Push-Ups - Close Triceps Position
The close-grip triceps push-up moves your hands in under your chest, almost touching, so the elbows travel close to your ribs instead of flaring out to the sides. That narrow path shifts the emphasis from chest to triceps, making it one of the more direct bodyweight moves for building pressing strength through a full elbow lockout. It suits anyone who already owns a standard push-up and wants to add a triceps-focused variation to their routine.
Why it works
Elbow flexion and extension is the triceps' main job, and a push-up only trains it heavily when the elbows stay tucked near the torso rather than winging out. Bringing your hands close together forces exactly that path: the upper arm stays close to your side through the whole rep, so more of the work to straighten the elbow falls on the triceps instead of getting shared with the chest. The chest and shoulders still stabilize the shoulder blades and start the press off the bottom, but the last few inches to lockout become a triceps-dominant finish.
Set up
- Start in a high plank with your hands under your chest, index fingers and thumbs almost touching to form a diamond or narrow triangle shape.
- Set your feet hip-width apart, toes tucked, legs straight.
- Brace your core so your hips stay level with your shoulders, no sagging or piking.
- Point your elbows back toward your feet rather than out to the sides.
How to do it
- From the high plank, bend your elbows and lower your chest toward your hands, keeping the elbows tracking back along your ribs.
- Descend until your chest is close to your hands or the floor, whichever your shoulders allow without pain.
- Pause briefly at the bottom without letting your hips drop.
- Press through your palms to straighten your elbows and return to the top.
- Keep your torso rigid from shoulders to ankles through the entire rep.
- Repeat for the set without letting the elbows flare wider as you fatigue.
Form cues
- Elbows skim your ribs, not your ears.
- Hands close enough to form a diamond under your chest.
- One straight line from shoulders to ankles the whole rep.
- Drive through the palm to finish the lockout.
Breathing: Inhale as you lower your chest toward your hands, then exhale as you press back up to lockout.
Common mistakes
Letting the elbows flare out to the sides like a standard push-up.
Fix: Actively pull the elbows in toward your ribs on the way down; if they keep flaring, widen your hand position slightly until you can control the path.
Placing the hands so close that the wrists have to bend at an awkward angle.
Fix: Leave a small gap between your thumbs and index fingers instead of touching them, and turn your fingers out slightly if your wrists feel strained.
Letting the hips sag or pike up to make the rep feel easier.
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs before you lower, and stop the set once you can't hold that line.
Only lowering a few inches instead of reaching a full elbow bend.
Fix: Lower until your chest is near your hands so the triceps work through their full range, even if that means doing fewer reps.
How to program it
- Because the narrow hand position concentrates more force through a smaller set of muscles than a standard push-up, most people fatigue faster here; 3 sets of 6 to 12 reps once or twice a week, on non-consecutive days, is plenty to build strength.
- Pair it with a pulling exercise like a row in the same session so your pushing and pulling volume stay balanced.
- If your wrists ache before your triceps do, that's usually a sign to build up total push-up volume with a standard grip first.
Safety notes
- Stop if you feel sharp pain in the wrists or elbows rather than muscle fatigue; the narrow hand position increases wrist demand compared to a shoulder-width push-up.
- Keep the elbows tracking back rather than flaring, since a wide elbow path under load places more strain on the shoulder joint.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
How many close-grip push-ups should I do per set?
Six to twelve clean reps is a solid working range. If you can't keep your elbows tracking close to your ribs past a certain rep, that's your real set limit for the day, not the number you were hoping to hit.
Is the close-grip push-up better than a regular push-up for triceps?
It's more triceps-dominant because the narrow hand position keeps the elbows tucked through the whole range, while a standard push-up spreads the work across chest, shoulders, and triceps more evenly. Both are worth having in a routine.
Why do my wrists hurt during close-grip push-ups?
Bringing the hands directly under the chest changes the wrist angle compared to a shoulder-width push-up. Try leaving a small gap between your hands instead of touching them, or angle your fingers outward slightly to find a more comfortable line.
Can I do this push-up variation without any equipment?
Yes, it's a bodyweight movement done on the floor. If it's too hard at first, do the incline version with your hands raised on a step or bench instead.
How is this different from a diamond push-up?
They train the same tucked-elbow, triceps-heavy path. Many people use the names close-grip and diamond interchangeably, though some prefer to keep a small gap between the thumbs and index fingers here rather than touching them directly, which is easier on the wrists.