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Barbell Incline 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

Machine

HOW TO PERFORM

1. Set the bench to about 30 degrees and lie back with the feet planted firmly on the floor.
2. Take the bar slightly wider than shoulder width and squeeze it hard.
3. Pull the shoulder blades down and together and keep the chest up.
4. Lift the bar off the hooks and hold it straight over the shoulders with the arms locked.
5. Lower it slowly to the UPPER chest, just below the collarbone, tucking the elbows in to about 45 degrees.
6. Drive the bar straight up and slightly back over the shoulders until the arms lock out.

FORM TIPS

• Steeper is not better. Much past 45 degrees the front delts take over and it stops being a chest press.

TARGET MUSCLES

Primary

• Chest

Secondary

• Shoulders
• Triceps

In the app

This guide covers these exercises in the Ægir Iron library:

• Barbell Incline Bench Press
• Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
• Incline Chest Press Machine
• Smith Machine Incline 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