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

The Close-grip Barbell Bench Press has you lower a bar to the middle of your chest with your elbows tucked, then press it back to lockout with your triceps. The Barbell Lying Close-grip Press uses the same bar, the same tucked elbows and the same lockout, so it is the first one to try: nothing about your setup has to change. If you want the lockout without the press, the Barbell Lying Extension trains it alone.

Original Exercise: Close-grip Barbell Bench Press

Close-grip Barbell Bench Press
Primary Muscle
Triceps
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Chest, Shoulders
How to Perform Close-grip Barbell Bench Press
  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.
Pro Tips
  • Category: Strength
  • Force: Push
  • Movement type: Compound

Ranked Close-grip Barbell Bench Press Alternatives

Best Match
Barbell Lying Close-grip Press

1. Barbell Lying Close-grip Press

99.9% 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 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.
Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press

2. Ez Barbell Jm Bench Press

99.4% 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.
Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press

3. Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press

99.2% 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

4. Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press

99.2% 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.
JM Press

5. JM Press

98.7% Match
Triceps Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Start the exercise the same way you would a close grip bench press. You will lie on a flat bench while holding a barbell at arms length (fully extended) with the elbows in. However, instead of having the arms perpendicular to the torso, make sure the bar is set in a direct line above the upper chest. This will be your starting position.
  2. Now beginning from a fully extended position lower the bar down as if performing a lying triceps extension. Inhale as you perform this movement. When you reach the half way point, let the bar roll back about one inch by moving the upper arms towards your legs until they are perpendicular to the torso. Tip: Keep the bend at the elbows constant as you bring the upper arms forward.
  3. As you exhale, press the bar back up by using the triceps to perform a close grip bench press.
  4. Now go back to the starting position and start over.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Reverse Triceps Bench Press

6. Reverse Triceps Bench Press

98% Match
Triceps Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  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.
Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

7. Barbell Reverse Close-grip Bench Press

96.7% 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.
Barbell Lying Close-grip Triceps Extension

8. Barbell Lying Close-grip Triceps Extension

95% 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 head at the end of the bench.
  2. Grasp the barbell with a close grip, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing up.
  3. Extend your arms fully, lifting the barbell above your chest.
  4. Keeping your upper arms stationary, slowly lower the barbell towards your forehead by bending your elbows.
  5. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then extend your arms back to the starting position.
Barbell Lying Extension

9. Barbell Lying Extension

95% 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 head at the end of the bench.
  2. Hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart, and extend your arms straight up over your chest.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, slowly lower the barbell towards your forehead by bending your elbows.
  4. Pause for a moment, then extend your arms back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Ez Bar Lying Close Grip Triceps Extension Behind Head

10. Ez Bar Lying Close Grip Triceps Extension Behind Head

95% 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 head at the end of the bench.
  2. Hold the ez barbell with a close grip, palms facing up, and extend your arms straight up over your chest.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, slowly lower the barbell behind your head by bending your elbows.
  4. Pause for a moment, then extend your arms back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

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

The Close-grip Barbell Bench Press only works if a straight barbell and a rack are free, and the tucked elbow path is what a plain bench press or a wide grip press cannot copy. Each swap keeps a barbell or an EZ bar in your hands and keeps the work on your triceps, so the choice comes down to which bar you have and how much load you want on the lockout. The EZ Barbell JM Bench Press, the Close-grip Ez-bar Press and the Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press swap in an EZ bar for a straight one. The Barbell Lying Extension and the Barbell Lying Close-grip Triceps Extension drop the press and load the lockout on its own, since your upper arms stay still and the bar comes down to your forehead by bending only the elbows.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Take the Barbell Lying Close-grip Press first: same bar, same grip, same elbow path. The Reverse Triceps Bench Press keeps that same setup but turns your grip over to supinated, and the Jm Press starts with the bar over your upper chest and lowers it like a lying triceps extension before you press it back up as a close-grip press, so the bottom of each rep looks like an extension rather than a press. If a straight bar is taken, the EZ Barbell JM Bench Press, the Close-grip Ez-bar Press and the Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press keep your elbows tucked on a bent bar. To work the lockout without pressing, pick the Barbell Lying Extension or the Barbell Lying Close-grip Triceps Extension, where your arms stay put and your elbows bend to bring the bar to your forehead.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if the Close-grip Barbell Bench Press feels too heavy?

Take the Barbell Lying Close-grip Press. Same barbell, same close grip, same tucked path to your chest, so your setup barely changes: drop the weight and work the same groove until the lockout feels solid, then build back up to your regular bar weight when you are ready.

How do I make the lift harder once it feels easy?

The Reverse Triceps Bench Press keeps the same straight barbell and elbow path but turns your grip over to supinated, and the Jm Press starts with the bar over your upper chest, lowers it like a lying triceps extension, then presses it back up as a close-grip bench press, so the bottom of each rep is an extension rather than a press. Add either one once your current working weight stops challenging you.

What if I only have an EZ bar?

The EZ Barbell JM Bench Press, the Close-grip Ez-bar Press and the Ez-bar Close-grip Bench Press all put a bent bar in your hands instead of a straight one, and each one is still a press to the chest with your elbows tucked, so your triceps do the same job they do on the straight bar. Pick whichever grip width on the bend feels most comfortable in your wrists.

How do I train the same triceps lockout without pressing?

The Barbell Lying Extension and the Barbell Lying Close-grip Triceps Extension both keep your upper arms still and lower a barbell to your forehead by bending only the elbows, so your triceps do the work without the chest pressing a bench press adds. The EZ Bar Lying Close Grip Triceps Extension Behind Head does the same job with a bent bar, lowered behind your head instead of to your forehead.

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