Dumbbell Close-Grip Press
The dumbbell close-grip press is a flat bench press with the dumbbells squeezed together and your elbows tucked to your sides. It targets the triceps, with the chest assisting. Pick it as a heavy compound tricep builder that lets you load more than most extension exercises.
Muscles worked
The dumbbell close-grip press trains the triceps, with chest helping.
Weekly sets for triceps
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for triceps, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the dumbbell close-grip press
- 01Lie on a flat bench holding two dumbbells over your chest with palms facing each other.
- 02Press the dumbbells together so they touch along their length, and keep them squeezed together throughout.
- 03Lower them to your lower chest, keeping your elbows tucked close to your ribs.
- 04Press back up to full lockout, focusing on straightening your elbows.
Coaching cues
- Squeeze the dumbbells together
- Elbows brush your ribs
- Finish with a hard lockout
Common mistakes
- Letting the dumbbells drift apart turns it into a regular bench press, so squeeze them together every rep.
- Flaring the elbows out moves the work to the chest, so keep them tight to your sides.
- Lowering to the upper chest makes the shoulders work harder, so touch down on the lower chest instead.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Dumbbell Close-Grip Press alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your dumbbell close-grip press free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.