Triceps
Close-grip push-ups
- Kit
- No kit
- Works
- triceps · chest
- Also
- front delts · abs · forearms
Close-grip push-ups are a push-up with the hands set narrow, roughly shoulder width or slightly inside, so the elbows travel close to the ribs. Shifting the hands in moves much of the load from the chest to the triceps and front delts, and it asks more of your midline to keep the body rigid. It suits anyone who can already hold a solid standard push-up and wants more direct arm work with no equipment.
Form
How to do close-grip push-ups
- 1Set your hands under your shoulders or a little narrower, index fingers pointing forward, and walk your feet back into a straight line from heels to head. Squeeze the glutes and brace the stomach.
- 2Bend the elbows and lower your chest toward the floor, keeping the upper arms brushing close to your sides rather than flaring wide. Breathe in on the way down.
- 3Stop when your chest is an inch or two off the floor, or as low as you can go without the hips sagging.
- 4Press the floor away and straighten the arms, breathing out through the effort, and finish with the shoulders stacked over the hands.
- 5Keep the neck long and the eyes on a spot slightly ahead of your hands. Move at a steady pace for the whole set rather than rushing the first part of it.
- 6If your wrists complain, turn the hands out a few degrees or make loose fists and rest on the knuckles.
Watch for
Common mistakes
Elbows flare out to the sides, turning it back into a wide push-up.
Fix: Think about tucking the upper arms toward your ribs so the elbows point back, not out.
Hips drop and the lower back arches as fatigue sets in.
Fix: Squeeze the glutes and brace the stomach before the first rep and keep that tension, shortening the range instead of letting the hips fall.
Hands placed so close that the thumbs touch, which strains the wrists.
Fix: Leave a hand's width between the palms, which is narrow enough to load the triceps without pinning the wrists.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions