EZ Bar Close-Grip Bench Press
What Is the EZ Bar Close-Grip Bench Press?
EZ Bar Close-Grip Bench Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the triceps and also engages the chest and front shoulders. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you lie on a flat bench, hold an EZ bar on its inner angled sections and press it from your lower chest to straight arms with your elbows kept close to your sides.
The movement is the same press as the Barbell Bench Press (Close Grip), with one difference in the hands. On a straight bar a close grip holds the hands fully palms-down, while the bends of the EZ bar turn them partway toward each other. Many lifters find that easier on the wrists and elbows, and the bends also set the hand spacing for you, which keeps the grip from creeping too narrow. The elbow path, the touch point on the lower chest and the muscles doing the work stay largely the same.
Like other close-grip presses, it is mainly an accessory for triceps strength and size and for a stronger lockout on the regular bench press. In a study of novice and resistance-trained men pressing a straight barbell, a wide grip produced less triceps activity than medium and narrow grips, chest activity was similar across all three widths, and the trained men lifted about 7 percent less for six reps with the narrow grip. It usually comes after the main pressing work in a session, or early in an arm-focused one.
It suits lifters who already bench press with sound form and want more triceps work, and lifters whose wrists complain on the straight-bar version. Most standard EZ bars are too short to rest on bench press uprights, so the bar is usually brought up from the thighs or handed off by a partner, which keeps loads moderate. If the press is too hard, build up with the Dumbbell Press (Close Grip) and the Cable Triceps Pushdown (Rope) first.
Muscles Worked
- Pectoralis Major
- High
- Deltoid
- Medium
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Minimal
Instructions
- Load an EZ bar and sit on the end of a flat bench with the bar resting across your thighs.
- Take an overhand grip on the inner angled sections of the bar, so your hands sit slightly narrower than shoulder width and the bends turn your palms slightly toward each other.
- Lie back with your head, upper back and hips on the bench and your feet flat on the floor, bringing the bar up close to your body, then press it to straight arms over your lower chest. A partner can hand you the bar instead.
- Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench and keep your wrists straight, with the bar sitting over your forearms.
- Lower the bar under control to your lower chest, keeping your elbows tucked close to your sides.
- Touch your chest lightly without bouncing, then press the bar back up along the same path until your elbows are straight.
- Repeat for the planned reps, then lower the bar to your thighs and sit up, or hand it back to your partner.
Common Mistakes
Flaring the elbows
Letting the elbows drift out to the sides shifts work from the triceps to the chest and front shoulders and adds stress to the shoulder joint.
Bending the wrists back
Letting the bar roll toward the fingers bends the wrists back and gives away the wrist relief the angled grip is meant to provide.
Touching too high on the chest
Lowering the bar toward the upper chest or neck forces the elbows out and puts the shoulders in a weaker position.
Bouncing the bar off the chest
Dropping the bar and rebounding it skips the hardest part of the press and jars the sternum and shoulders.
Over-arching the lower back
Lifting the hips or arching hard through the lower back to move more weight shortens the press and strains the spine.
Stopping short of lockout
Cutting the rep before the elbows straighten leaves out the top of the range, where the triceps finish the press.
Injuries
EZ Bar Close-Grip Bench Press is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The wrists, the elbows and the front of the shoulders take the most strain, and the risk rises when the elbows flare, the wrists bend back under the bar or the bar is bounced off the chest. Because most EZ bars cannot be racked, the bar is also lifted into place from the thighs, so choose a load you can control on the way up and back down without help, or press with a partner who hands the bar off and takes it back.
Keeping the elbows tucked and the shoulder blades pulled back protects the shoulders. In a modeling study of ten experienced strength athletes, narrower barbell grips and retracted shoulder blades lowered the compression and shear forces in the shoulder joint and the AC joint, although a grip at shoulder width raised the upward shear force in the shoulder compared with a slightly wider one. Lifters with pain at the top of the shoulder should not force the narrow grip.
Warm up with light sets, keep the wrists straight over the forearms and start lighter than you would on the straight-bar version. If your wrists or elbows still ache, the Dumbbell Press (Close Grip) lets the hands find their own angle, and the Dumbbell Floor Press shortens the range at the bottom. Once the EZ bar version feels solid, the Barbell Bench Press (Close Grip) allows heavier loading from a rack.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the wrist, elbow or front of the shoulder, numbness or tingling in the hands, or a pop in the chest or shoulder.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is it different from the straight-bar close-grip bench press?
The press itself is the same, with tucked elbows and the bar touching the lower chest. The EZ bar's bends turn your hands partway toward each other and fix your hand spacing, which many lifters find easier on the wrists. Because most EZ bars cannot be racked, loads usually stay lighter than on the Barbell Bench Press (Close Grip).
- Q: Which way should the bends of the bar face?
Turn the bar so that, with an overhand grip on the inner bends, your palms angle slightly toward each other. If the grip twists your wrists further palms-down than a straight bar would, flip the bar over.
- Q: Can I rack an EZ bar on a bench press?
Usually not, because most standard EZ bars are too short to span the uprights of a bench press or power rack. Longer rackable EZ bars exist for that purpose. With a standard bar, bring it up from your thighs or have a partner hand it to you.
- Q: How much does an EZ bar weigh?
There is no standard weight. Most EZ bars weigh between about 10 and 35 pounds (about 5 to 16 kg), with Olympic and rackable bars at the heavier end, so check the label or weigh your bar and use the same one each time you log the lift.
- Q: Is it the same as a JM press or a lying triceps extension?
No. In this press the bar travels straight up and down over the lower chest while the elbows and shoulders both move. The Barbell JM Press brings the bar toward the chin with the elbows held forward, and the EZ Bar Lying Triceps Extension moves only at the elbows, so both put more of the work on the triceps alone.