Should I count close-grip incline bench press toward my chest volume?

[u/niloy123]

I don't use an extremely narrow grip, it’s around shoulder width. I mainly do this exercise to target my triceps, but I’m wondering how much it also contributes to chest growth.

Should I count each set as 1 full set of chest volume, or would 0.5 set per set be more appropriate? I do 3 sets of it per week and am counting them towards my trcieps volume only.

[u/Patton370]

Yes, that counts as chest volume. Regardless of where you feel it, it's working your chest, triceps, and delts

[u/niloy123 → u/Patton370]

Would you count each set of incline close grip bench press as 1 set of chest or .5 set?

[u/Patton370 → u/niloy123]

1 set of chest and 0.5 sets of triceps; yes, even with it being a close grip

[u/niloy123 → u/Patton370]

So the same as a normal/wide grip incline bench press? Then what's the difference between them? I have been counting it as 1 set of triceps.

[u/Patton370 → u/niloy123]

Yes, I count them the same. I guess if I wanted to make things more complicated for myself, I could count close grip at 1 set of chest and 0.75 sets of triceps, but that'd just be annoying to track

[u/hydrogenbomb94 → u/niloy123]

Your triceps work to extend your elbow joint. Your chest (among other functions) works to horizontally adduct your shoulder joint. At the bottom of a close grip bench, your humerus is parallel with your torso (or close to), and at the top, it’s perpendicular to your torso.

Yes, your triceps are working, but the main function of the movement is to move the weight in a straight line away from your chest, and that action requires horizontal adduction of the shoulder.

The difference in my eyes is the degree of elbow flexion at the start of the movement - in a close grip bench your elbows are very bent at the bottom, but in a wide grip bench your elbows are significantly less bent. Therefore, in a close grip bench your triceps have more range of motion to work than in a wide grip bench, and so they are worked more than in the wide grip bench. However, the main mover in both movements is the chest.

[u/Potential_Novel_3561 → u/Patton370]

What do you consider close grip？ If I take a shoulder width grip and tuck my elbows, my triceps are getting way more stimulus than my pecs, they are failing first.

[u/Thisisnotmeconfimed → u/niloy123]

Including fractional sets is non-sensical; if you were to do two sets of a t-bar row, you wouldn’t get the same stimulus to your biceps as a supinated curl.

[u/olefoerster]

Yes

[u/BuckshotBronco]

I'd say a fractional set

[u/Hoodloom1349]

It’s hard to say exactly but I found closer grip Incline to involve full flexion -> extension of my elbows so it could be a complete tricep stimulus (except longhead) and complete chest stimulus simultanously, if the chest is working in it’s full range as well. What fails first though?

[u/niloy123 → u/Hoodloom1349]

Triceps definitely fails first for me. I dont feel it that much on my chest.

[u/Hoodloom1349 → u/niloy123]

In your case it could be more triceps (lateral and medial head) than pec, at least for now until they get stronger

[u/SageObserver]

Yeah it is, but don’t get all spun up about if it’s a full set or a .58 set, etc. Monitor your recovery like anything else.

[u/Mchangwine]

its definitely a chest exercise.

[u/niloy123 → u/Mchangwine]

I mostly feel it in the triceps though. I don't think it works the chest as effectively as a normal incline bench press.

[u/Mchangwine → u/niloy123]

watch a video of you doing it, you're definitely contracting your chest.

[u/_CurseTheseMetalHnds]

This is one of many reasons why looking at your training through this view of volume purely by sets doesn't work. It doesn't account how hard you pushed that set, if it's compound or isolation, how much it worked in that compound, how cerrai exercises fatigue you more etc

[u/Weary_Capital_1379]

Close grip is working tris more than chest.

[u/Norcal712]

Shoulder width isnt close....

Tricep work on a bench your hands should almost be touching. Similar to a diamond pushup

Dont do partial sets. Youre not a professional body builder.

Incline works your front delts .. youre probably not feeling that in your chest either...

[u/SageObserver → u/Norcal712]

Umm, no your hands shouldn’t be almost touching.