Arms · Compound

Close Grip Barbell Bench Press

A bench press with a narrow grip that shifts emphasis to the triceps while still working the chest and front delts. It is the heaviest direct triceps exercise available, which makes it the anchor movement for arm size and for the lockout strength that stalls most bench presses. Programmed like a press rather than an isolation lift, it earns its place in both strength and physique training.

By Macros Inc Team Verified by Alex Dedmon Updated August 2026

Intermediate Barbell Compound Push
close-grip-barbell-bench-press-poster
  • Level Intermediate
  • Equipment Barbell
  • Primary Muscles Front Delts, Pectorals, Triceps
  • Movement Compound Push

Demonstration

Watch the Form Demo

Technique

How to Do the Close Grip Barbell Bench Press

  1. Lie on a flat bench and grip the bar at roughly shoulder width, not narrower.
  2. Set your shoulder blades back and down and plant your feet.
  3. Unrack the bar and hold it over your lower chest with straight arms.
  4. Lower under control, keeping your elbows tucked to about 45 degrees from your torso.
  5. Touch just below your normal bench press touch point.
  6. Press back up, locking out hard with the triceps.

Anatomy

Muscles Worked

arms
Primary muscles
Triceps
Secondary muscles
Front Delts Pectorals

Do This

Form Cues

  • Set the hands roughly shoulder width apart, not narrower.
  • Tuck the elbows to around 45 degrees and keep them there.
  • Touch lower on the torso than you would on a standard bench press.
  • Treat it as a press with tucked elbows, not a curl-grip experiment. Shoulder width is narrow enough.

Avoid This

Common Mistakes

  • Gripping too narrow, which puts real strain on the wrists.
  • Letting the elbows flare, which turns it back into a standard press.
  • Bouncing the bar off the ribs.
  • Bouncing reps off the chest, which robs the triceps of the bottom-range work this lift exists for.

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