Exercise guide · Triceps

Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press

Close-grip bench press targets triceps using a narrow grip on a flat bench. You press the bar from chest level with elbows tucked close to your sides.

  • Targets: Triceps
  • Equipment: Barbell
  • Type: Compound
Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press exercise illustration showing the movement position

Step by step

How to do the Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press

  1. Set a flat bench in a rack. Load the bar and grip it with hands about shoulder-width or slightly narrower.
  2. Lie back with eyes under the bar, feet flat on the floor. Retract shoulder blades and create a slight upper-back arch.
  3. Unrack the bar and hold it over the lower chest with arms extended. Keep elbows tucked at roughly 20–45 degrees from your torso.
  4. Lower the bar to the lower chest or upper abs in a controlled path, keeping elbows close to your sides.
  5. Press the bar straight up to full extension without flaring elbows wide.
  6. Re-rack after the last rep.

Form cues

  • Grip just inside shoulder width
  • Tuck elbows toward your ribs on the way down
  • Press straight up, not forward over your face
  • Keep wrists stacked over forearms

Common mistakes

  • Gripping too narrow and straining wrists
  • Flaring elbows out like a standard bench press
  • Bouncing the bar off the chest
  • Lowering the bar to the neck instead of lower chest

Muscles worked

Primary

Triceps

Secondary

Chest and Front delts

Safety: Use a spotter or safety bars for heavy sets. Choose a weight you can lower under control to your chest.

Alternatives

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