Barbell Incline Bench Press
The barbell incline bench press is a bench press on a bench tilted upward: you lower the bar to your upper chest and press it back up over your shoulders. It shifts the work toward the upper chest and the front delts, with the triceps helping, and it is the classic second press next to the flat bench.
How to do the barbell incline bench press
Set the bench to a moderate incline and lie back so your eyes are just below the bar, feet flat on the floor.
Grip the bar evenly, a little wider than your shoulders, with the bar resting low in your palms.
Pull your shoulder blades back and down so your upper back presses into the bench.
Breathe in, lift the bar out of the rack and bring it over your shoulders with straight arms.
Lower the bar under control to your upper chest, just below the collarbones, elbows angled in from your sides.
Touch lightly, then press the bar straight up until your arms are straight over your shoulders.
Breathe out at the top, take a new breath and repeat; rack the bar only with locked arms.
Setting up the incline bench
Set the back rest to a moderate incline and, if your bench has a seat, raise it so your hips cannot slide down. Lie back with your eyes just below the bar: the bar should clear the hooks on every rep without a long reach forward to unrack. Plant your feet flat, a little wider than your hips. Before you grip the bar, pull your shoulder blades back and down; on an incline they tend to drift up toward your ears.
Grip and hand position
Grip the bar evenly, a little wider than shoulder width, using the rings on the bar to find the same spot every session. At the bottom, your forearms should stand close to vertical seen from the front. Rest the bar over the heel of your hand with your wrist straight, and wrap your thumbs around it so a heavy bar cannot roll out of your hands.
Bracing and breathing
Take a big breath before you unrack and hold it while you lower and press. A high chest and a tight trunk keep your upper back pinned to the bench and the bar path short. Breathe out at the top and reset your breath before the next rep, without letting your shoulder blades relax.
Bar path and touch point
On an incline the bar travels almost straight up and down. It touches your upper chest just below your collarbones and finishes over your shoulders. Lower under control, touch lightly without bouncing and press with intent. Use the same touch point and depth on every rep, so your sets stay comparable and you know when to add weight.
Safety on the incline bench
Press heavy sets in a rack with safety pins or with a spotter. Many incline benches with built-in hooks have no safety arms; if yours has none, use a spotter or set an adjustable bench inside a rack.
Muscles worked by the barbell incline bench press
- Primary
- Chest
- Secondary
- Front delts
- Triceps
The chest is still the prime mover, but the incline moves the work toward its upper part, the clavicular head. In an EMG study with 15 men, upper-chest activity was higher with the bench at about 45 degrees than flat or at about 30 degrees, while the lower chest worked less the steeper the bench. The front delts were more active at every incline than on a flat bench. The triceps straighten the elbows, most visibly as you finish the press.
Common incline bench press mistakes
Setting the bench too steep
A very upright bench turns the lift into a shoulder press and takes work off the chest. A moderate incline, about halfway between flat and upright, keeps the chest in charge.
Lowering the bar too low
Bringing the bar to the lower chest as on a flat bench puts the forearms at a slant and the bar out in front of the elbows. Aim for the upper chest, just below the collarbones.
Flaring the elbows straight out
Elbows pointing sideways leave the shoulders in a weak position at the bottom. Tuck them in a little, so they point partly toward your feet.
Sliding down the bench
If your hips slide down, your back flattens toward a flat press and the angle changes from set to set. Use the seat if your bench has one and plant your feet firmly.
Lifting the hips to press
Bridging the hips off the bench lowers the incline and turns the lift back into a flat press. Drive your feet into the floor, but keep your glutes down.
How Muscla coaches the incline bench press
- Warm up with two ramp sets: about 50% of your working weight for 8 reps, then about 75% for 3. Muscla adds them to every heavy compound lift.
- End working sets with about two reps in the tank, two to three when you train for strength. Going to failure adds little or no extra muscle, but more fatigue.
- Rest about 3 minutes between sets for strength, 2 minutes for muscle and 90 seconds for other goals.
- Once every set reaches the top of your rep range, add one step of about 2.5%, at least the smallest jump your plates allow: 60 kg becomes 62.5 kg.
- After the last set, Muscla asks “How heavy was that?” Light adds weight, Good keeps the normal progression, Heavy holds it, At the limit holds it or takes off one step.
Barbell incline bench press sets, reps and rest
| Goal | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–6 → 2–5 → 4–8 | 3 min |
| Muscle | 6–10 → 8–12 | 2 min |
| Lose fat | 6–12 | 90 s |
| Fit | 8–12 | 90 s |
| Comeback | 8–12 | 90 s |
An arrow marks the range for the next 4-week block.
The incline bench press counts as a heavy compound lift in Muscla, so it gets the lowest rep ranges when you train for strength and the longest rests. Muscla varies the press over the week, so the incline bench takes turns with the flat bench and other presses. After every third 4-week block comes a deload week with 90% of the weight and one set fewer.
Estimate your incline bench press one-rep max
Filled in with example values. Replace them with yours.
Estimated 1RM
Brzycki 112.5 · Lombardi 117.5
Epley: 100 × (1 + 5 ÷ 30) = 116.7 kg
Load 117.5 kg on the bar →| Reps | Weight | % of 1RM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 117.5 kg | 100 % |
| 2 | 110 kg | 94 % |
| 3 | 105 kg | 91 % |
| 4 | 102.5 kg | 88 % |
| 5 | 100 kg | 86 % |
| 6 | 97.5 kg | 83 % |
| 7 | 95 kg | 81 % |
| 8 | 92.5 kg | 79 % |
| 9 | 90 kg | 77 % |
| 10 | 87.5 kg | 75 % |
| 11 | 85 kg | 73 % |
| 12 | 82.5 kg | 71 % |
Barbell incline bench press alternatives
- Barbell Bench Press
- Dumbbell Bench Press
- Machine Chest Press
- Dumbbell incline bench press
- Cable seated chest press
- Smith bench press
- Dumbbell neutral grip bench press
- Kettlebell one arm floor press
- Push-Up
- Chest dip
Incline bench press questions
What angle is best for the incline bench press?
A moderate one. In one study, the upper chest was most active at about 45 degrees; at about 56 degrees the lower chest worked less and the front delts stayed high. Use the setting on your bench closest to that and keep it the same every session.
Does the incline bench press build the upper chest?
Yes. In untrained men, eight weeks of incline pressing grew the upper chest more than flat pressing, while strength gains were similar. Another study found that incline sets swelled the upper chest more than the lower chest in the short term, while flat sets did the opposite.
Should I do flat or incline bench press?
Both. Flat pressing loads more of the lower chest, incline more of the upper chest and front delts. Muscla varies the press over the week, so each gets its turn.
How much should I incline bench compared with flat bench?
Less: the steeper angle gives the front delts more work and the chest a harder position, so most lifters handle less weight. Muscla's first suggestion is lower too: 0.35 times body weight for a man new to training versus 0.4 on the flat bench, so 27.5 kg at 80 kg.
Is the incline bench press bad for your shoulders?
Set the bench to a moderate angle, tuck your elbows a little and use a weight you control on every rep; if your shoulders hurt, see a professional. If you tell Muscla to spare your shoulders, it leaves the barbell incline press out of your plan.
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Sources
- Trebs AA, Brandenburg JP, Pitney WA. An electromyography analysis of 3 muscles surrounding the shoulder joint during the performance of a chest press exercise at several angles. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(7):1925-1930. PubMed
- Chaves SFN, Rocha-Júnior VA, Encarnação IGA, et al. Effects of horizontal and incline bench press on neuromuscular adaptations in untrained young men. Int J Exerc Sci. 2020;13(6):859-872. PubMed
- Albarello JCDS, Cabral HV, Leitão BFM, et al. Non-uniform excitation of pectoralis major induced by changes in bench press inclination leads to uneven variations in the cross-sectional area measured by panoramic ultrasonography. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2022;67:102722. PubMed
- Refalo MC, Helms ER, Trexler ET, et al. Influence of resistance training proximity-to-failure on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2023;53(3):649-665. PubMed
- Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697. PubMed