Close-Grip Bench Press

Muscles worked by the Close-Grip Bench Press

Primary

TricepsTriceps Brachii

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidChestPectoralis Major

Also called: tricep, triceps, triceps brachii, horseshoe, tris.

Equipment

Barbell

Also called: bar, olympic barbell, straight bar, olympic bar, power bar.

How to do the Close-Grip Bench Press

1. Lie on a flat bench and grip the barbell with hands shoulder-width apart.
2. Lower the bar to your lower chest keeping elbows close to your sides.
3. Press back up to full extension.
4. Repeat.

Form tips

• Keep elbows tucked to maximize triceps activation.
• Avoid too-narrow a grip to prevent wrist strain.

At a glance

Close-Grip Bench Press in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Barbell Bench Press
• Cable Chest Press
• Close-Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
• Close-Grip EZ-Bar Bench Press
• Close-Grip Incline Bench Press
• Decline Barbell Bench Press
• Decline Bench Press
• Decline EZ-Bar Bench Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "close-grip-bench-press",
  "name_en": "Close-Grip Bench Press",
  "name_de": "Bankdrücken enger Griff",
  "name_es": "Press de Banca con Agarre Cerrado",
  "description_en": "A bench press variation with a narrow grip that shifts the emphasis to the triceps.",
  "description_de": "Eine Bankdrücken-Variante mit engem Griff, die den Schwerpunkt auf die Trizeps verlagert.",
  "description_es": "Una variación del press de banca con agarre estrecho que desplaza el énfasis hacia los tríceps.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "barbell",
  "body_part": "upper_arms",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "arm_day",
    "push_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "requires_bench"
  ],
  "variation_group": "bench-press",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on a flat bench and grip the barbell with hands shoulder-width apart.",
    "Lower the bar to your lower chest keeping elbows close to your sides.",
    "Press back up to full extension.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Leg dich auf eine flache Bank und greife die Langhantel schulterbreit.",
    "Senke die Stange zur Unterseite der Brust, Ellbogen nah am Körper.",
    "Drücke zurück bis zur vollen Streckung.",
    "Wiederholen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate en un banco plano y agarra la barra con las manos a la anchura de los hombros.",
    "Baja la barra hasta el pecho inferior manteniendo los codos cerca de los costados.",
    "Vuelve a empujar hasta la extensión completa.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep elbows tucked to maximize triceps activation.",
    "Avoid too-narrow a grip to prevent wrist strain."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte die Ellbogen angelegt, um die Trizepsaktivierung zu maximieren.",
    "Vermeide einen zu engen Griff, um die Handgelenke nicht zu belasten."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén los codos pegados para maximizar la activación de los tríceps.",
    "Evita un agarre demasiado estrecho para prevenir tensión en las muñecas."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/close-grip-bench-press-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/close-grip-bench-press-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "close-grip-bench-press");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.