Incline Barbell Bench Press

Chest
Shoulders
Triceps

Equipment: Barbell

New to this

Your first incline barbell bench press

What weight should I start with on the incline barbell bench press?

The empty bar, 45 lb, for 2 sets of 5. Even if you already flat bench more than that, start here to learn where the bar lands on an incline.

Expect to press 10 to 20% less than you do on flat bench. That gap is normal and it doesn't close much over time.

Set the bench to 30 degrees, usually the second notch. Steeper than 45 turns it into a shoulder press and your chest stops doing much.

What usually goes wrong on the incline barbell bench press?

The bar drifts up toward your throat. On an incline it should touch just below your collarbone, higher than on flat bench. Aiming for your sternum out of habit makes the path long and awkward.

Your hips slide up the bench. Plant both feet flat and press them into the floor.

You unrack it by yourself and fight the bar into position. Ask for a lift-off, or set the safeties and start from the pins. Incline racks are usually set too far back for a comfortable solo unrack.

If the incline rack is taken

Dumbbells on an incline bench get you the same work and you can set the angle on any adjustable bench in the gym. Flat pressing trains the same muscles with more of the load on the lower chest.

How to do it

Lie back on an incline bench. Using a medium-width grip (a grip that creates a 90-degree angle in the middle of the movement between the forearms and the upper arms), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. This will be your starting position.
As you breathe in, come down slowly until you feel the bar on you upper chest.
After a second pause, bring the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out and push the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms in the contracted position, squeeze your chest, hold for a second and then start coming down slowly again.
Tip: it should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
When you are done, place the bar back in the rack.