So, by performing push-ups from the floor with a narrow grip, you can pump up the muscles of the chest and arms.

Types of push-ups

Push-ups have several types, which differ from each other in the technique of execution. From the varieties of bench press, you can create a separate set of exercises that work different groups muscle. The usual floor press, you can change it a little in order to work out certain group muscle. There are the following types of floor press:

1. Raising the body with hands placed with a narrow grip. This method pumps up the triceps, arms and shoulders.
2. Raising the body from broad setting hands
3. Raising with fists, it pumps up the arm muscles, as well as the abdominal muscles.
4. Push-ups with cotton.
5. Weighted push-ups.
6. One-arm push-ups.

These are the most common types of bench press; there are many others that also differ in technique and the muscles involved.

Close grip press

In fact, there is no such thing as a close-grip floor press, since there is no need to grab anything during the exercise. But still, this term has become widespread among athletes. This type is called the floor press with narrow setting hands

Since when performing this type of exercise, the hands are located close to each other, so that the fingers of both hands touch, in contrast to the classical technique of execution, when the hands are shoulder-width apart. Close-grip push-ups warm up those muscles that will work during bench training.

Starting position and correct technique

Correct execution of the bench press during training allows you to achieve the desired result and avoid various injuries. Even a classic bench press needs to be performed correctly. When doing floor presses with a narrow grip, first you need to take the correct starting position:

1. Take a lying position. The back, buttocks and legs should be in the same position so that a visual straight line can be drawn. The back should be straight and should not bend. The buttocks should be level with the back and should not extend upward.
2. The hands should be joined at the index fingers. When positioned correctly, your arms should form a triangle.
3. As the body lowers, your arms should bend at the elbows. It is advisable that the body touches the floor slightly. Since this increases the load on all muscles involved.
4. While raising the body, the arms should be fully straightened at the elbows.

When working on this type of bench press, it is recommended to work not on speed, but on quality. Since incorrect execution technique will not only not bring results, but can also lead to injury. Also, when doing push-ups, it is worth remembering breathing correctly, while raising the body, you need to inhale, while lowering, exhale.

Narrow push-ups wide grip much more difficult than a regular push-up, so it should not be attempted by those who are beginners. For starters, he better work on it regular push-ups, and then proceed to more complex ones, performing presses with fists, with cotton or with weights. This activity is best suited as a warm-up before training on the uneven bars.

What muscles work when doing push-ups with a narrow hand position?

Many people have performed the push-up exercise with a narrow grip, but not everyone knows which muscles work during training. Push-ups with a narrow position of the hands, pumps such types of muscles as:

1. Thoracic, including internal.
2. Deltoid.
3. Triceps.
4. Core muscles, pumping which allows you to reduce your waist size.
5. Muscles that protect the rotor cuff.
6. Trapezius or triceps.
7. Develops shoulder muscles.

But mainly the muscles of the chest and triceps work brachialis muscle. Besides that this technique performance, allows you to pump up many muscle groups, it also helps get rid of fat accumulation, normalizes testosterone production, strengthens hand joints and speeds up metabolism.

This type of exercise can be used both as a main and additional exercise. But during long-term training, it is recommended to change the set of exercises once every 3 months, since the body may get used to the load and it will not be enough, and these exercises may simply get boring.

So the bench press can be replaced with parallel bars exercises. Or you can leave the complex unchanged, and just slightly change the execution technique. So, when doing push-ups with a narrow hand position, you can:

1. Change the position of your hands, moving them a little lower, so the load will become a little greater and the technique will become more difficult. Since when normal execution, the hands should be under the chest, which is why the load on the body is weaker. If your hands are lower, the load will increase significantly.
2. If a person has worked out the execution technique perfectly and can perform up to 40 repetitions in several approaches, then the load needs to be increased. To do this, it is also enough to change the position of your hands, placing the palm of one hand on the palm of the other. This way the load will be greater, thanks to which other muscles will also work.
3. Also, those who have chosen this exercise as their main one are advised to complicate it by changing the position of their legs. To do this, it is enough to place them on a hill.

This type of exercise can also be used as an additional exercise. More often it is used as an additional treatment for:

1. Warming up the muscles before training on the uneven bars.
2. As a final exercise after training.
3. As an auxiliary exercise for weighted push-ups or fist push-ups.

Depending on the degree of load, it is used as a basis or as an addition. It is ideal for warming up the muscles before training on the uneven bars, and for pumping them up, since many muscles are involved during the exercise.

Safety precautions during execution

When performing any exercise, you should remember safety. Since when doing push-ups with a narrow grip, almost the entire load is concentrated on the hands, it is recommended to be elbow joints more carefully. It is forbidden to block them, as this is fraught with consequences. Also, when performing the exercise, the head should be in one position; you should not move it unnecessarily.

This is necessary so as not to put strong pressure on the neck muscles and spine. After completing it, it is recommended to start training on the uneven bars, this will allow you to quickly pump up your muscles.

The main mistakes that are made when performing

Incorrect technique can lead to injuries and sprains. When working on this type of bench press, athletes generally make the following mistakes:

1. Take an incorrect position and arch your back
2. They quickly return to their original position. Basically, all people try to complete the exercise faster, while forgetting about quality and breathing. However, sudden movements, in almost 6 out of 10 cases, cause sprains and injuries.
3. Don't warm up, it's main mistake which many people admit. After all, unheated muscles are not able to withstand heavy loads.

This type of exercise has a beneficial effect on the condition of the body. The human body becomes more resilient. In addition, regular performance of any type of push-ups (with different positions of the hands, on fists, with weights) in combination with exercises on parallel bars and crunches, allows you to get rid of fat deposits and normalize metabolism.

In connection with this, the threat of stroke and heart attack is reduced. It also helps strengthen the spine and allows you to straighten your posture. And during training, you should always remember that exercises are aimed not only at appearance

, and first of all, they should have a beneficial effect on health. And if a person is healthy inside, his appearance will speak about it. Good day to all! Before analyzing the exercise itself, let's clarify the term itself. The thing is that in fitness and bodybuilding there is no such term as close-grip push-ups. Many people express themselves this way when they want to ask something about this exercise. In order not to look like an information savvy person, you need to correctly say “push-ups with a narrow position of the hands”, because when doing push-ups you don’t need to grab anything, you just need to place your hands not like in classic push-ups, but much narrower so that thumbs

hands were able to touch each other. Now that we have clarified the situation with the name, we can talk about the exercise itself. The thing is that, like standard push-ups, which are kind of the opposite, push-ups with a narrow hand position, they are the opposite. That is, in the first option you press own weight

, while in the bench press you press the barbell, however, the effect is almost the same, the only thing that differs in these exercises is the weight. In push-ups, you can work with additional weights, but the freedom in choosing weights there is significantly limited, while in the bench press the athlete can hang weights and hang them.

By the way, regarding the width of the arms. There are several options for how far your hands should be placed from each other. We have already mentioned the first option, this is when the thumbs touch each other, but there is a second option that can also be used, namely, the hands can be placed either shoulder-width apart or slightly narrower. The fact is that the amount of load that falls on the triceps muscle depends not so much on the width of the arms, but on the correctness of the exercise. While performing the movement, in order to specifically load the triceps, you need to press your elbows to your body, that is, so that your arms do not diverge to the sides. This is the main point that an athlete should pay attention to.

In the case of push-ups, both options for placing your hands are correct, but many trainers still recommend performing this exercise with a wider hand position, shoulder-width apart, or slightly narrower. The thing is that with a very narrow position, during the exercise the hands are subjected to a large load, that is, a breaking load is formed in the wrist joint, which, as you understand, negatively affects the health of the joints. In order to keep your joints healthy, you need to perform the exercise at a wider distance than is commonly believed.

In this variation, the main load, as we said earlier, is received by the triceps. In addition, the muscles of the chest are involved in the movement, namely the middle pectoral muscles. Also, the front beams receive a lower static load deltoid muscles and trapezoids. In general, so as not to be unfounded, here are the four main muscle groups that work when performing this version of push-ups:

• Trapezius muscle;
• triceps;
• anterior deltoid muscles;
• pectoralis major muscle.

If a person for some reason cannot study in gym and he has to do exercises at home, push-ups with narrow arms are ideal for training the triceps and pectoral muscles.

As you know, the triceps are quite large muscle group, which makes up the bulk of the hand. Therefore, if you want to have huge hands, then you simply need to add this exercise to your routine.

TECHNIQUE OF EXERCISE

The first thing to do is to take a lying position. The position of the legs, back, and torso itself is all the same as in the classic version of push-ups with only one difference. We will use a narrower position of the hands or leave no space at all between the hands so that the thumbs touch each other. As mentioned earlier, experiment and find a more comfortable hand position for yourself.

When you have taken a lying position, put your arms and legs in the desired position, you should take a deep breath and lower your body as low as possible, almost touching your chest to the floor, while your gaze is always directed forward. There is no need to look at the floor; always, when doing the exercise, direct your gaze in front of you. This will make it easier for you to keep your back straight.

Once you have lowered yourself, exhale and slowly return to the starting position with your arms almost completely straightened. The fifth point should always be kept in line with the legs and torso.

ADVIСE

Many people recommend pumping the triceps during the period of stagnation in the bench press, because when bench pressing the main load is distributed between the triceps and pectoral muscles. Perhaps, if your bench press strength has stopped growing, a lagging triceps muscle may be one of the reasons for stagnation.

In addition to all of the above, close-grip push-ups cannot be neglected if you want to learn how to do one-arm push-ups, because they are the basis for performing the one-arm exercise.

If you didn't succeed in completing the exercise the first time, don't be upset, because there's still more to come. The main thing is that you can’t stop training. Do regular, classic push-ups and every day place your hands a little narrower than usual, in the end you will succeed. In the beginning, you need to perform about 5 repetitions to start and increase the number by exactly five times every week. In general, according to the standard scheme, you should perform 3-4 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Another reason why it was said that it is better to perform dips on parallel bars with your hands approximately shoulder-width apart or slightly narrower is the shift of the load. The fact is that if the distance is too small, a person is not able to hold his elbows so that they move without pushing up from the body. The arms do not spontaneously begin to spread to the sides, because of this the load is shifted to the chest, and a smaller share of the load falls on the triceps, which makes the exercise less effective. As mentioned earlier, it is best to press your elbows to your body, then the load on the triceps will be appropriate.

Close grip push-ups - perfect exercise for those who don’t have time to go to the gym, but still have a desire to stay in shape. It helps not only maintain tone, but also increases muscle volume. Bodybuilders use this exercise during vacations or travel, when it is not possible to conduct a full workout.

What do close-grip push-ups do?

This exercise essentially has the same effect as the bench press, but without the added weight. This type can be used by both beginners and experienced athletes. They can replace other exercises aimed at pumping the triceps. Many people are interested in the topic of which muscles are used when doing push-ups with a narrow grip. During this exercise, the muscles of the triceps, chest, shoulders and back are stressed.

Close-grip push-up technique

To learn how to perform this exercise, you need to take a lying position and place your feet close to each other. Your hands should be positioned so that your palms touch each other, and your thumbs and index fingers form a triangle. The palms should be exactly in the center of the chest. You need to do push-ups from the bottom point when your body lies with your chest on bent arms. The body should form a straight line, this is important for even distribution of the load. If it is initially difficult to perform such an exercise, then you need to start doing push-ups from your knees. It is recommended to straighten your arms quickly for no longer than one second, and then, without pauses, you need to lower down again, but it is better to do this slowly. It is not recommended to do more than 20 repetitions in one approach. The rest between sets should be short, about a minute. By the way, push-ups on parallel bars with a narrow grip put the same load on the body as push-ups.

Basic rules for performing the exercise:

When narrow push-ups are easy to do and you can do about 40 repetitions, you can make them more difficult. For example, you can put your feet on some hill or put your hands one on top of the other. To make the exercise more difficult, you can do push-ups on your fists or on your fingers. Some people prefer to use special push-up supports or cut dumbbells, which increases the load. Many athletes prefer the balance effect as a complication. To do this, you need to place your palms and legs one on top of the other.

Type of exercise: Power

Muscle group: Hands

Target muscles: Triceps

Equipment: Absent

Difficulty level: Beginner

Is it available at home: Yes

Close-grip push-ups > Performing the exercise

1. Starting position - standing on your hands and feet on the floor.

2. End of movement. The body is lowered as low as possible to the floor.

Close grip push-ups > Exercise description

1. Stand on the floor in a push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart. Provided there is no discomfort in the wrists, you can place your hands with a narrow grip.

2. Slowly lower your body, reducing the distance from your chest to the floor, lift yourself up, including your triceps as much as possible.

It's multi-joint exercise for triceps, shoulders and chest. Unilateral push-ups are possible, but only for very light or super strong people.

Helpful hints

To better enable outside triceps, slightly rotate your hands towards each other. Another way to adjust the load is to change the angle between the torso and arms. Choose the position in which you feel the triceps most: your hands should be on the floor, at a level somewhere between shoulder girdle and pectoral muscles.

The note

The narrower your hand placement, the more you feel the triceps. However, if you engage your pectoral muscles while doing the exercise, it will be much harder to do push-ups using a narrow grip.

Close-grip push-ups > Variations

Add extra resistance by wrapping a resistance band around your back and holding it with both hands.

1. Wrap once rubber band around your back before starting the exercise.

2. If you are strong enough, you can do a double turn.

Important!

Not everyone's wrists can accommodate close-grip push-ups. To avoid injury, you can use dumbbells by placing them on the floor, which will make the load lighter. You can also purchase equipment in sports stores - a special bar for push-ups. It increases the range of motion during the exercise, preventing too much unnatural tension in the wrists.

ADVANTAGES

Easy to adjust load and resistance. If your body is too heavy, start doing close-grip push-ups from your knees rather than from your feet, so you can adjust the load and gain more strength.

In another case, at the end of the set, when you do push-ups while standing on your feet, if you do not have enough strength to complete the planned number of repetitions, kneel down and do more. Push-ups are the only triceps exercise that takes advantage of modulating the load on the triceps. long head triceps.

FLAWS

Not easy to focus triceps work. In addition, push-ups do not always work well due to individual anatomy.

If you have long arms, push-ups with a narrow grip will be difficult and will not be effective in training.

Close grip push-ups > Video exercises

Close-grip push-ups > Targeted muscles

We evaluate the load using a ten-point system. We sum up the total load.

	8 (high)
	6 (average)

Wide-arm push-ups are used to train the pectoralis major muscles and improve overall physical training, improving the definition of the upper body. This wonderful exercise is suitable for both men and women, it is universal and does not require additional sports equipment.

Load distribution across muscles

Wide-grip push-ups are often called chest push-ups. At least this makes it clear which muscles receive the load in this exercise.

Technique for performing the exercise. Works the middle part of the chest and a little lower.

Muscle work looks like this:

• The pectoralis major muscles (especially their outer part) do the main work.
• The triceps work in synergy with the pecs, but with a wide stance they play a secondary role.
• The deltoid muscles (anterior bundles) are additionally involved.
• The core stabilizer muscles (abs, back, legs) help maintain the torso in a straight position and work statically.

In general, with push-ups you can work on various muscles of the body, but if your goal is to pump up your chest, then you should choose push-ups with wide arms. If we place our palms narrowly and press our elbows to the body, the triceps take on the main work, while the pecs play a secondary role.

As for women, it should be said that the development of the pectoral (pectoral) muscles makes chest visually more voluminous, but does not affect bust size. Training these muscles is necessary for the harmonious development of the body, the development of strength and endurance.

Exercise is useful not only for men, but also for women.

Since the back of the arms is traditionally a problem area for women, it is recommended to combine push-ups with a wide palm position (for the chest) and a narrow palm position (for the triceps).

Regular push-up training allows you to achieve the following results:

• Developing the strength of the chest muscles, increasing their volume (some effect when training without weights and pronounced growth when training with weights), drawing the relief of the upper body.
• Additional strengthening of shoulders and triceps, static core training.
• Increases endurance and overall fitness level.
• Increased blood circulation, which is especially important during sedentary work.
• Like any other physical activity, push-ups help improve your mood and combat stress.

As for contraindications to performing the exercise, they include injuries to the shoulder joints or wrists. Otherwise, push-ups are quite safe if you follow correct technique. We will talk further about what points should be taken into account.

Execution technique

Push-ups with wide palms have a lot of variations. You can do push-ups from the floor, from stops, a bench, or do the exercise from your knees (lighter version). Let's consider classical technique and some variations.

1. Take an emphasis lying on straight arms. There is no need to place your palms too wide (this can lead to injury) - place them slightly wider than your shoulders. Brushes can be slightly spread apart for convenience. The body is absolutely straight, there is no deflection in the lower back, the neck is an extension of the spine, the gaze is lowered, the abdominal muscles are tense.
2. As you inhale, keeping your body absolutely straight, bend your arms and spread your elbows to the sides. Your chest should almost touch the floor.
3. As you exhale, focusing on how your pectoral muscles contract, push up and return to the starting position.

While you're a beginner, do as many chest push-ups as you can. The main thing is that each repetition is done correctly and in full amplitude. If the classic version of push-ups is still too difficult for you, do the exercise from your knees or do push-ups with your hands on the bench. In particular, this option can be recommended for women.

In the presence of sports training do 10–15 repetitions for 3–5 approaches.

In order to increase the load, thereby stimulating muscle growth, you can do the exercise with weights. To do this, ask your partner to place a barbell plate on your back or wear a weighted vest.

When performing chest push-ups, if you lift your upper body, such as placing your hands on a stand, this shifts the load from the middle to the bottom of your chest. However, in this case, the overall load on the muscles is reduced, since more of your weight is pressing on your legs. Therefore, in order to pump up the lower chest, it is better to prefer push-ups.

When you, on the contrary, raise your legs, that is, do it, the upper part of the pectoral muscles works, and the lower part is practically turned off. As the angle increases, the load on the shoulders additionally increases. If your legs are set too high, your shoulders take up most of the load ().

Upper part The chest can be trained by placing your feet on a bench and your bottom by raising your arms or using parallel bars.

In other words, when performing push-ups, which groups and which areas of the muscles work the most depends on the width of the palms, the position of the elbows and the inclination of the body relative to the floor.

• Arms wide, elbows to the sides - chest works. Hands and feet on the floor - the middle and bottom of the chest, hands on a stand - mainly the bottom of the chest, legs on a stand - the top of the chest and shoulders.
• Hands narrow, elbows pressed - triceps work. Narrow grip push-ups are discussed in a separate article.

As options for complication, you can try push-ups on your fists, horizontally, or on one hand.

The exercise is equally beneficial for both men and women. Regular training will make your body strong and muscular, and will also help improve your results in various strength exercises, in particular, the bench press. Start with a low number of repetitions and gradually progress the load. The results will not take long to arrive. Good luck!