The JM press is a close-grip barbell press on a flat bench that sits halfway between a close-grip bench press and a skull crusher: the elbows bend deeply while the upper arms drop only partway, so the bar stops a few centimetres above your chin instead of touching your chest. It takes its name from JM Blakley, a powerlifter known for his bench press who popularised the movement, and it lets you load the triceps heavier than a skull crusher or a pushdown ever will.
How to do it
- Grip the bar about shoulder width and unrack it over your shoulders with straight arms.
- Bend the elbows and let the upper arms drop only partway, so the bar comes down toward your chin, not your chest.
- Stop a few centimetres above your chin, then straighten the elbows back along the same path.
Common mistakes
- Letting the bar drift down to your chest, which turns it into a sloppy close-grip bench.
- Going heavy without a spotter or safeties; a missed rep brings the bar down over your throat.
What it trains
- Triceps
- extend the elbows against more load than any extension allows — the prime mover
- Chest
- helps start the press out of the bottom, far less than on a close-grip bench
- Front delts
- control how far the upper arms drop, and hold them there under load
- Forearms
- keep the wrists straight and stacked over the elbows under a heavy bar
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
What is the difference between a JM press and a close-grip bench press?
Where the bar goes, and what the elbows do. On a close-grip bench the bar comes down to your lower chest and the chest and shoulders share the work. On a JM press the elbows bend much further, the bar stops above your chin, and the triceps do most of the lifting — so expect to use noticeably less weight.
How much weight should I use on a JM press?
Somewhere between your skull crusher and your close-grip bench, and closer to the skull crusher while you learn the path. Six to ten reps suits it; heavy low-rep sets are where the bar path falls apart. Set that range in StackUp and it suggests the next weight once your heaviest set tops it.
Why does the JM press hurt my elbows?
Usually too much weight too soon, or a bottom position so deep that the forearms jam into the upper arms under load. Build up over a few weeks at a moderate weight, stop a few centimetres above your chin, and keep the elbows pointing toward your feet rather than flaring out.
Do I need a spotter for the JM press?
For heavy sets, yes, or press inside a rack with the safeties set just below the bottom of your range. The bar finishes over your face and throat, so a failed rep has nowhere good to go. Many lifters do it on a Smith machine for exactly this reason.
In StackUp. Logged as weight and reps per set, and your heaviest working set decides whether the weight goes up next time. Get the app.
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