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Decline Bench Press

A step-by-step form guide from the Ægir Iron exercise library: how to do the lift, what to watch for, and the muscles it trains.

Equipment

Barbell

Dumbbell

HOW TO PERFORM

1. Set the bench to a decline of about 15 to 30 degrees and hook the legs under the pads.
2. Pull the shoulder blades down and together and keep the chest up.
3. Lift the bar off the hooks, or take the dumbbells, and hold them straight over the shoulders.
4. Lower slowly to the LOWER chest, just below the nipple line, tucking the elbows in to about 45 degrees.
5. Drive back up over the lower chest until the arms lock out, rather than toward the face.

FORM TIPS

• Get a spotter or use dumbbells. Head-down with a loaded bar is the one bench angle where a failed rep is hard to escape from on your own.

TARGET MUSCLES

Primary

• Chest

Secondary

• Triceps
• Shoulders

In the app

This guide covers these exercises in the Ægir Iron library:

• Decline Bench Press
• Decline Dumbbell Bench Press

Log it in Ægir Iron to track your PRs and estimated 1RM, and to see the sets each muscle gets every week. Free for individual lifters.

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Related: All exercises · How every exercise is mapped to the muscles it trains