# Close Grip Bench Press Weight



## J1MM333 (Sep 6, 2011)

As a guide, what percentage of your standard flat bench press weight should you be aiming to CGBP? And also, can somebody clarify how far apart your hands should be? I have my hands so that from outside of hand to outside of other hand is twelve inches because thats what I've understood is right. What say you? Cheers


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## guvnor82 (Oct 23, 2011)

i always train tri's after chest so cgb will always be bit weaker then if did them first.

best thing you can do is just see what you can handle.

id say 8/10 inch gap


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## maxie (Jan 31, 2011)

I can close grip the same as i can bench about110kg for ten slow reps.

Grip is slightly narrower ,maybe 4" either side than bench grip you dont need to go too close it just fcuks my wrists.if you dont think it does the tris that wide think again.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

no no no it should be 8.346321778660778559890 inches apart ....

try x amount of weight over x amount of reps/sets to fit with what your trying to achieve .


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## maxie (Jan 31, 2011)

ewen said:


> no no no it should be 8.346321778660778559890 inches apart ....
> 
> try x amount of weight over x amount of reps/sets to fit with what your trying to achieve .


You just stick to flipping them tyres big lad and leave the science to us.....


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## Bamse (Feb 5, 2011)

ewen said:


> no no no it should be 8.346321778660778559890 inches apart ....


Jeez, get with the program.... it should be 8.346321778660778559892, otherwise it's bad for your pinkies and doesn't hit the top half inch of your triceps as hard.


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## J1MM333 (Sep 6, 2011)

lol thanks


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## Baukaw (Jan 27, 2012)

I would normally go shoulder width apart for CGBP. When coming down, the elbows 'skim' past the sides of my chest. Going any closer than should width apart would tend to make the elbows flare out, rather than going straight down.


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## rchippex (Jan 20, 2012)

When I do my CGBP I usually go for about 70% of my flat bench weight depending on how hard I just hit my chest. I feel an awesome burn in my tris by having my hands thumbs length apart. By which I mean I touch my two thumbs together on the tips and that is the distance I want to be apart. If I want to really isolate my tris totally then I do skull crushers. I see CGBP as very much a compound movement and get better results using the grip I mentioned.


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## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

Grip depends on how big you are, your forarm should stay directly under the bar at all times and not 'fold in' becuase your grip is too narrow and your elbows have to flare out.

Upper arms should move directly down next to your body.

The moment the elbows flare out the weight is transitioned towards the pec major and off the triceps.

As for a ratio that will depend on far to many factors to give a reasonable answer.


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## The Guvnor (May 17, 2010)

CGBP is an interesting one -

For me I have my small finger on the start of the knurling and my thumbs are touching. 8-10 inches apart for me but my index fingers are about 5 inches apart.

No idea on percentages - at a guess perhaps 80-85% is about the level. Depends on tri strength.

A good thing though is to finish with close grip because your chest can be fried but you get a second wind with cg.

I did 8 reps last year with 130kg on cgbp which surprised me as I would not have done IMO 8 reps of normal bench with this weight.


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## littlesimon (May 24, 2010)

I have my hands at approx 7-8" apart.

My standard bench grip is narrow.

When my Bench max was 160kg I close gripped 140kg.

This is the 140kg effort:






This one is more recent, I'm using CGBP exclusively instead of flat bench, slightly closer grip now I think. 110kg x5


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## H22civic (Oct 6, 2009)

I dont get too hung up over weight on cgbp as I find if I go too heavy I end up using my delts and chest too much. Usually ends up being about 30kg less than my bench press.

I grip the bar with my ring finger on the end of the grippy part of the bar, so maybe hands about 8inches apart. I also tuck my elbows in throughout the whole rep and sqeeze my triceps when im pressing. You cant use as much weight but I find it hits the triceps alot better. I also stop the bar about 2inches from my chest and dont lockout as I like to keep on constant tension.

I used to never do them as I never felt them properly in my tris, but since ive tweaked my technique I love them


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