phrase choice - "grip the bar closely" or "grip the bar with your hand close to each other"?

Tell me please what is the most natuaral way to say that I want someone to grab a barbell with hands close to each. Here are exaples:

Grip the bar closely to activate your triceps before doing a close-grip barbell barbell bench press!

Grip the bar with your hand close to each other to activate your triceps before doing a close-grip barbell press.

The second varian is wordy, so I would like to know a shorter natural version of saying that in a less short fasion.

Answer

I agree with Jason's point that specificity is more important than brevity if you can injure yourself by doing that lift incorrectly. That said, let's look at another linguistic option open to you.

Grip the bar with hands close together for the barbell bench press.

For the barbell bench press, grip the bar with hands close together.

Not the absence of determiner before hands and the use of the with "barbell bench press", and the phrase close together.