6 Close Grip Bench Press Alternative Exercises

Close grip bench presses have been one of the go-to exercise for building strength.

However, as we've learned more about how the body works and what exercises are best at building muscle, we've found that there are other ways to get the same benefits of a close-grip bench press without constantly adding more weight to your barbell.

In this article, we will give you a few alternative exercises that can help you build strength in your chest and triceps — and also help you avoid injury.

Best Close Grip Bench Press Alternative Exercises

Here's a look at six such exercises:

#1 Diamond Push-up

Diamond push-ups are a great alternative to close-grip bench presses. They allow you to target the same muscles as a close-grip bench press but also engage the triceps more than the latter does.

To do this exercise:

Get into the standard plank position.
Move your hands so that they're narrower than shoulder-width apart and forming a triangle with your palms facing down.
Your elbows should be tucked into your sides as you lower yourself down into a push-up position.
Lower yourself till your chest touches the ground; press back up till you reach a full range of motion.

#2 One-handed push-up

To do a one-handed push-up, you will need to have a significant level of pre-built strength.

You can adjust the height of your feet and hands as well as the angle of your body to make this exercise more difficult or easier.

Here's how this exercise is done:

With your feet a little wider than shoulder width, get into a push-up with palms facing downward and arm in the middle, directly under your chest.
Lower yourself down till the top of your chest touches the ground, and press back up.
Keep your vacant arm by your side or on your back to ensure that you aren't using it to gain momentum.

#3 Wide Grip Push-up

The wide-grip push-up is a great alternative to the close grip bench press. You can do it to target the chest muscles, triceps, shoulders, and core.

To perform a wide-grip push-up:

Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart on an elevated surface (such as a bench), keeping your arms straight.
Lower yourself till your chest nearly touches the floor, abd push back up.

#4 Decline Close Grip Push-up

The decline close-grip push-up is another effective way to target the chest and triceps.

It's done as follows:

Set your feet on a bench. Lie face down on the floor directly under the bar in a push-up position, with your hands spaced about shoulder-width apart.
Press up through your hands till your arms are straight; lower yourself back down as far as you can without allowing your body to rest against the bench or floor.
You can use different hand positions — like having one hand wider than another — to vary how much resistance you get from the exercise.
If you're using a weight that's too heavy for you, move closer to it, or put it higher up so that when you go down all four points of contact are at equal distance from it instead of just two or three at a time.

#5 Spiderman Push-up

To perform a Spiderman push-up, you will need to get into position, and lower your body toward the ground.

To do this exercise:

Place your hands directly underneath your shoulders.
Create some disparity by moving one hand further ahead and wider than the other, mimicking the famous stance of the wall-crawler.
Extend one leg out behind you so that it's straight (but not locked out).
Bring the other leg out to your side; bend it, and raise it off the ground.
Lower yourself down till your face almost touches the floor to complete one rep.

#6 Tricep Pushdown

The triceps pushdown is a great exercise to start with if you're new to close grip bench pressing, or you want to replace it for any reason.

To do this exercise:

Take an EZ-curl bar, and place it on the cable machine in the lowest position.
Raise your arms straight out in front of your chest with your palms facing each other and elbows pointing down towards the floor.
You should be standing upright with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Move your hands towards each other till they are about 12 inches apart.
Keep your elbows in. Don't let them flare out, as that can cause injury.
Lower the weight by bending at both elbows till they are fully extended (which will also become parallel).
Pause briefly before returning to the starting position, where the wrists are straightened once again.
Don't lock them out, though, as that could throw off balance, slightly forcing more strain on those joints instead of just using them for stabilization only, which should happen naturally.