Barbell Incline Bench Press (Close Grip)
What Is the Barbell Incline Bench Press (Close Grip)?
Barbell Incline Bench Press (Close Grip) is a compound exercise that primarily targets the triceps and chest and also engages the front of the shoulders. It is an intermediate-level movement that combines two familiar changes to the bench press: the bench is set to an incline of about 30 to 45 degrees, and the hands sit well inside shoulder width, with roughly a hand's width of bar between them. The elbows stay tucked close to the sides as the bar comes down to the upper chest, and each rep finishes with the arms straight over the shoulders.
Each change moves the work in its own direction. Narrowing the grip asks more of the elbows: on a flat bench, a study of 28 novice and resistance-trained men found a wide grip produced less triceps activity than medium or narrow grips, while chest activity stayed about the same across grip widths. Raising the bench shifts the chest work toward its upper fibers: a study of 30 trained adults, pressing with a wide grip at five bench angles, found upper-chest activity peaked with the bench at 30 degrees and front-shoulder activity rose above 45 degrees, while triceps activity stayed about the same from flat to 60 degrees. Neither study tested a close grip on an incline, but together they explain why this press is used to train the triceps and the upper chest in one movement, and why a bench set much steeper than 45 degrees mostly adds shoulder work.
It is an accessory lift, not a competition or test lift. Lifters usually place it after their main bench press or incline work to add triceps and upper-chest volume, as a lighter companion to the Barbell Incline Bench Press or in place of the Barbell Bench Press (Close Grip) on a day built around the upper chest. Both the incline and the narrow grip lower the weight most lifters can handle, so expect to use less than on either of those lifts.
The movement suits lifters who already press comfortably on both the regular incline press and the flat close-grip press and want one lift that covers the triceps and upper chest together. Newer lifters should learn those two first, or build a base with the Incline Push-Up and the Dumbbell Incline Squeeze Press, until they can keep the elbows tucked and the bar path steady before combining the incline with a narrow grip on a loaded bar.
Muscles Worked
- Pectoralis Major
- Primary
- Triceps Brachii (Long Head)
- Primary
- Deltoid
- High
- Serratus Anterior
- Medium
- Rectus Abdominis
- Minimal
Instructions
- Set an adjustable bench in a rack to an incline of about 30 to 45 degrees, with the bar on the uprights at a height you can reach with slightly bent arms.
- Sit with your back and head against the pad and your feet planted on the floor, then pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench.
- Grip the bar overhand with your hands well inside shoulder width, leaving roughly a hand's width of bar between them, and keep your wrists stacked over your forearms.
- Unrack the bar with your elbows locked and bring it over your upper chest, arms straight.
- Lower the bar under control to your upper chest, just below your collarbones, keeping your elbows tucked close to your sides.
- Touch the bar lightly to your chest without bouncing, then press it back up along the same path until your arms are fully straight.
- Keep your hips, upper back and head on the bench throughout the set.
- After the last rep, lock your elbows and guide the bar back onto the uprights before letting go.
Common Mistakes
Gripping too narrow
Bringing the hands together until they touch bends the wrists and loads the elbows without adding triceps work.
Flaring the elbows
Letting the elbows drift out to the sides turns the lift back into a regular incline press and strains the front of the shoulders.
Setting the bench too steep
Going past about 45 degrees turns the lift into more of a close-grip shoulder press and moves the work off the chest.
Lowering the bar toward the neck
Bringing the bar down above the collarbones pulls the forearms off vertical and puts the wrists and shoulders in a weak, strained position.
Bending the wrists back
Letting the bar roll toward the fingers bends the wrists back under load and moves the bar off the line of the forearms.
Bouncing or cutting the range short
Bouncing the bar off the chest or stopping short of full lockout cuts out the parts of the press where the chest and triceps work hardest.
Injuries
Barbell Incline Bench Press (Close Grip) is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The wrists and elbows take most of the strain: the narrow grip bends the elbows further at the bottom of each rep and makes it easy for the bar to roll back toward the fingers, bending the wrists back under load. The incline adds stress at the front of the shoulder, which grows as the bench gets steeper, and the bar passes over the face and throat on every unrack and re-rack.
Keep the hands inside shoulder width but apart, since a grip with the hands touching adds wrist and elbow strain without adding useful triceps work. Hold the bar low in the palm over the forearm bones, keep the shoulder blades pulled back and down, and set the bench no steeper than about 45 degrees. Use a spotter for heavy sets, or press in a power rack with the safety pins set just below your lowest bar position, and keep the elbows locked whenever the bar travels to and from the uprights.
If the wrists, elbows or shoulders complain, lower the bench a notch, widen the grip slightly toward shoulder width, or switch to the Dumbbell Incline Squeeze Press, which keeps the incline and the close hand position while letting the wrists find their own angle. The Smith Machine Incline Bench Press with a narrow grip is another option, since its fixed bar path is easier to control. Once the movement feels smooth, progress by adding weight in small steps or by pausing briefly with the bar on the chest.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the wrist, at the back or inside of the elbow, or a pinch at the front of the shoulder, or if you feel a pop or tearing near the chest or armpit. Muscle fatigue is expected, but joint pain is not, and aching that lingers into the next day is a sign to cut the load or regress.
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is it different from the regular incline bench press?
The hands sit well inside shoulder width instead of slightly outside it, and the elbows stay tucked near the sides, which moves more of the work onto the triceps while the incline keeps the upper chest involved. Most lifters use noticeably less weight than on the Barbell Incline Bench Press.
- Q: How is it different from the flat close-grip bench press?
The grip and tucked elbows are the same, but the bench is raised to 30 to 45 degrees and the bar touches the upper chest instead of the lower chest. That shifts more of the chest work to its upper fibers and more load onto the front shoulders, and you will usually lift less than on the Barbell Bench Press (Close Grip).
- Q: How close should my hands be?
Inside shoulder width but not touching, with roughly a hand's width of bar between them. If your wrists bend back or your elbows ache, widen the grip slightly toward shoulder width.
- Q: What bench angle should I use?
About 30 to 45 degrees suits most lifters, and the lower end keeps more of the work on the chest and triceps. Steeper settings hand more of the press to the front shoulders.
- Q: Where does it fit in a workout?
It works best as an accessory after your main bench press or incline work, for moderate sets of 6 to 12 reps. Many lifters use it in place of a flat close-grip press or a separate triceps exercise on an upper-chest day rather than doing all of them.