Many of you are performing close grip bench presses wrong.
Heck of a way to start an article, I know, but hear me out.
Most of us learned how to perform the close grip bench press from reading muscle building magazines. If not, we learned from a similar source, or possibly just winged the exercise.
Because of its name – the close grip bench press – lifters assume they must perform it with their hands as close together as possible. This is incorrect.
When performing the close grip bench press your wrists should be directly above your elbows. Remember that point, because it’s an important one.
When performing the close grip bench press your wrists should be directly above your elbows
Most lifters perform close grip benches with their wrists well inside their elbows, generally about 6-8 inches apart. Watch most videos of the lift and you can see the forearms forming a triangular-type shape.
Not only is this horrible for the wrist and shoulder joints, but it also cuts back on the amount of iron you can move.
Performing The Close Grip Bench Press Correctly
To learn how to perform the close grip bench press properly, I want you to do the following:
- Stand with your arms at your side.
- Keeping your elbows at your side, raise your hands until they are parallel to the ground.
- Pretend like you are grabbing the bar.
That’s it. This is exactly how you should be performing the close grip bench press. Note the grip width and practice your setup with an empty bar.
So there you have it. Give it a try and let me know in the comments how it goes.
although, i have always immensely liked and enjoyed reading your articles but this one seems to be not so up to the mark. Well, so i think ! Reason being, its ALWAYS about targeting the specific muscle group and being able to lift the amount of weight that one can, applying a certain amount of force without injuring oneself. The Fact is, that keeping the grip in the range between 6-8 inches targets the triceps well and keeping their width further puts stress on the pecs and delts slightly more than required. The triceps, no doubt will certainly be worked when the wrists are held just above the elbows, but then, how much; is the question.
I would, much appreciate the response to my post. I’m open to learning anyway !
I would disagree with you there Sumit. Part of growing bigger and getting stronger over the long-term is safety. You won’t be getting bigger, if you’re injured. The grip recommended in this article will do two things:
1) Keep your wrists from getting beat up and twisted under the weight.
2) Allow more weight to be lifter, which translates into more stress on the muscles.
It’s a win-win. Trying to isolate using a compound exercise usually involves distorting form and making a perfectly good compound into a very poor isolation exercise.
Excellent thoughts.
Hi Sumit,
Adding to Faheem’s thoughts.
The more you try to turn a compound exercise into an isolation exercise, the less effective and more dangerous it becomes. The method detailed in this article is far better on the wrists and shoulders than the “hands in” method.
Compound exercises are meant to work multiple body parts, and should not be feared because of it. They do not have to be turned into more of an isolation-style exercise to yield muscle gains. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Modern muscle building has forced all lifts, including compound exercises, into nice, neat little body part boxes. In many cases this has created a fear of training the body as a whole, as compared to training body parts.
Get as strong as you can on close grip bench presses. Embrace it as a compound lift, and trust that even if you are not isolating the triceps, you will still build triceps size with this exercise.