Barbell High Incline Bench Press
A barbell press on a steep incline of about 60 degrees that shifts most of the load onto the upper chest and front delts.
How to do it
- Set the bench to a steep incline of about 60 degrees and lie back with your feet flat on the floor.
- Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width and pin your shoulder blades into the bench.
- Unrack the bar to full lockout, stacking your wrists directly over your elbows.
- Slowly lower the bar to your upper chest, just below the collarbone, keeping your elbows under the bar.
- Pause briefly with the bar at your chest, keeping your core braced and your upper back tight.
- Press the bar back up along the same path to full lockout over your upper chest.
Key technique cue
Bar to the upper chest below the collarbone, elbows under the bar — don't turn it into a shoulder press.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Setting the angle too steep, close to vertical, which turns it into an overhead press and takes the chest out of it.
- ✕ Lowering the bar to the lower chest like a flat bench, which strains the shoulders at this angle.
- ✕ Flaring the elbows wide, which loads the front of the shoulders instead of the upper chest.
- ✕ Lifting the hips off the bench to cheat, which ruins the angle and risks a back injury.
Benefits
- ✓ Builds upper-chest mass that fills out the top of the torso.
- ✓ Strengthens the front delts for better carryover to overhead pressing.
- ✓ Adds a fresh pressing angle that breaks through flat bench plateaus.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
Step 2 -
Step 3 You are here - Barbell High Incline Bench Press
- Dumbbell Neutral High Incline Bench Press
- Kettlebell Incline Bench Press
About the exercise
The Barbell High Incline Bench Press is performed on a bench set to about 60 degrees — steeper than a standard incline. That angle shifts the load almost entirely onto the upper chest and front delts, building the clavicular fibers of the pec that fill out the top of the chest. It also takes the lower chest out of the movement and gives athletes strong carryover to overhead pressing. It's a high-value pressing variation for advanced training and bodybuilding. Together with the flat and incline press, it covers the full set of chest angles. It also works well as accessory work for shoulder strength and in any pressing program aimed at building the upper torso.
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