10 Best Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press Alternatives for Triceps Strength

The Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press is done lying on your back with a barbell. Ranked closest by our scoring: the EZ Barbell JM Bench Press, the Barbell Lying Close-grip Press and the Close-grip Ez-bar Press. Four harder versions, among them the Reverse Triceps Bench Press and the Jm Press, are listed below as progressions rather than swaps.

The EZ Barbell JM Bench Press is the closest swap because it trades the straight bar of the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press for an angled EZ bar, your back still flat on the bench, arms extending above your chest. The grip turns overhand and sits slightly wider than shoulder width, and your elbows stay tucked as the bar comes to your chest, so the triceps keep doing the pressing. With no EZ bar either, the Barbell Lying Close-grip Press keeps the straight bar and the same narrow grip.

Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench PressWatch the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

The steps for the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press itself, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Triceps, with chest, shoulders · Barbell · Intermediate · Compound

  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.
  6. Push the barbell back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

The 10 Best Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page. Harder versions are tagged as progressions and kept out of the top spot even when they score higher.

Each link re-ranks the list below for the kit it names. Pick one to hide the substitutes you cannot set up.

  1. EZ Barbell JM Bench PressPlay demonstration

    1. EZ Barbell JM Bench Press

    97% match

    Triceps · Advanced · Compound

    A good swap when you have an EZ bar to work with, and it still works the triceps.

    • Ez-barbell
    How to perform it
    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.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: flat horizontal press, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Primary muscle: triceps, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Body position: lying on your back, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
  2. Reverse Triceps Bench Press

    Progression

    2. Reverse Triceps Bench Press

    99% match

    Triceps · Advanced · Compound

    Pick this when you want a harder version that still works the triceps.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Lie back on a flat bench. Using a close, supinated grip (around shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked extended in front of you and perpendicular to the floor. 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.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: flat horizontal press, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Primary muscle: triceps, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Body position: lying on your back, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

  3. Progression

    3. Jm Press

    98% match

    Triceps · Advanced · Compound

  4. Barbell Lying Close-grip PressPlay demonstration

    4. Barbell Lying Close-grip Press

    97% match

    Triceps · Intermediate · Compound

    The same equipment, taken with a close grip.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    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.
    6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: flat horizontal press, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Primary muscle: triceps, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press
    • Body position: lying on your back, the same as the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

Why You Might Need a Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press Alternative

A straight bar's fixed reverse grip does not sit comfortably in every wrist, and the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press lowers a loaded bar toward your chest, which some lifters would rather build up to first. Others just find the bench or rack taken, or want the same lift without turning their grip around. Most of the swaps keep you flat on a bench with your feet on the floor, lowering a bar to your chest with your elbows tucked and pressing it back up, so the triceps stay the main mover. Two turn the press into a lying extension, and one takes you off the bench onto the floor under a rack. What changes is the bar, the grip, and whether the lift stays a press or turns into a straight extension.

How to Choose the Right Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press Substitute

If you have an EZ bar, take the EZ Barbell JM Bench Press: lie flat, feet planted, and lower the bar to your chest with elbows tucked, but the grip turns overhand and sits slightly wider. Stuck on a straight bar, the Barbell Lying Close-grip Press repeats the narrow grip without the reverse turn and lets the bar touch your chest before you press. If you want a stricter tempo, the Reverse Triceps Bench Press uses the same bar and grip but lowers the bar at least twice as slowly as you press it, holding the lockout for a second. To take the chest out of it, the Barbell Lying Close-grip Triceps Extension swaps the press for an extension from the same position: upper arms stay still while the elbows bend to lower the bar toward your forehead.

Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press FAQ

Can I do the Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press with an EZ bar instead?

Yes. The EZ Barbell JM Bench Press keeps you lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor, arms extending above your chest just like the original, but the angled EZ bar changes where your wrists sit. Your elbows stay tucked as you lower to your chest, so the triceps keep doing the pressing. Treat it as a near direct swap: the grip turns overhand and sits slightly wider, and nothing else in the setup changes.

Which alternative is harder than the original lift?

The Reverse Triceps Bench Press: same bar and reverse grip, but you lower at least twice as slowly as you press and hold the lockout for a second. The Floor Press With Chains moves you off the bench: you lie on the floor under a rack, lower until your upper arms touch the floor, pause, then press as fast as you can, with chains adding weight as your arms straighten.

How do I isolate the triceps without a chest press?

Take the Barbell Lying Close-grip Triceps Extension or the Barbell Lying Extension. Both keep you lying on the bench with your feet flat on the floor, but the bar travels toward your forehead in a straight extension rather than a press, with your upper arms held still, so the chest cannot help and the triceps do the lifting.

What keeps the same grip width without the reverse turn?

The Barbell Lying Close-grip Press. You lie flat, plant your feet and push a straight barbell away from your chest with the same narrow hand spacing, just without turning your palms around. Beyond the palm turn, the only difference in the steps is that this one lets the bar touch your chest before you press it back up.

Find Alternatives for Any Exercise

Search the exercise database and filter the ranked substitutes by the equipment you own.