Incline Close Grip Bench Press
A close grip bench press on an incline bench: hands about shoulder width, elbows tucked, lowering the bar to your upper chest to work it and your triceps.
- Primary muscles
- Upper chest, Triceps
- Secondary
- Front delts, Middle chest, Lower chest
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
This combines two variations: the incline puts the chest work on its upper part, and the narrow grip makes your triceps do more. It's a time-efficient pick for upper chest and arms in one lift, and it works well as a second press after flat benching. Expect to use noticeably less weight than on either a regular incline press or a flat close grip press, since it stacks two harder positions.
How to do it
Set the bench to 30-45 degrees and grip the bar at about shoulder width or slightly narrower.
Unrack it and hold it over your upper chest with straight arms.
Lower it to your upper chest with your elbows tucked close to your sides.
Press back up. The incline works the upper chest and the narrow grip loads the triceps, so this covers both in one movement.
Common mistakes
Bar landing on your lower chest
Habits from the flat close grip press pull the bar too low. On the incline, bring it down to your upper chest.
Loading it like your flat close grip
The incline and narrow grip together make this much harder. Start well below your usual weights and build up.
Wrists bent back
A narrow grip makes it easy for the bar to roll back into your fingers. Keep it over your forearms with your wrists straight.
Elbows widening as you tire
Late in a hard set, the elbows tend to drift out and the lift turns into a wide press. Keep them tucked to your sides through the last rep.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
