Popular strength and conditioning coach, Joe DeFranco, the owner of DeFranco’s Gym, a private facility based in East Rutherford, NJ, has trained martial artists, NFL players, and WWE wresters, motivating them to push past their limits. But in a recent Instagram post, the fitness pro explained why a lack of form could derail any athlete’s progress. When it comes to the mechanics of the “close grip” bench press, the power to avoid injury is firmly in the palms of your hands says the canny coach. Here’s what you need to know.

“The close grip bench press is an S-Tier, triceps exercise,” explained DeFranco in a demonstration for his 178,000 Instagram followers. “But the way most lifters perform it drops it down into the D-Tier, so don’t make this common mistake.”

Avoid this Common Mistake With Triceps Biased Bench Presses

“Most lifters take an extremely close grip,” illustrated DeFranco, with the inside of his thumbs almost touching each other on the barbell. “Thinking this will place more stress on the triceps. But the only thing an overly close grip stresses, is your wrists and elbows.”

Of course, DeFranco didn’t just find fault with form. He had the answer to properly torching your triceps. “This is why I prescribe ‘narrow grip’ bench presses, not ‘close grip’ benches in my program,” he explained.

How to Perform Narrow Grip Bench Presses to Avoid Joint Stress

“I recommend a grip width that places your index fingers on the smooth part of the barbell,” showed DeFranco, with the rest of his fingers in the rougher area. “Which is narrow enough to bias the triceps without placing excessive stress on your wrists, elbows, and shoulders. This grip also enables you to load the triceps adequately.” This is because you will be isolating the triceps muscles rather than recruiting your shoulders and risking injury when moving the load. “Give it a try if you want to build, big, strong, horseshoe like triceps,” encouraged DeFranco. And who doesn’t want that!?

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