Most lifters within the health club have carried out the traditional flat bench press to construct chest dimension and higher physique urgent energy. In relation to variations of this time-honored train, most lifters modify the angle to focus on the “higher chest” utilizing an incline press or concentrate on the “decrease pecs” with a decline bench.
Nonetheless, many individuals overlook a extremely efficient adjustment proper at their fingertips, actually. By transferring your hand place barely inward, you flip the chest-building flat bench press into the triceps-building close-grip bench press.
This adjustments the coaching stimulus and emphasizes the tricep muscle tissues, will increase the motion’s vary of movement, and nonetheless builds critical higher physique urgent energy. Right here’s all the things it’s good to find out about getting began with this straightforward motion for dimension and energy.
How one can Do the Shut-Grip Bench Press
The close-grip bench press biases the triceps muscle tissues with particular train efficiency and an extended vary of movement. As its identify implies, the close-grip bench press requires your palms to be nearer than throughout an ordinary bench press. This will increase the vary of movement and places your elbows by extra elbow flexion and extension, which emphasizes your triceps over your chest.
Step 1 — Set Up on the Bench
Lie down on a flat bench. Push your toes into the ground to slip your self up the bench till your eye are underneath the barbell. Pull your shoulders down and again. Place your palms across the bar in a pronated (palm down) grip along with your palms near shoulder-width aside. (1)
The fundamental method ought to virtually similar to your normal flat bench press setup. The first distinction is that your palms ought to now be at the very least one fist-width (4 to 6 inches) nearer than the chest-focused train. That is important for recruiting extra triceps into the motion.
Kind Tip: Whereas a comparatively shut grip is critical, taking an excessively shut grip could be counterproductive, creating extra joint pressure and fewer muscular stress. Some old style lifters consider your thumbs ought to be capable to contact through the close-grip bench press. That is inaccurate, impractical, and inefficient recommendation. Having your palms roughly in keeping with your shoulders shall be efficient for almost all of lifters.
Step 2 — Unrack the Bar
Fill your stomach and chest with a deep breath and raise the bar from the assist pins. Keep full physique pressure out of your flat toes by your core to your shoulders.
With stiff arms, information the bar ahead till it’s over your shoulders. Maintain your shoulders pinched again to have interaction your higher again for assist.
Kind Tip: The bar ought to really feel balanced when it settles into the perfect place. For those who really feel such as you’re “preventing” an unstable weight above your physique, it’s both nonetheless too far above your face or too far towards your abs. Management the burden and attain a robust, secure place earlier than reducing the burden.
Step 3 — Decrease the Bar
Decrease the bar towards your torso, retaining your elbows stacked underneath your wrists. This place retains your tricep underneath pressure, avoids compensation from the deltoids (shoulders), and minimizes pressure in your joints.
Maintain your elbows near your ribs. If they start to flare out to the edges, tuck them again in towards your physique. Deliver the bar down as near your physique as your mobility permits, ideally reaching close to your sternum and decrease chest.
Kind Tip: Don’t permit your wrists to bend again all through the rep. Maintain your knuckles going through the ceiling. This may preserve your wrists in a extra favorable, much less irritating place. It additionally helps to maintain your wrists stacked above your elbows, which is a extra highly effective urgent place than falling out of line.
Step 4 — Press to the Beginning Place
After reaching your most comfy depth, press the bar as much as its beginning place. Maintain your toes flat on the ground and really feel total-body engagement. Keep a impartial wrist place above your elbows.
The bar ought to find yourself balanced immediately over your shoulders, in the identical place it was in after being unracked.
Kind Tip: As a result of the target of the train is to problem the triceps, actively squeeze your triceps within the locked out place earlier than performing the subsequent repetition.
Close-Grip Bench Press Errors to Keep away from
There are a number of errors that may occur within the close-grip bench press as a result of this free weight train has many variables that should be managed by the lifter.
In distinction, sure machine exercises can lock you into pre-determined positions that don’t provide as a lot positional selection. In different phrases, manipulating a barbell requires extra focus and extra muscular management than the same machine motion. Right here’s what to be careful for throughout this train.
Elbows Flaring Out
That is in all probability the commonest mistake individuals make when doing any triceps train. Your elbows should observe underneath your wrists to emphasise the lengthening of the muscle through the eccentric, or reducing section, of the repetition.
When your elbows flare out to the edges, your shoulders are extra strongly contracted, which reduces the load on the triceps.
Keep away from it: Use a sluggish tempo when bringing the bar down towards your chest. Take three seconds to decrease the burden and focus controlling your elbow angle. Maintain your elbows ahead towards your toes moderately than out to the facet. When you’ve practiced and really feel comfy, step by step enhance the bar pace to a degree during which you’ll be able to management your elbow place all through the complete motion.
Gripping Too Slim or Too Huge
In case your grip is simply too slim, your elbows will probably flare out excessively, forcing your deltoids to contribute extra to the motion. A too-narrow grip place may also contribute to inside rotation of the shoulder which, over time, could enhance the danger of damage to the supraspinatus muscle of the shoulder joint.
Nonetheless, a grip that’s too large could be simply as counterproductive, by lowering the demand on the triceps and growing chest recruitment. A detailed-grip bench press with no shut grip is a plain outdated bench press.
Keep away from it: Analysis has proven that the optimum grip for a close-grip bench press is the the identical as the space between the acromion (periphery) of your shoulder blades.(2) Throughout the setup section of the train, place your palms shoulder-distance aside along with your wrists, elbows, and shoulders in a straight line. This may create a personalized grip as everybody has a novel shoulder width, moderately than telling each lifter in each health club to arbitrarily set their palms 18 inches aside, for instance.
Inefficient Bar Path
It is very important keep in mind that the bar path within the bench press isn’t a strictly vertical line. The bar begins over your shoulders and can journey down and barely ahead because it’s lowered, in a slight arc-like path.
In comparison with the usual bench press, the close-grip bench press has an elevated vary of movement and can subsequently have a distinct touch-point on the physique and a distinct bar path than the usual bench press.
It is very important keep in mind that the bar will contact decrease in your chest in a close-grip bench than an ordinary bench press. For those who try to make use of the identical touch-point for each actions, it should result in extreme elbow flare to compensate for the inefficient movement.
Keep away from it: Intention for the bar to the touch across the narrowing level of the underside of your sternum — the xiphoid course of. Nonetheless, the precise spot will fluctuate barely from individual to individual based mostly on their arm length, ribcage dimension, and total physique place.
How to Progress the Shut-Grip Bench Press
As a fundamental barbell train, the close-grip bench press could be tailored to swimsuit a variety of lifters’ capabilities with progressively heavier weights. Nonetheless, if people can not but handle a full vary of movement with the barbell, there are a couple of choices to assist obtain the train.
Shut-Grip Ground Press
The ground press variation reinforces the identical close-grip setup and normal bar path with a decreased vary of movement. Whereas one good thing about the close-grip bench press (carried out on a flat bench) is a comparatively lengthy vary of movement, this flooring press variation eliminates the decrease portion of the train. This reduces shoulder pressure whereas sustaining muscular stress on the triceps.
The close-grip flooring press means that you can develop into accustomed to the grip width and hand place, and encourages correct type whereas staying tight and controlling the motion. Don’t permit your elbows to relaxation on the bottom.
Paused Shut-Grip Bench Press
By incorporating a deliberate, lengthy pause on the backside and prime of every repetition, you reinforce correct mechanics all through the motion. Pause within the backside, stretched place of each rep for 2 seconds. It’s essential that you just preserve pressure and don’t chill out with the bar resting in your chest. Your muscle tissues needs to be tight and engaged for the length.
Press usually and maintain the locked out place for 2 seconds. Once more, don’t deal with the pause as a chance for relaxation. Grip the bar onerous, flex your triceps, and have interaction your core earlier than reducing the burden once more.
Advantages of the Shut-Grip Bench Press
The close-grip bench press has a number of advantages, from efficiency to aesthetics and even longevity in barbell coaching. Right here’s why you must incorporate this convenient motion.
Energy and Efficiency
For powerlifters or gym-goers trying to enhance their max bench press, the close-grip bench press has particular advantages with direct carryover to your bench. For those who wrestle particularly at lockout, you probably want to enhance your triceps energy.
The close-grip bench press primarily challenges the triceps, resulting in larger urgent energy.(3) This easy train variation may very well be what’s lacking out of your coaching routine to push by your sticking level and attain a brand new bench press PR.
Muscle-Constructing and Aesthetics
Filling out the sleeves of a shirt isn’t a nasty thought. Whereas triceps dips and pushdowns problem the lateral head of the triceps particularly, the close-grip bench press considerably recruits the medial and lateral head, resulting in extra well-rounded muscular development.
This compound (multi-joint) motion additionally has an elevated impact on muscle hypertrophy as a result of it means that you can use comparatively heavy weights, which could be helpful for exciting development.(4)
Joint Well being
For those who persistently practice utilizing a restricted vary of movement for any muscle or train, you’ll be able to develop energy in that vary. Nonetheless, this could additionally create a larger danger for strains and tears when these muscle tissues are put by a larger vary of movement with “absolutely lengthened” or “absolutely shortened” positions. (5)
The close-grip bench press does problem a larger vary of movement than the usual grip as a result of positioning of the palms on the bar. The shoulder joints are labored by an extended distance. This may stress the triceps within the lengthened ranges, making them extra sturdy and comparatively much less liable to damage.
Muscle mass Labored by the Shut-Grip Bench Press
The close-grip bench press is mostly identified for difficult the triceps muscle tissues, nonetheless there are extra muscle tissues concerned than it’s possible you’ll suppose.
Pectorals Main and Minor
The pectoralis main and pectoralis minor are your chest muscle tissues and, whereas they aren’t the most important contributors to the close-grip bench press, they do play an necessary function within the motion. Throughout each the concentric (lifting) and eccentric (reducing) phases, each the pec main and minor are recruited to raise the burden and push your arms upward.
Anterior Deltoid
Your shoulder is comprised of three separate heads — the entrance (anterior), facet (lateral), and rear (posterior). Every helps to lift the arm in its respective path out of your physique’s midline. The anterior deltoid, particularly, contributes to elevating and reducing your higher arm through the close-grip bench press.
Nonetheless, bear in mind that in case your anterior deltoid is fatiguing earlier than different muscle tissues teams through the train, your elbows are probably flaring an excessive amount of. Adjusting your grip and/or bar path ought to guarantee most focus in your triceps.
Triceps Brachii
Your triceps make up nearly all of your higher arm, relative to your biceps. The triceps muscle consists of three heads — the lateral, medial, and lengthy head — and collectively their predominant motion is to increase the arm from a bent elbow place to full to elbow extension. The triceps contraction is emphasised within the lockout of the train the place the triceps are extra strongly recruited.
How one can Program the Shut-Grip Bench Press
When programming the close-grip bench press, the primary consideration must be your objective. The best method shall be decided by what you wish to obtain with the motion and the way it matches into your total coaching plan.
Energy
To prioritize strength-building, reps have to be saved in a comparatively decrease vary whereas working with greater percentages of your one-repetition max (1RM). Prepare with two to 6 units of 1 to 5 reps, utilizing 80 to 95% of 1RM.
The quantity of units can fluctuate based mostly in your expertise, conditioning, and skills. Extra isn’t all the time higher in case you can’t deal with it. No matter your complete coaching quantity, concentrate on utilizing a quick bar pace and absolutely locking out every repetition.
Hypertrophy
Utilizing average to excessive units with average to greater reps will present a larger hypertrophy adaptation. For muscle development to happen, the muscle wants stimulus, quantity, and fatigue.(6) Work with three to 6 units eight to twenty repetitions, utilizing of 55-65% of 1RM.
The objective is to succeed in muscular fatigue on the finish of every set. For those who’re performing extra triceps-focused workouts in the identical exercise, use fewer units and reps. If the close-grip bench press is your major triceps train, give it the upper finish of the workload.
Shut-Grip Bench Press Variations
Past the close-grip bench press itself, there are some variations you’ll be able to implement for comparable advantages of hypertrophy and bettering your urgent energy.
Banded Shut-Grip Bench Press
To extend urgent energy and/or enhance your lockout potential, including resistance bands of assorted pressure to the close-grip bench press will problem higher vary of movement. Resistance bands provide accommodating resistance — they get tougher as they’re stretched farther and provide comparatively much less resistance earlier than they’re maximally stretched.
The biomechanics of the bench press, the lockout place requires much less vitality and advantages from a leverage benefit. As your elbows develop into extra prolonged, the burden feels “lighter.” Bands require you to use most pressure as resistance will increase towards the highest place, forcing a stronger contraction. Because the bar travels upward, band pressure will increase on the lockout. This forces you to consciously produce extra energy and drive onerous to realize lockout.
Machine Press
This is a superb variation for hypertrophy targets. Utilizing any machine that mimics the same arrange because the close-grip bench provides you extra choices for hypertrophy. The design of machines permits lifters to effectively incorporate quite a lot of high-intensity strategies for elevated coaching stimulus.
Choices resembling resembling drop units, partial reps, and even forced reps with a coaching companion permit for larger variations in your exercises. That is additionally a safer choice than coaching past muscular fatigue with the close-grip bench press.
Shut-Grip Push-Up
This triceps-focused push-up variation is a pleasant complement to any coaching program, as a major train or as a muscle-exhausting ending motion. Since your palms are nearer collectively, just like the close-grip bench press, the vary of movement is larger than an ordinary push-up, thus making it tougher.
For those who can not carry out a full vary of movement rep out of your toes, you go for modified variations resembling a close-grip inclined push-up (along with your palms elevated on a bench) or a kneeling close-grip push up.
Incessantly Requested Questions
Why does the close-grip bench press harm my shoulder?
There may very well be a number of elements at work, however most individuals’s shoulders harm as a consequence of a scarcity of stability within the higher again. This requires a greater concentrate on scapular retraction and despair — pulling your shoulder blades collectively and down.
Throughout the train, be sure to squeeze your shoulder blades again towards your backbone and “tuck” them down towards your again pockets. This stabilizes your whole shoulder girdle to assist the load. If it’s carried out incorrectly, or in no way, your anterior deltoid is extra strongly activated as your shoulder goes into protraction (reaching ahead) and elevation (shrugging as much as your ears).
Quite a lot of upper back strengthening exercises and mobility drills may also help, together with drilling correct urgent method and cueing your higher again stabilizers earlier than unracking the bar.
What various can I do if I don’t have a bench?
Any train that challenges your higher physique urgent muscle tissues in a supine place could be an efficient various. For those who don’t have a bench however can lie on the ground, it is a nice various. A dumbbell or barbell flooring press is a superb train every time a bench is unavailable. The concentrate on the higher half of the vary of movement additional emphasizes triceps recruitment.
Most industrial gyms have steps, containers, and risers that can be utilized as modified bench. Ideally, you need the improvised bench to be the identical top as an ordinary one. Place a yoga mat on prime of the step or field to scale back the danger of your torso slipping off.
Get a Grip on Your Bench
The close-grip bench press could be carried out both as an help train to spice up your traditional bench press or it may be approached as a predominant motion by itself to develop a stronger higher physique. The added arm dimension is an incidental bonus. Apply this straightforward grip adjustment to a time-tested motion and also you’ll quickly welcome new ranges of dimension and energy.
References
- Lockie, Robert & Moreno, Matthew. (2017). The Shut-Grip Bench Press. Energy and Conditioning Journal. 39. 1. 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000307.
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Larsen, S., Gomo, O., & van den Tillaar, R. (2021). A Biomechanical Evaluation of Huge, Medium, and Slim Grip Width Results on Kinematics, Horizontal Kinetics, and Muscle Exercise on the Sticking Area in Recreationally Skilled Males Throughout 1-RM Bench Urgent. Frontiers in sports activities and energetic residing, 2, 637066. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.637066
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Saeterbakken, A. H., Stien, N., Pedersen, H., Solstad, T., Cumming, Ok. T., & Andersen, V. (2021). The Impact of Grip Width on Muscle Energy and Electromyographic Exercise in Bench Press amongst Novice- and Resistance-Skilled Males. Worldwide journal of environmental analysis and public well being, 18(12), 6444. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126444
- Brandão, Lucas & Painelli, Vitor & Lasevicius, Thiago & Silva-Batista, Carla & Brendon, Helderson & Schoenfeld, Brad & Aihara, Andre & Cardoso, Fabiano & Peres, Bergson & Teixeira, Emerson. (2020). Various the Order of Mixtures of Single- and Multi-Joint Workouts Differentially Impacts Resistance Coaching Variations. Journal of Energy and Conditioning Analysis. 34. 1. 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003550.
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Valamatos, M. J., Tavares, F., Santos, R. M., Veloso, A. P., & Mil-Homens, P. (2018). Affect of full vary of movement vs. equalized partial vary of movement coaching on muscle structure and mechanical properties. European journal of utilized physiology, 118(9), 1969–1983. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3932-x
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Mangine, G. T., Hoffman, J. R., Gonzalez, A. M., Townsend, J. R., Wells, A. J., Jajtner, A. R., Beyer, Ok. S., Boone, C. H., Miramonti, A. A., Wang, R., LaMonica, M. B., Fukuda, D. H., Ratamess, N. A., & Stout, J. R. (2015). The impact of coaching quantity and depth on enhancements in muscular energy and dimension in resistance-trained males. Physiological reviews, 3(8), e12472. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.12472
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