.  To isolate front delts, you basically  stand or sit with 2 DB's in each hand and move them straight out in front of you with your elbows straight.

That type of movement works the front delts.  So if you perform a normal bench with your elbows out to the side (which is what most people do), the front delts will be worked less.  If you preform close-grip bench with your elbows tucked at your sides (which is what most people do), the front delts will be worked more.


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## Tomi18 (Jun 1, 2010)

Hell yeah.


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## MDR (Jun 1, 2010)

I also superset skullcrushers with close-grip bench.  The two exercises seem to work well together for me.  I like the ideas about visualization and feeling which muscles are working during a given exercise.  Concentration and focus are so important when attempting to get the most out of your workouts.  Just going through the motions will have limited results.


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## davegmb (Jun 1, 2010)

Dips or CG bench? dont say both, ive only got room for one on my push day, currently doing dips, though i supose i could alternate! sorry to hijack your question *Stani L'Abbate*


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## Marat (Jun 1, 2010)

While your shoulders can handle it, stick with the dips.


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## jmorrison (Jun 1, 2010)

sassy69 said:


> I have a tweaky shoulder so the width of my grip is what doesn't hurt -



Not to hijack, but I have been having some issues with my right shoulder, and just curious if anyone has an idea what it could be.  I am posting it here, because after doing more close-grip benching, it doesnt seem to bother me as much.

Anyway, the pain isnt severe, its just a general achiness, that can progress to sharp pain sometimes if I sleep on it wrong, or if I try to throw something.  I have been avoiding overhead exercises, and that seems to be helping.  Any ideas what the hell it could be?  It doesnt feel like a muscle issue, if I had to describe it I would say that it feels almost like it is in the front of the shoulder joint itself.


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## Mags (Jun 2, 2010)

kyle64 said:


> at 14" apart grip my triceps are getting a fantastic pump but also I am noticing that my lower/inner pecs are getting hit hard and I am getting an excellent development which is improving the shape of my pecs.



Yeah, this is spot on for me, too. Tris get fried and my chest is deeper at the sternum. Great for making the striations pop out, too.


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## WeightGainNet (Jun 5, 2010)

Yes that is the purpose of the exercise  I recently started incorporating these into my routine and I love them. Next to bar dips they are my favorite exercise for triceps.



Stani L'Abbate said:


> does the close grip bench work the triceps more than the regular bench?
> can anyone shed some light?
> thanks


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## seth1031black (Jun 5, 2010)

nice~


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## benderdiablo (Jun 9, 2010)

Hell yeah.


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## fufu (Jun 9, 2010)

davegmb said:


> Dips or CG bench? dont say both, ive only got room for one on my push day, currently doing dips, though i supose i could alternate! sorry to hijack your question *Stani L'Abbate*



It depends what you want to increase. CG will help your bench more and dips will help your body weight strength more. What's more important to you?


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## Stewart14 (Jun 9, 2010)

jmorrison said:


> Not to hijack, but I have been having some issues with my right shoulder, and just curious if anyone has an idea what it could be.  I am posting it here, because after doing more close-grip benching, it doesnt seem to bother me as much.
> 
> Anyway, the pain isnt severe, its just a general achiness, that can progress to sharp pain sometimes if I sleep on it wrong, or if I try to throw something.  I have been avoiding overhead exercises, and that seems to be helping.  Any ideas what the hell it could be?  It doesnt feel like a muscle issue, if I had to describe it I would say that it feels almost like it is in the front of the shoulder joint itself.



definitely just sounds like the "normal" bench press wear and tear that happens to some people.  Especially since you mentioned it gets better with a closer grip.  You might just have to use the closer grip exclusively if anything wider aggravates your shoulder.

I actually experience the same thing in my left shoulder, not a muscle pain, but doesn't feel like the shoulder joint either, just like you described, an area on the front of my shoulder just hurts when I bench.  

So the best explanation I can give you is that it's just typical bench press stuff.  I know that's not much help, but at least you're not alone in it!


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## fufu (Jun 9, 2010)

jmorrison said:


> Not to hijack, but I have been having some issues with my right shoulder, and just curious if anyone has an idea what it could be.  I am posting it here, because after doing more close-grip benching, it doesnt seem to bother me as much.
> 
> Anyway, the pain isnt severe, its just a general achiness, that can progress to sharp pain sometimes if I sleep on it wrong, or if I try to throw something.  I have been avoiding overhead exercises, and that seems to be helping.  Any ideas what the hell it could be?  It doesnt feel like a muscle issue, if I had to describe it I would say that it feels almost like it is in the front of the shoulder joint itself.



Having your elbows flare out away from your body during the bench press will increase shoulder rotation and stress. It is a very common error. This may be the root of your problem. Really concentrate on keeping your elbows tucked toward your body. 

When you do a CG bench, you naturally have your elbows tucked in closer, so that may be why the pain dissipates.

Dave Tate says if you want to have a long, healthy and strong benching career, keep those elbows tucked.


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## sassy69 (Jun 9, 2010)

SHoulders are crazy joint in general - so many little attachments in there - if you can start your upper body days w/ a rotator cuff warmup - e.g. light front, 45 degrees from front, side raises w/ DBs or cables, and cable inside / outside rotations to get the blood flowing. It takes 5-8 minutes - I recommend it before any upper body workouts.


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## omerta2010 (Jun 9, 2010)

sassy69 said:


> SHoulders are crazy joint in general - so many little attachments in there - if you can start your upper body days w/ a rotator cuff warmup - e.g. light front, 45 degrees from front, side raises w/ DBs or cables, and cable inside / outside rotations to get the blood flowing. It takes 5-8 minutes - I recommend it before any upper body workouts.



This is what my old training partner and I both ended up having to do. His was to the point he couldn't bench anymore until he did what Sassy mentioned for a few months.


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## unclem (Jun 13, 2010)

sassy has alot of intelligent posts, with that said close grip benches r my favorite tricep exercise but not to close or your going to tear something if its heavy enough. i usually do 315 for reps. like someone said 12-14" is the norm. just dont bounce it off your chest. imho


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## bigdavetom (Jun 14, 2010)

i like the close grip press


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## ectomorph141 (Nov 3, 2010)

I just started doing these last night for the first time.   Kept my hands about 12-14 inches apart.  Felt strange and seemed to hurt my shoulders at first.  So I googled a few close grip videos and found out that I need to keep my elbows closer to my side. And to lower the weight futher down my chest instead of across the nipples like a regular bench.  That made a huge difference and I could feel it a lot better in my triceps.  

I have been doing skull crushers, 2 hand dumbbell tricep extensions, and dips for my triceps.   I do dips every other week. 

Now I am going to substitue the skull crushers with close grip bench.  Just for a change to mix it up a little. Plus the skull crushers have started to hurt my fiance's left shoulder (she has a tweaky shoulder like Sassy).  So we will try this for a while and see how they work.


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## Phineas (Nov 3, 2010)

sassy69 said:


> SHoulders are crazy joint in general - so many little attachments in there - if you can start your upper body days w/ a rotator cuff warmup - e.g. light front, 45 degrees from front, side raises w/ DBs or cables, and cable inside / outside rotations to get the blood flowing. It takes 5-8 minutes - I recommend it before any upper body workouts.



I've been doing RC warmups for a few months now, and they're great. Mine are a bit shorter, like 3-4 minutes. 

Do you think I'd need more time?


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## ectomorph141 (Jun 8, 2011)

I just wanted to post a follow up to my reply in post #27.   I just simply cant do close grip bench press or diamond push ups. Over the course of several months trying here and there, my shoulder sockets just hate this exercise.  I have tried just about everything and instantly feel pain in my shoulder sockets.  

So is there any other exercise I can replace this with?? I mix up my routine with skull crushers, 2 hand tricep extensions, dips, rope pull downs, and 1 arm reverse rope pull downs. Not in the same workout, but a 2-3 week rotation.     Which of these alternatives works the part of the tricep that gets worked while doing close grip bench??


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## Cobeslayer (Jun 8, 2011)

love CG bench for hitting tris.  even got my wife to start doing them.

keep the shoulder advice coming.  I'm struggling with the same.  feels better after I workout, but can hit me at other times and hurt like hell.


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## REDDOG309 (Jun 8, 2011)

I read on here that dips are a great tricep workout, So I started doing them 2 or 3 times a week. My tris grew and my whole upper body felt like it was getting a good workout but now when I tuck in the back of my shirt or put my belt thru the back loops I am getting a stabbing pain in the front of my delt. I also play alot of raquet sports which I'm sure don't help. But this pain started right after I started overloading on dips. Now I'm back to rope push downs and close grip bench


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## Anabolic5150 (Jun 8, 2011)

Reverse grip bench presses on a Smith machine always worked well for me. You can Google them and find some pretty good videos on YouTube.


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## trapzilla (Jun 8, 2011)

Anabolic5150 said:


> Reverse grip bench presses on a Smith machine always worked well for me. You can Google them and find some pretty good videos on YouTube.


 
Do you not feel them in your chest Anabolic5150?

But close benches are second to dips IMO for tricep development


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## Anabolic5150 (Jun 8, 2011)

trapzilla said:


> Do you not feel them in your chest Anabolic5150?
> 
> But close benches are second to dips IMO for tricep development



A bit but more in my triceps. I go as wide as I can, almost to the side stops and imagine I am pushing down towards my feet. Takes most of the chest/delts out of it. I always try to keep my reps in the 12-15 range as well but sometimes will do a set or two in the 6-8 range.


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## trapzilla (Jun 8, 2011)

Anabolic5150 said:


> A bit but more in my triceps. I go as wide as I can, almost to the side stops and imagine I am pushing down towards my feet. Takes most of the chest/delts out of it. I always try to keep my reps in the 12-15 range as well but sometimes will do a set or two in the 6-8 range.


 
Ahh ok, i might retry them then!


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## Anabolic5150 (Jun 8, 2011)

trapzilla said:


> Ahh ok, i might retry them then!



One more thing, place the bar as close to the heels of your palms as you can be comfortable with. Helps again with keeping stress on the triceps in my opinion.


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## SuperLift (Jun 8, 2011)

They absolutely do. Most people tend to go to close though - this is hard on the wrists. go for about a 9-10in gap between your hands. That should be enough to get a good pump, and not stress your wrists to much.


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## cshea2 (Jun 8, 2011)

Idk if anyone already mentioned these, but JM presses are a great tricep builder.

Much more comfortable then skullcrushers...


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## trapzilla (Jun 8, 2011)

cshea2 said:


> Idk if anyone already mentioned these, but JM presses are a great tricep builder.
> 
> Much more comfortable then skullcrushers...


 
I was always under the impression JM presses were more about tendon strength than triceps strength. There is a video online of the creator stating something to that effect i believe.


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## bwrag (Jun 8, 2011)

I like CG board presses takes alot off the shoulder and pretty much only fell it in the tris. I use a 4 inch block and pause on it my tris get fried and my bench is going up every week


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## cshea2 (Jun 8, 2011)

trapzilla said:


> I was always under the impression JM presses were more about tendon strength than triceps strength. There is a video online of the creator stating something to that effect i believe.



They are used to strengthen the triceps in the elbow area, which are key for benching. That being said, they are my favorite triceps builder next to close grip bench.


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## Bobbyt450 (Jun 8, 2011)

I usually alternate between cb or use dumbbell press . The main one ive noticed that made my tri's grow is weighted dips !


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## ectomorph141 (Jun 9, 2011)

cshea2 said:


> Idk if anyone already mentioned these, but JM presses are a great tricep builder.
> 
> Much more comfortable then skullcrushers...


Oh thanks for the heads up. I have never heard of JM Presses so I checked JM presses on youtube.  I might have to try those out because as I mentioned in post 27 and 29, I simply cant do close grip bench.  Just kills my shoulder sockets.  I do the skull crushers behind my head and tricep extensions and those feel very good. So these JM presses will be similar to skull crushers just going to my chin instead of behind my head.


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## amonroe (Jun 11, 2011)

Yes, close grip bench press will definitely be more targeted to the triceps than the regular wide grip bench press. There are better tricep targeting exercise that you can do however if you really want to isolate that muscle group - for example dips.


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## ectomorph141 (Jun 15, 2011)

cshea2 said:


> Idk if anyone already mentioned these, but JM presses are a great tricep builder.
> 
> Much more comfortable then skullcrushers...





ectomorph141 said:


> Oh thanks for the heads up. I have never heard of JM Presses so I checked JM presses on youtube.  I might have to try those out because as I mentioned in post 27 and 29, I simply cant do close grip bench.  Just kills my shoulder sockets.  I do the skull crushers behind my head and tricep extensions and those feel very good. So these JM presses will be similar to skull crushers just going to my chin instead of behind my head.




I decided to try the JM Press and wow they worked killer!!  Its basically like doing a skull crusher but instead of bringing the weight behind your head, you bring it under your chin. You can look it up on youtube.  One heck of an awesome tricep exercise and the best news......NO SHOULDER PAIN!!     So if any of you have pain with close grip bench then try the JM press. We used the easy curl bar and it worked very well. 

We had a killer workout last night. Started with 4 sets of bench then went to 4 sets of flyes. Chest was done.  Now went to 3 sets of JM Press, followed by 3 sets of 2 handed Tricep Extensions, and followed it all up with dips.  The most trashed my chest and triceps have been in a long time.   

This is how we did the JM Press last night using the ez curl bar.  I had a little bit wider grip than he did. 





YouTube Video


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## southpaw (Jun 15, 2011)

I wish my shoulders and elbows could handle what my triceps can.  I think tris are my favorite muscle.


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