The JM press is a triceps-focused barbell movement that sits between a close-grip bench press and a lying triceps extension. It is named for JM Blakley, the powerlifter who developed it as bench-press assistance work.
The point is not to bench with a narrow grip, and not to perform a skull crusher under a new name. What defines it is the path: the elbows stay high while the bar travels toward the upper chest and throat, so the shoulder and elbow both contribute rather than the elbow alone.
Muscles worked
The triceps brachii is the target, working across both the elbow and — through its long head — the shoulder. The anterior deltoid and pectorals assist, since the movement retains part of a pressing pattern.
Claims that a particular elbow angle preferentially grows one triceps head are not settled, and this guide does not make one. Treat it as a triceps exercise with a pressing component.
Set the bar up
Use a bench and rack you can control the bar in, with safety stops set and a spotter if the load warrants one. Rehearse with an empty or near-empty bar before adding weight; the path is unfamiliar even to experienced pressers.
Take a grip about 15 to 18 inches wide — roughly 38 to 46 cm between your hands. That is Blakley’s own figure, and his emphasis is that it is not a narrow grip: going very narrow stresses the wrists without changing the movement. Adjust within that range for your own proportions, then keep it constant and write it down if you move it.
Two grip details from his instruction that are easy to miss: keep the elbows out at roughly 45° rather than tucked to your sides, and let the wrists curl back so the knuckles rock away from you. Both help the bar sit over the right line for this path.
Perform the press
From the locked-out start, let the elbows bend while the bar travels down and back toward the region between the chin and the lower throat, keeping the elbows elevated rather than letting them drop toward the ribs. Reverse the path back to the start under control.
Blakley’s own way of putting the distinction: the elbows have to stay up — “if you just bring it down you’re just doing a bench to neck narrow grip, that’s not a JM press.”
Where the bar finishes depends on your proportions. Do not treat a specific contact point as a target you must force. Use a range you can control with a secure grip.
Two failure modes tell you the exercise has changed:
- The elbows drop and the bar tracks toward the lower chest. That is a close-grip bench press.
- The shoulders stop moving and only the elbows bend. That is a skull crusher.
Both are legitimate exercises. Neither should be logged as a JM press. End the set at your intended technique standard rather than at the last rep you can grind out in some other movement pattern.
Joint pain is not a test of whether the triceps are working. If the elbows complain, reduce the load or the range rather than pushing through.
Keep the equipment variants separate
Brolic lists JM Press (Barbell), JM Press (Smith Machine) and JM Press (Dumbbell). This guide describes the barbell version; the other two are real variations with different demands.
- Smith machine: the bar follows fixed rails, so bench placement has to match the rail angle rather than your natural bar path. Check how the machine’s counterbalance affects the load you record.
- Dumbbell: the arms move independently, which is harder to keep symmetrical but easier on the wrists. Log a clear per-dumbbell weight.
Do not carry a working weight from one to another. Start each at a load you can control and build a separate history.
Logging
Record the total bar weight including the bar, the grip width, and the reps. Note which equipment variant you used, because the three are not comparable and a Smith session appended to a barbell history will look like a sudden jump. The free workout log has room for the setup detail alongside the numbers.
Common questions
Is it better than a skull crusher? No evidence establishes a winner. They load the triceps differently; pick the one you can perform comfortably and progress. Many programs use both.
Should every set go to failure? No. A technically demanding movement does not need a failed rep to count, and the failure point is exactly where the path degrades into a bench press. The training-to-failure guide covers the tradeoffs.
How much weight compared with my close-grip bench? Much less — commonly a large drop, because the elevated elbows remove leverage. Do not pick a starting load by scaling your bench.
How do I count it in my week? As triceps work, at its actual set count. It resembles both a press and an extension, but that is not a reason to count it twice; the weekly-set tally explains the convention.
Sources and method
- JM Blakley: the official JM press tutorial (elitefts) — the inventor teaching his own lift. Source of the grip width, elbow angle, wrist position and bar path above; the grip discussion is at 2:19.
- Catalyst Athletics: JM press — movement description from a coaching reference library.
- EliteFTS: building the bench with triceps work — further Blakley instruction. The article’s set-and-rep prescriptions are not reproduced here as recommendations.
- Brolic catalog version 2026-09-05.3 — the three equipment-specific entries.
Grip and elbow figures come from Blakley’s own instruction. They describe how he performs the lift, not an optimum established by a trial.