Close-Grip Dumbbell Press
Trains the Triceps.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other.
- Press them up over your chest and bring them together so they touch.
- Keep them touching and your elbows tucked close to your sides.
- Lower both dumbbells together to your lower chest, elbows travelling back along your ribs.
- Press back up, keeping the dumbbells in contact the whole way.
- Stop just short of locking the elbows out hard.
Common mistakes
- Letting the dumbbells drift apart. Held together is what keeps the elbows tucked; once they separate, this becomes a neutral-grip press with the chest taking more.
- Flaring the elbows as it gets hard. Elbows in is what aims the movement at the triceps, and it is the first thing to go on the last repetitions.
- Loading it like a flat dumbbell press. The tucked elbow shortens the chest's contribution, so the usable weight drops.
- Pressing to the neck. The bar path here finishes over the lower chest; travelling toward the head puts the shoulder in front of the load.