The Close Grip Bench Press
The close grip bench press is arguably the best mass-builder for triceps, and one of the most useful exercises in developing pressing strength.
Powerlifters are particularly fond of the close grip bench press - they value it for it’s ability to develop immense tricep pressing strength, which translates into more strength “out of the hole” on the bench.
Which muscles does it work?
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.
Technique
Lie on the bench and position yourself under the bar, with feet planted firmly on the floor. Grasp the barbell overhand,
with hands about shoulder width apart. Do not go any closer than this – it can put massive stress on your wrists, and actually re-involves the pecs when you lift.
Unrack the bar and lower it down to the top of your abdomen, to just about where your ribcage begins. Tuck your elbows in as much as possible so that your upper arms are touching the sides of your body. You want your elbows to remain this close to the centreline of your body throughout the lift.
Tense your abdomen and press the bar upward. As you press, keep your elbows “tucked” and your upper arms close to the centreline of your body. Use a light enough weight to ensure that your elbows don’t flair out to the sides – this will shift the stress off the triceps to the pectorals, and puts your wrists in a weak position.
Extend your arms fully and lock your elbows out at the top of the lift. Lower down smoothly and under control, and touch the bar to the top of your abdomen.
A word on grip width: It doesn’t pay to go any closer than shoulder width with the grip. Firstly, it puts far too much stress on your wrists at the bottom of the lift.
Secondly, if you do go “super-close”, you’re going to have trouble keeping your upper arms tight to your sides, and your elbows will flair out. As a result this super-close grip actually shifts stress off the triceps and onto the pecs.
You may see people in the gym benching with a 4-6 inch grip on the bar – they are either looking to train their inner chest, or doing a tricep close-grip bench incorrectly. Either way, they’re putting their wrists at risk, so be warned.
How do I use it in my training?
There are a couple of ways of including the close grip bench press in your weight lifting routine.
The close grip bench press is by far the most effective (and taxing!) tricep exercise – so when you train triceps, do it first. In a typical workout split, triceps go well with other pressing exercises for chest and/or shoulders, or trained with biceps on a separate “arms” day.
If you’re a powerlifter, you’ll want to check out the powerlifting articles for example workouts.
As usual, higher reps (8-10) build mass, and lower reps (3-6) build strength. If it’s strength you’re after, take your time to adjust to lower reps and higher weight. Even with correct shoulder-width grip, the close grip bench press puts more stress on your wrists than other pressing exercises. You may find wrist supports helpful if you’re going heavy.
Zo gaan we het vrijdag maar weer eens doen...shoulder width en gewoon maximaal 6 reps...ben toch verdorie inderdaad geen bodybuilder
