Close Grip Dumbbell Press: Target Muscle Growth with Precision

The close grip dumbbell press, aka the “crush press” is a variation of the traditional dumbbell press that targets the triceps while also engaging the chest and shoulders.

What makes this exercise so effective? 

Using a narrow grip pushes your pecs together for extra targeted chest growth. If you’re struggling with bad chest genetics this is a great way to activate stubborn chest muscles. It also works wonders for your triceps, particularly as a medial head tricep exercise (that said, it hits all three tricep heads!). 

In this article, we’ll walk you through how to do a close grip dumbbell press. Find out what benefits and risks this exercise can have for your body, the muscles worked, and how to incorporate crush presses into your weekly workout routine. 

How to Close Grip Dumbbell Press

To start off, it’s important to master the technique if you want to see maximum results from your close grip dumbbell press. 

Here’s how to do it:

• Set Up: Lie flat on a weight bench, keeping your feet planted on the floor for stability. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Bring them together so they touch above your chest with your palms facing toward one another. 
• Body Position: Press your dumbbells together so they stay touching throughout your movement. Make sure to keep your elbows close to your body to emphasize your triceps.
• Lower the Dumbbells: Inhale and slowly lower your dumbbells down toward your chest, keeping them pressed together the whole time. Try to move with control and stop when your arms come to a 90-degree bend. Here, the dumbbells should be close to your chest.
• Press Back Up: Press your dumbbells back up to the starting position, straightening your arms on an exhale, and squeezing your triceps at the top.
• Repeat: 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps. Make sure you keep the dumbbells together the whole time for perfect reps. 

Pro-Tips

• Tuck in Your Elbows: This emphasizes triceps activation.
• Control Your Descent: Move slowly on the way down so you maximize muscle engagement and avoid strain.
• Don’t Lock Your Elbows Out: Keep a slight bend at the top so you get more constant time under tension for your triceps. 

Close Grip Dumbbell Press Benefits

The close-grip dumbbell press offers a variety of benefits, particularly for the triceps, chest, and shoulders. Here are some key advantages:

1. Tones Your Triceps

Unlike a standard dumbbell press, the close grip specifically targets your triceps due to the tucked elbow position and narrower grip.

2. Chest Activation 

Although it’s more tricep-focused, this press also engages your chest, especially the inner chest, since your dumbbells are held together throughout the movement. This is what gives it the “crush” name, like you’re crushing something between your weights. 

If you’re looking for a good inner chest exercise, the close grip dumbbell press is a great option for developing your inner pectorals. 

3. Stabilizes Shoulders

This exercise requires a lot of shoulder stabilization, so you improve your strength and joint stability throughout your shoulders. It’s especially important for the front deltoids, also known as “anterior” delts. These are the muscles that sit at the front of your shoulders. 

4. Superpower Your Core

Holding the dumbbells together and controlling their descent helps you engage your core to stabilize your body. To keep your balance on the bench, this will give you some secondary core strengthening effects.

5. Keep Your Shoulders Safe

Using a close grip can reduce strain to your shoulder joints compared to a wide-grip bench press, making it a good alternative for those with shoulder discomfort. 

Keep in mind, the benefit to your shoulders comes from doing this move with proper technique. You can see down below in the “Risks, Considerations, and Common Mistakes” section how it has the opposite effect if you do it wrong!

6. Better Muscle Coordination

Finally, dumbbells let you work with a greater range of motion than a barbell. 

Think about it: With dumbbells, you can move your arms 360 degrees, along any axis, while barbells limit your side-to-side movement. 

Because of this movement capacity, you’ll need greater control than with a barbell. Over time, this gives you better muscle coordination and overall control throughout your press.

Risks, Considerations, and Common Mistakes 

On the other hand, you can come across a few easy-to-make mistakes in this move. 

Keep these in mind when you’re working on crush presses for optimal safety. 

1. Wrist Strain

Keeping the dumbbells close together can put extra stress on your wrists, especially if you use heavier weights or have a higher set-rep scheme. 

2. Flaring Your Elbows

Using improper technique and flaring your elbows away from your body too much shifts your emphasis away from the triceps and puts too much strain on your shoulder joints. Studies on the the epidemiology of glenohumeral joint instability (in other words, the health of your shoulder joints and factors why they get injured) show that the shoulders are one of the easier areas on your body to reinjure. 

Keeping these joints safe in your lifts is a good way to prevent lifelong or recurrent injuries, so make sure to avoid excessive elbow flare.  

3. Less Weight Lifted

In an investigation of the mechanics and sticking region of a close-grip bench press vs. traditional bench press, researchers discovered that the traditional bench press grip had more capacity for overall load than the close grip bench press. 

Close Grip Dumbbell Press— Muscles Worked

Triceps

Sitting on the backs of your upper arms, your triceps are responsible for extending the elbow joint. These are what we call “prime movers” movers in pressing the dumbbells up.

Pectoralis Major (Chest)

This big, fan-shaped muscle covers the front of your chest. In the close grip dumbbell press, this muscle helps push your dumbbells up, emphasizing your inner chest since your hands sit close together. 

Anterior Deltoids 

On the front part of your shoulder, your anterior deltoids stabilize your shoulder joints and let you raise your arms as you press. If you want a great front delt workout, you can easily use the close grip dumbbell press to start building 3D shoulders. 

Core Muscles

The core, including your abdominal and oblique muscles, is located in your body’s midsection. What your core muscles do is stabilize your torso on the bench, especially during the upward press and as you control the descent of your weights.

Close Grip Dumbbell Press— Workout Plan 

Okay, so now that you have a solid understanding of the close grip dumbbell press, let’s take a look at some ways you can incorporate it into your weekly workout routine. 

Here’s a one-week workout plan that prioritizes the close grip dumbbell press. 

Day 1: Chest, Triceps, and Core

Focus on close-grip dumbbell press and accessory exercises for the chest and triceps.

• Close-Grip Dumbbell Press - 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Dumbbell Chest Flyes - 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Tricep Dips (these can be bodyweight or weighted) - 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Cable Tricep Pushdowns - 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Russian Twists - 3 sets x 20 reps (10 on each side)

Day 2: Legs and Glutes

• Barbell Squats: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Lunges with Dumbbells: 3 sets x 10 reps each leg
• Leg Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Machine Hamstring Curls: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Calf Raises (seated or standing): 4 sets x 15-20 reps

Day 3: Back and Biceps

• Pull-Ups (assisted if necessary): 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets x 12 reps
• Dumbbell Bicep Curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
• Hammer Curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Day 4: Rest Day

Take a full rest day to let your muscles recover. You can do some stretching, light yoga or a walk if you’re feeling up to it.

Day 5: Shoulders and Core

• Overhead Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Lateral Raises: 3 sets x 12 reps
• Front Raises: 3 sets x 12 reps
• Face Pulls (cable or resistance band): 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Plank Holds: 3 sets x 30-60 seconds

Day 6: Chest, Triceps, and Core (Close-Grip Dumbbell Press Focus)

• Close-Grip Dumbbell Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
• Dumbbell Incline Press: 3 sets x 10 reps
• Barbell or Cable Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 12 reps
• Cable Chest Flyes: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Leg Raises: 3 sets x 15-20 reps

Day 7: Active Recovery or Rest Day

Use this day for light stretching, foam rolling, muscle scraping, walking, or other low-impact recovery activities. A full rest day is also an option if you need it.

Big Picture

Chest workouts with dumbbells, like the close grip dumbbell press, are a great way to sculpt a toned and strong upper half. 

What’s more, the equipment requirements are low here. If you’ve got a simple set of dumbbells at home and something you can use as a weight bench, this makes for great exercise even outside the gym! 

Close grip dumbbell presses primarily work the chest and are one of the best long head tricep exercises, along with working the other tricep heads. 

They’re also great for core and shoulder strength. 

Following a simple weekly workout split, like the one above, you can easily work on this exercise a few days a week. If the triceps and chest muscles are struggle points for you, making sure to train your close grip dumbbell presses at higher volume is a great way to see these muscles flourish and grow!