Incline bench press: how to do it
Main muscles: Upper chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid). Helpers: Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Barbell
Reps
6–10
Rest
150 s
Muscle group
Chest
How to do it
- Set the bench to 30–45°: any steeper and the load moves to the front delts.
- Shoulder blades together, the bar comes down to the upper chest, just below the collarbones.
- Press straight up, do not throw the bar back over your head.
Common mistakes
Too steep an incline, lifting the hips, cutting the range short.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Upper chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid)
- Secondary
- Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Programs that use it
- Full body, 3 days3 × 6–10
- Push, pull, legs — 3 days3 × 6–10
- Upper/lower, 4 days4 × 6–10
- 5-day split3 × 6–10
Alternatives: similar exercises
Incline dumbbell press
Dumbbells · Upper chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid)
Front raise
Dumbbells · Front delts (anterior deltoid)
Close-grip push-ups
Bodyweight · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Bench dips
Bodyweight · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Overhead press
Barbell · Front delts (anterior deltoid), Side delts (lateral deltoid)
Dips
Bodyweight · Lower chest, Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
Free forever for the first 500