Barbell Incline Close-Grip Bench Press

How to do it

Setup

1. Set an adjustable bench to an incline between 30 and 45 degrees inside a rack.
2. Lie back on the bench with your eyes directly under the racked bar, planting your feet firmly on the floor.
3. Grasp the barbell with a pronated grip approximately shoulder-width apart.
4. Retract and depress your shoulder blades, then unrack the bar and hold it directly above your upper chest with elbows extended.

Movement

1. Inhale and lower the barbell under control toward your upper chest, keeping your elbows tucked at roughly a 30 to 45-degree angle to your torso.
2. Touch the bar lightly to your chest without bouncing.
3. Exhale and press the barbell back up along a slight backward arc to the starting position, fully extending your elbows.

Breathing

Inhale as you lower the bar to your chest, hold briefly through the bottom turn, and exhale as you press back to lockout.

Cues

• Keep elbows tucked rather than flared.
• Squeeze the bar tightly and stack your wrists over your elbows.
• Drive through your triceps at the top of the press.

Common faults

Gripping the bar excessively narrow (hands touching or only inches apart).

Space your hands roughly shoulder-width apart to protect your wrists and optimize triceps leverage.

Flaring the elbows outward during the descent.

Keep your elbows tucked closer to your ribs to shift load to the triceps and spare the anterior shoulders.

Bouncing the bar off the chest.

Lower the bar with control and pause momentarily before pressing upward.

Safety

• Use safety spotter arms set just above chest height or perform with a competent spotter.
• Avoid using a thumbless (false) grip with a narrow hand placement.

Muscles

• Triceps brachii prime mover
• Pectoralis major, clavicular head prime mover
• Front deltoid synergist
• Pectoralis major, sternal head synergist
• Rotator cuff stabilizer
• Rhomboids stabilizer

Joints

• Elbow: Extension, Flexion
• Shoulder: Flexion, Horizontal adduction
• Shoulder blade: Retraction, Depression
• Wrist: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement

Horizontal push, Push

Modality

Strength, Hypertrophy

Mechanics

compound

Force

push

Laterality

bilateral

Kinetic chain

open

Level

intermediate

Equipment

Barbell; Adjustable bench or Flat bench; Power rack or Squat rack

Record

Repetitions and Load

Load

external, total

Related

• variation of Barbell Incline Bench Press
• variation of Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press

Sources

• wger: Incline Close Grip Barbell Bench Press, by Expenses7000 (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

barbell-incline-close-grip-bench-press.json