Incline Bench Press: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The incline bench press works your chest as the prime mover, with the upper portion of the pec taking on more load than a flat bench because of the angle. Your shoulders assist by pressing the weight up and forward, and your triceps finish each rep by locking out your elbows.
- Primary muscle:
- Chest
- Secondary muscles:
- Shoulders, Triceps
Muscles worked
Your chest, specifically the upper portion of the pectoralis major, is the prime mover in an incline bench press. Setting the bench at an angle changes the direction your arms press in, shifting more of the load toward the upper chest compared to a flat bench.
Your shoulders (front delts) assist heavily on an incline press because the pressing angle lines up closely with how the front delt moves, more so than on a flat bench. Your triceps extend your elbows to lock out the weight at the top of every rep.
Log Incline Bench Press in PR Streak
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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.
Form tips
- Keep the bench at a moderate incline: too steep shifts the work toward your shoulders, too flat turns it into a regular bench press.
- Lower the bar to your upper chest, not your neck or collarbone.
- Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down on the bench throughout the set.
- Keep your feet flat on the floor and drive through them for stability.
- Press the bar in a slight arc back toward your face as you lock out.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Barbell |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is incline bench press better than flat bench for chest?
Neither replaces the other: the incline emphasizes your upper chest, while a flat bench trains the chest more evenly across its whole width. Most lifters include both in a program rather than choosing one, since each angle develops a different part of the same muscle.
How many reps of incline bench press build muscle?
For muscle size, work in the 6-12 rep range at 67-85% of your one-rep max. For raw pressing strength, drop to 6 reps or fewer at 85% or more. A 1RM calculator can help you find the right starting weight for either range.
More chest exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
