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Incline Bench Press anatomy plate showing the working muscles

Chest · Horizontal press

Incline Bench Press

The incline bench press is a barbell horizontal press movement for the chest. Here is the setup, the execution, the mistakes worth avoiding, and how to program it.

Equipment

Barbell

Trains

Chest

Level

Intermediate

30° INCLINEBAR TO UPPER CHEST

Muscles worked

Chest through the mid range, front delts out of the bottom, triceps to finish the lockout.

Set up

  1. 1

    Set the shoulder blades down and back into the bench, chest up, and keep them pinned for every rep.

  2. 2

    Grip the barbell so the wrists stack over the elbows, not behind them.

  3. 3

    Drive the feet into the floor and keep a small arch through the upper back.

How to do it

  1. 1

    Lower under control, about two to three seconds, to the point of full stretch.

  2. 2

    Elbows tucked around 45 degrees from the body. 30° INCLINE

  3. 3

    Press back up and slightly back toward the shoulders, not straight out over the face.

  4. 4

    Lock out without letting the shoulder blades come unglued.

Common mistakes

  • Elbows flared to 90 degrees

    Fix: Tuck to around 45 degrees so the shoulder stays out of the front of the socket.

  • Bouncing off the chest

    Fix: Touch and press. If it needs a bounce, it is too heavy.

  • Shoulder blades unglued

    Fix: Pin them down and back and keep them there through lockout.

How to program it

Sets

3 to 4

Reps

6 to 10

Rest

2 min

Two pressing days a week beats one, as long as volume stays honest.

No gym version

Push up variations: elevate the feet to make it harder, hands on a counter to make it easier.

Questions

More chest work

Knowing the lift is the easy part.

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