Thread: close grip bench

yes sir they do. that's there purpose.

Yes, increased elbow ROM and decreased shoulder abduction (arms remain closer to the sides of the body) means more stress on the triceps.

just to add a little to this...you don't necessarily want your grip to be TOO close on this exercise, I would say if you kept your hands about 12-14 inches apart, that would be the ideal spacing.

reason being, if you go too close, you are going to limit the weight you can use, and also put unnecessary stress on your wrists. Trust me, your triceps will be find with a hand spacing like I suggested, no need to go closer.

thanks for the good advice fellas.
One more question: does close grip bench also work the front delts more than the regular bench?

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.

A narrower grip shortens the range of motion at the bottom, lessening the role of the deltoids and pectorals.

at 14" apart grip my triceps are getting a fantastic pump but also I am noticing that my lower/inner pecs are getting hit hard and I am getting an excellent development which is improving the shape of my pecs.

I like to super close grip press w/ skull crushers. I have a tweaky shoulder so the width of my grip is what doesn't hurt - hands are not right next to each other but within 1 handwidth apart. You should also be able FEEL what muscles are getting hit - in all my training I do a lot of visualization to increase the "mind-muscle connection" and get more in tune w/ which muscles are being activated and also to "know" that I'm hitting the stuff I'm intending to hit.

Originally Posted by sassy69

I like to super close grip press w/ skull crushers. I have a tweaky shoulder so the width of my grip is what doesn't hurt - hands are not right next to each other but within 1 handwidth apart. You should also be able FEEL what muscles are getting hit - in all my training I do a lot of visualization to increase the "mind-muscle connection" and get more in tune w/ which muscles are being activated and also to "know" that I'm hitting the stuff I'm intending to hit.

Like you, I have a "tweaky shoulder" but, I need to space my hands out a bit when doing skull crushers. If I go to close (1 handwidth apart) I feel it in my shoulder. I need to go about 3 handwidths apart.

Originally Posted by Stani L'Abbate

thanks for the good advice fellas.
One more question: does close grip bench also work the front delts more than the regular bench?

Yes they do, a little bit. Think of it like this. To isolate front delts, you basically stand or sit with 2 DB's in each hand and move them straight out in front of you with your elbows straight.

That type of movement works the front delts. So if you perform a normal bench with your elbows out to the side (which is what most people do), the front delts will be worked less. If you preform close-grip bench with your elbows tucked at your sides (which is what most people do), the front delts will be worked more.

Hell yeah.

I also superset skullcrushers with close-grip bench. The two exercises seem to work well together for me. I like the ideas about visualization and feeling which muscles are working during a given exercise. Concentration and focus are so important when attempting to get the most out of your workouts. Just going through the motions will have limited results.

Dips or CG bench? dont say both, ive only got room for one on my push day, currently doing dips, though i supose i could alternate! sorry to hijack your question Stani L'Abbate

While your shoulders can handle it, stick with the dips.

Originally Posted by sassy69

I have a tweaky shoulder so the width of my grip is what doesn't hurt -

Not to hijack, but I have been having some issues with my right shoulder, and just curious if anyone has an idea what it could be. I am posting it here, because after doing more close-grip benching, it doesnt seem to bother me as much.

Anyway, the pain isnt severe, its just a general achiness, that can progress to sharp pain sometimes if I sleep on it wrong, or if I try to throw something. I have been avoiding overhead exercises, and that seems to be helping. Any ideas what the hell it could be? It doesnt feel like a muscle issue, if I had to describe it I would say that it feels almost like it is in the front of the shoulder joint itself.

Originally Posted by kyle64

at 14" apart grip my triceps are getting a fantastic pump but also I am noticing that my lower/inner pecs are getting hit hard and I am getting an excellent development which is improving the shape of my pecs.

Yeah, this is spot on for me, too. Tris get fried and my chest is deeper at the sternum. Great for making the striations pop out, too.

Yes that is the purpose of the exercise :-) I recently started incorporating these into my routine and I love them. Next to bar dips they are my favorite exercise for triceps.

Originally Posted by Stani L'Abbate

does the close grip bench work the triceps more than the regular bench?
can anyone shed some light?
thanks

nice~

Hell yeah.

Originally Posted by davegmb

Dips or CG bench? dont say both, ive only got room for one on my push day, currently doing dips, though i supose i could alternate! sorry to hijack your question Stani L'Abbate

It depends what you want to increase. CG will help your bench more and dips will help your body weight strength more. What's more important to you?

Originally Posted by jmorrison

Not to hijack, but I have been having some issues with my right shoulder, and just curious if anyone has an idea what it could be. I am posting it here, because after doing more close-grip benching, it doesnt seem to bother me as much.

Anyway, the pain isnt severe, its just a general achiness, that can progress to sharp pain sometimes if I sleep on it wrong, or if I try to throw something. I have been avoiding overhead exercises, and that seems to be helping. Any ideas what the hell it could be? It doesnt feel like a muscle issue, if I had to describe it I would say that it feels almost like it is in the front of the shoulder joint itself.

definitely just sounds like the "normal" bench press wear and tear that happens to some people. Especially since you mentioned it gets better with a closer grip. You might just have to use the closer grip exclusively if anything wider aggravates your shoulder.

I actually experience the same thing in my left shoulder, not a muscle pain, but doesn't feel like the shoulder joint either, just like you described, an area on the front of my shoulder just hurts when I bench.

So the best explanation I can give you is that it's just typical bench press stuff. I know that's not much help, but at least you're not alone in it!

Originally Posted by jmorrison

Not to hijack, but I have been having some issues with my right shoulder, and just curious if anyone has an idea what it could be. I am posting it here, because after doing more close-grip benching, it doesnt seem to bother me as much.

Anyway, the pain isnt severe, its just a general achiness, that can progress to sharp pain sometimes if I sleep on it wrong, or if I try to throw something. I have been avoiding overhead exercises, and that seems to be helping. Any ideas what the hell it could be? It doesnt feel like a muscle issue, if I had to describe it I would say that it feels almost like it is in the front of the shoulder joint itself.

Having your elbows flare out away from your body during the bench press will increase shoulder rotation and stress. It is a very common error. This may be the root of your problem. Really concentrate on keeping your elbows tucked toward your body.

When you do a CG bench, you naturally have your elbows tucked in closer, so that may be why the pain dissipates.

Dave Tate says if you want to have a long, healthy and strong benching career, keep those elbows tucked.

SHoulders are crazy joint in general - so many little attachments in there - if you can start your upper body days w/ a rotator cuff warmup - e.g. light front, 45 degrees from front, side raises w/ DBs or cables, and cable inside / outside rotations to get the blood flowing. It takes 5-8 minutes - I recommend it before any upper body workouts.

Originally Posted by sassy69

SHoulders are crazy joint in general - so many little attachments in there - if you can start your upper body days w/ a rotator cuff warmup - e.g. light front, 45 degrees from front, side raises w/ DBs or cables, and cable inside / outside rotations to get the blood flowing. It takes 5-8 minutes - I recommend it before any upper body workouts.

This is what my old training partner and I both ended up having to do. His was to the point he couldn't bench anymore until he did what Sassy mentioned for a few months.

sassy has alot of intelligent posts, with that said close grip benches r my favorite tricep exercise but not to close or your going to tear something if its heavy enough. i usually do 315 for reps. like someone said 12-14" is the norm. just dont bounce it off your chest. imho

i like the close grip press

I just started doing these last night for the first time. Kept my hands about 12-14 inches apart. Felt strange and seemed to hurt my shoulders at first. So I googled a few close grip videos and found out that I need to keep my elbows closer to my side. And to lower the weight futher down my chest instead of across the nipples like a regular bench. That made a huge difference and I could feel it a lot better in my triceps.

I have been doing skull crushers, 2 hand dumbbell tricep extensions, and dips for my triceps. I do dips every other week.

Now I am going to substitue the skull crushers with close grip bench. Just for a change to mix it up a little. Plus the skull crushers have started to hurt my fiance's left shoulder (she has a tweaky shoulder like Sassy). So we will try this for a while and see how they work.

Originally Posted by sassy69

SHoulders are crazy joint in general - so many little attachments in there - if you can start your upper body days w/ a rotator cuff warmup - e.g. light front, 45 degrees from front, side raises w/ DBs or cables, and cable inside / outside rotations to get the blood flowing. It takes 5-8 minutes - I recommend it before any upper body workouts.

I've been doing RC warmups for a few months now, and they're great. Mine are a bit shorter, like 3-4 minutes.

Do you think I'd need more time?

I just wanted to post a follow up to my reply in post #27. I just simply cant do close grip bench press or diamond push ups. Over the course of several months trying here and there, my shoulder sockets just hate this exercise. I have tried just about everything and instantly feel pain in my shoulder sockets.

So is there any other exercise I can replace this with?? I mix up my routine with skull crushers, 2 hand tricep extensions, dips, rope pull downs, and 1 arm reverse rope pull downs. Not in the same workout, but a 2-3 week rotation. Which of these alternatives works the part of the tricep that gets worked while doing close grip bench??