Close-Grip EZ-Bar Press

How to perform

1. 01Lie on a flat bench with an EZ bar loaded to an appropriate weight.
2. 02Using a narrow grip lift the bar and hold it straight over your torso with your elbows in. The arms should be perpendicular to the floor. This will be your starting position.
3. 03Now lower the bar down to your lower chest as you breathe in. Keep the elbows in as you perform this movement.
4. 04Using the triceps to push the bar back up, press it back to the starting position by extending the elbows as you exhale.
5. 05Repeat.

Form cues

• —Brace your core before the first rep and keep it braced.
• —Drive through the full range — do not cut the lockout short.
• —Control the lowering phase — that is where most of the growth stimulus lives.

Common mistakes

• —Using momentum instead of the target muscle.
• —Cutting the range of motion short to add load.
• —Adding weight before the movement pattern is clean.