10 Best Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press Alternatives for Home & Gym

If you can’t do the barbell incline close-grip bench press, use close-grip incline dumbbell presses, weighted dips, flat close-grip bench with dumbbells, incline skull crushers, or rope triceps pushdowns. Cue: tuck elbows ~45°, keep wrists stacked over elbows, and use a controlled 2-0-2 tempo to maximize triceps extension and tension.

Original Exercise: Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press

Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press
Primary Muscle
Triceps
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Chest, Shoulders
How to Perform Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press
  1. Set up an incline bench at a 45-degree angle.
  2. Lie down on the bench with your feet flat on the ground.
  3. Grasp the barbell with a close grip, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Unrack the barbell and lower it slowly towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  5. Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
  6. Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Best Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press Alternatives

Best Match
Barbell Incline Reverse-grip Press

1. Barbell Incline Reverse-grip Press

92.7% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Set up an incline bench at a 45-degree angle.
  2. Lie back on the bench and grasp the barbell with a reverse grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Unrack the barbell and lower it towards your upper chest, keeping your elbows tucked in.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push the barbell back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press

2. Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press

90% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie on a flat bench with an EZ bar loaded to an appropriate weight.
  2. Using a narrow grip lift the bar and hold it straight over your torso with your elbows in. The arms should be perpendicular to the floor. This will be your starting position.
  3. Now lower the bar down to your lower chest as you breathe in. Keep the elbows in as you perform this movement.
  4. Using the triceps to push the bar back up, press it back to the starting position by extending the elbows as you exhale.
  5. Repeat.
Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press

3. Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press

90% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the ez barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing forward.
  3. Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
  4. Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  5. Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
Barbell Close-grip Bench Press

4. Barbell Close-grip Bench Press

90% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the barbell with a close grip, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Unrack the barbell and lower it slowly towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  4. Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest.
  5. Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
Ez Barbell Incline Triceps Extension

5. Ez Barbell Incline Triceps Extension

89.7% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Set up an incline bench at a 45-degree angle.
  2. Sit on the bench with your back against the pad and hold the ez barbell with an overhand grip.
  3. Extend your arms fully overhead, keeping your elbows close to your head.
  4. Lower the barbell behind your head by bending your elbows, keeping your upper arms stationary.
  5. Pause for a moment, then extend your arms back to the starting position.
Barbell Lying Close-grip Press

6. Barbell Lying Close-grip Press

89.2% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing towards your feet.
  3. Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
  4. Slowly lower the barbell towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  5. Pause for a moment when the barbell touches your chest, then push it back up to the starting position.
Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press

7. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press

89.2% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie back on a flat bench. Using a close grip (around shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
  2. As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on your middle chest. Tip: Make sure that - as opposed to a regular bench press - you keep the elbows close to the torso at all times in order to maximize triceps involvement.
  3. After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your triceps muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
  4. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
  5. When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.
Ez Barbell Decline Close Grip Face Press

8. Ez Barbell Decline Close Grip Face Press

89.2% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie on a decline bench with your head lower than your feet.
  2. Grasp the ez barbell with a close grip, palms facing each other.
  3. Extend your arms straight up above your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  4. Lower the barbell towards your forehead by bending your elbows.
  5. Pause for a moment, then press the barbell back up to the starting position.
Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press

9. Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press

88.7% Match
Triceps Ez-barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the ez barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Lower the barbell to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body.
  4. Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

10. Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

85.9% Match
Triceps Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your back pressed against the bench.
  2. Grasp the barbell with a reverse grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  3. Lift the barbell off the rack and hold it directly above your chest with your arms fully extended.
  4. Slowly lower the barbell down towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  5. Pause for a moment when the barbell is just above your chest.

Why You Might Need a Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press Alternative

You may substitute the barbell incline close-grip bench press because of shoulder pain, lack of an incline barbell setup, wrist discomfort, or a need for unilateral control. The barbell close-grip increases elbow-extension torque and can load wrists and shoulder joints in fixed hand positions. Alternatives let you change grip, angle, and range of motion to reduce joint shear and better target triceps heads. For example, dumbbells allow a neutral wrist to lower wrist torque; dips increase overall long-head demand when you maintain a more upright torso. Cue for all substitutes: retract the scapula, keep elbows tucked, and focus on full elbow extension to emphasize triceps activation.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Choose a substitute based on equipment, joint tolerance, and which triceps head you want to emphasize. If you lack a barbell but want equal bilateral load, use close-grip dumbbell presses and keep wrists neutral to reduce strain. For greater long-head work choose dips or incline skull crushers and maintain a shallow shoulder angle. If elbow pain limits you, select cable pushdowns or neutral-grip presses to reduce peak torque. Always cue controlled eccentric phases, a stable scapular base, and elbow alignment over the wrist to preserve force transfer and minimize compensation patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press work?

The lift primarily targets the triceps—long, lateral, and medial heads—while the clavicular pecs and anterior deltoids act as secondary movers. Because of the incline and close grip, the exercise raises elbow-extension demand and shifts some load to the upper chest and front deltoid.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press?

Weighted or bodyweight dips on parallel bars are the top bodyweight substitute; keep your torso slightly upright and elbows tucked to emphasize the triceps. Cue: descend under control to ~90° elbow flexion and explode to full extension while maintaining scapular stability.

Can I build muscle without doing Barbell Incline Close Grip Bench Press?

Yes. You can achieve equal or better triceps hypertrophy using a mix of compound and isolation movements—close-grip dumbbell presses, dips, skull crushers, and cable pushdowns—while applying progressive overload. Focus on consistent load increases, full range of motion, and maintaining elbow alignment to target triceps fibers effectively.

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