What works triceps more Bench Press or Press?

[PrimalFish]

I know close grip bench press is commonly thought of as a tricep builder, but the press uses close arms too and has a more closed elbow angle. So I'm surprised the press is not thought of as more of a tricep exercise then close grip bench. Maybe I'm mistaken though, does bench or press use triceps more?

[Mark Rippetoe]

In which of these exercises is the triceps lifting a heavier weight?

[MartinB]

Isn't the elbow joint rom part of the equation?

I think I misunderstood, I apologize but the author seems to use "bench" and "close grip bench" interchangeably in the title and in the post. Obiouvsly the press and the CG bench have a similar rom around the elbow joint.

[Yonason Herschlag]

In which of these exercises is the triceps lifting a heavier weight?

The question can be rephrased:
do we bench more than we press because there is more muscle contribution beyond the triceps with the bench (pecs and lats), and therefore the triceps are not contributing any more to the heavier lift than they do working in the press,
or, are the triceps enabling heavier lifts in the bench because they contribute more because the angle and positioning enables the triceps to contribute more.

[Mark Rippetoe]

No, Rabbi, the question should be rephrased as, why do we bench more than we press? We have already answered that for you, in the book.

[MartinB]

No, Rabbi, the question should be rephrased as, why do we bench more than we press? We have already answered that for you, in the book.

We bench more because it's a shorter kinetic chain but what does it have to do with triceps? The triceps work more in the bench than in the press because of the increased weight but what about the ROM? How do you define "work" done by a muscle Rip? It doesn't seem a physics definition since force is not the only variable that defines work.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Except for the fact that the triceps lift more weight over a very slightly shorter ROM (which varies with anthropometry), it doesn't have anything to do with the triceps. I don't care about the triceps. If you care about the triceps, do LTEs.

[MartinB]

Except for the fact that the triceps lift more weight over a very slightly shorter ROM (which varies with anthropometry), it doesn't have anything to do with the triceps. I don't care about the triceps. If you care about the triceps, do LTEs.

I don't care about the triceps either, but doing LTEs will work your triceps even less if you consider the definition you gave in this thread.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yeah, probably. How would you answer the question?

[MartinB]

Yeah, probably. How would you answer the question?

Like the old Rip would, something like "get your press to 300 and your bench to 400 so you can stop worrying about your triceps"