How to do it
- Set the bench to about 30 degrees and grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Lower the bar to just below your collarbone with control.
- Press back up over the upper chest, keeping the shoulder blades retracted.
Cues that matter
- Tuck the elbows a touch more than on a flat press.
- Keep your head, upper back and hips on the bench.
Common mistakes
- Bringing the bar too low, onto the mid chest, which wastes the incline.
- Bouncing out of the bottom position.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Chest
- Upper chest
Also works
- Front delts
- Triceps
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Incline Barbell Press in a session, with 150 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 4–6 reps
- Build muscle
- 6–10 reps
- Endurance
- 12–20 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the chest with different equipment — for a day the barbell is taken, or a gym that does not have one.