Written by Jamie Wykes

All too often in the gym, triceps training is commonly associated with push-downs and other isolation movements, with little to no regard for muscle building compound movements. Compound movements are essential to training in terms of muscle growth in size and strength, calorie expenditure and hormonal response. There are so many more added benefits but those three alone should be enough to convince anyone that they should incorporate them into their training program.

The three most renowned compound exercises for the triceps are the close grip bench press, the tricep dips and the close grip press up. As you can tell, the grip positioning can turn a general upper body exercise into a tricep movement within seconds, simply by narrowing the grip. The close grip bench press is a variation of the standardised flat bench with a twist; the focus is shifted from the chest/shoulders and placed onto the triceps. Whilst still incorporating the shoulders, inner chest and scapula, the majority of the muscle stimulus is placed onto the triceps. The close grip bench press is an exercise that should certainly be considered for anyone looking to develop their triceps in terms of aesthetic appearance, strength, power or even athletic performance.

Here are a few reasons why

Contribution to Other Compound Exercises: 

Almost any upper body exercise incorporating a push movement will be assisted by the triceps. For example, whilst the primary working muscle during the military press is the shoulder, the triceps is the secondary. For example, during the shoulder press, the triceps causes the arm to extend and drive upwards by generating a flexion/extension at the elbow joint. Having stronger triceps will cause this phase of the exercise to be much greater and efficient. The close grip bench is one certified way to make these triceps stronger.

Less Tension on The Shoulders: 

One of the most common injuries drawn from the regular barbell bench press is shoulder strain and rotator cuff tear. This is due to the weak muscles in the shoulder being put under severe resistance and tension in a compromising angle. In order to prevent this, there should be serious rotator cuff work in order to act as injury prevention and to stop this occurring. However, due to the differentiated grip on the close grip bench press, there is a far lesser chance of shoulder injury. That being said, there is considerably more tension placed on the elbow and wrist joints during the close grip variation, so for those with previous injury history in that region, time and careful consideration should be placed when performing this exercise.

Bigger Arms: 

The following statement may come as a surprise to most; training biceps won’t lead to bigger arms! Whilst biceps training does have its time and place, training your triceps efficiently is what is going to lead to a more rounded, aesthetic arm appearance overall. The reason for this is that the triceps are a larger muscle group than the bicep and it contains larger muscle fibres within it. To put it simply, the biceps make up about one third of your arm, whilst the triceps make up the remaining third. If you were to walk into the gym and perform bicep curls throughout your arm session, then essentially you are ingraining two thirds of your arm - madness! Find a balance but certainly never ignore the triceps. Incorporating exercises such as the close grip bench press is going to help achieve this massively.

Triggered GH and Testosteron Release: 

When we implement compound movements into a training plan such as the close grip bench press, we can expect various different benefits. One of these is a triggered growth hormone and testosterone release. Once these two muscle building hormones have been released, training can be made a lot easier and there is a far greater likelihood of muscle growth and stimulation.

Two Birds With One Exercise: 

Whilst the tricep pushdown and dips will target specifically the lateral head of the tricep, the close grip bench press will target the medial and the lateral head also. So not only is the close grip bench press targeting more than one muscle simultaneously, but it is targeting more than one muscle.Within the muscle! This fact alone should be enough to convince you to incorporate this into your next arm session.

Whilst the benefits of the close grip bench press may seem very attractive to most, the technique and form of the exercise is what lets most people down. Due to the fact that everyone is so accustomed to the regular bench press as it is the most common upper body exercise, the close grip bench can take some getting use to. Below is a step by step guide on how to perform the exercise correctly.

Preparation

• Position yourself lying down on the flat bench press (You can perform an incline or decline method also).

• Grip the barbell applying a close grip. Whilst it is all generally down to preference, a grip about shoulder width apart is generally advised.

• Carefully un-rack the barbell and position it just above your chest. Ensure that your back and head are kept flat on the bench throughout the exercise.