Close-Grip Bench Press

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

Narrowing the grip makes the bar travel further, which is why the same weight feels heavier than on a normal bench.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Grip at shoulder width): Hands at roughly shoulder width; narrower loads the wrists and elbows without adding triceps involvement.
During the set (Longer bar path): The bar travels further than on a wide grip, so each rep does more mechanical work at the same load.
Immediately after (Failure sits low in the range): The sticking region sits nearer the chest, where pectoral leverage is poor and the triceps are short.
Weeks later (Triceps size and lockout): Lockout strength improves first through neural adaptation, with triceps size following over months.

Muscles trained

Primary: triceps
Secondary: abs, chest, rotator cuff, shoulders

Intensity

6 METs (Resistance training (weight lifting, free weight, nautilus or universal), power lifting or body building, vigorous effort (Taylor Code 210)).

Time to effect

Weeks: Triceps lockout strength improves noticeably and tends to carry over directly to your regular bench press.
Months: Measurable triceps size gain alongside a stronger, more reliable lockout across all your pressing movements.

Related supplements

Common myth

"Close-grip bench press only trains the triceps, not the chest." In reality: It is still a full pressing movement - the chest and front shoulders remain prime movers through the bottom half of the rep. They simply do proportionally less work than in a standard-grip bench, since the triceps take over more of the lockout as grip narrows. Neither muscle group does all the work alone.