Incline Barbell Bench Press

How to perform the Incline Barbell Bench Press

1. Set the bench to a 30–45 degree incline; any steeper shifts work onto the front delts and away from the upper chest.
2. Lie back with your feet planted, glutes on the bench, and shoulder blades retracted and depressed against the pad.
3. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width with wrists stacked over elbows, then unrack to a position over your upper chest, not your face.
4. Lower the bar under control to the upper chest just below the collarbones, keeping the elbows at roughly a 45-degree angle from the torso.
5. Press the bar up and slightly back over the shoulders, driving through the mid-foot and keeping the upper back tight against the bench.
6. Lock out without flaring or shrugging the shoulders forward; reset your brace before the next rep.

Suggested working range: 8–10 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Setting the incline too steep (above 45 degrees), which shifts the work off the upper chest and onto the front delts.
• •Letting the elbows flare to 90 degrees and stressing the front of the shoulder.
• •Pressing the bar straight up over the face rather than back over the upper chest at lockout.
• •Shrugging the shoulders up off the bench at the bottom of the rep, losing the stable shoulder-blade position.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.