The incline bench press is typically the “go-to” exercise for upper pecs.
And with good reason, as it hits the upper part of the chest to great effect
I would hazard a guess that most trainees train incline bench in any one of 15-degree increments, i.e 15, 30, 45, or 60 degrees.
But, as it turns out there is a “sweet spot” between two of these angles.
Plus, according to scientific research there is one particular angle that trumps all the others.
Here’s what you need to know.
The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health conducted a study in October 2020. Researchers tested electromyographic (EMG) activity in the chest, shoulders, and triceps for the bench press exercise at 5 different angles, 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 degrees. It was concluded that an angle of 30 degrees produced the greatest EMG activity in the upper pecs.
Why Should You Train Incline Bench Press?
Okay, prior to breaking down the ideal incline angle for upper pecs, I want to first discuss why you should potentially train incline bench press.
I guess the most obvious reason is to activate and build the upper pec area.
This definitely gives your chest a more aesthetically appealing appearance.
Another way to look at it is that the mass of the sternal head makes up approximately 70-80% of the pecs.
The remaining 20-30% of the pecs is made up of the clavicle head, or what we refer to as the upper pecs.
So, if you’re not training your upper pecs it’s unlikely that you’ll achieve that fullness of the pecs that makes them so visually pleasing.
That being said, there is much more to the incline bench press than initially meets the eye.
Firstly, training the upper chest has a fantastic knock-on effect.
You’ll generally find having stronger and better developed upper pecs will help to lift heavier loads with most pressing and pushing movements.
So, you’ll actually find that your flat bench press is likely to improve, but greater upper pec development will also help you press more weight overhead.
Next, is the potential to reduce injuries.
One of the most common areas of injury from bench press is the shoulder area, especially the rotator cuff muscles.
There’s a huge amount of pressure placed on the anterior deltoids, and the shoulder joint in general, whenever you flat bench press.
Now, even though your shoulder will be activated more when you add an incline you definitely won’t feel the same type of shoulder discomfort commonly associated with flat bench.
Furthermore, the incline also places far less stress on the rotator cuff.
So, pumped-up upper pecs aside you may wish to focus more on incline bench press if you have shoulder issues when you flat bench press.
The Best Angle For Incline Bench Press (According to Science)
I guess a great way to determine the best angle for incline bench press would be to see what the “experts” say.
However, I’m not talking about experts in the gym, but rather those who research this subject in fine detail.
And believe it or not there have been many scientific studies to establish the perfect bench press angle to activate your upper pecs.
Most scientific studies will base their results on EMG (electromyography), which is a nerve conduction test.
Basically, an EMG will record the electrical impulses produced by the upper pecs (and other muscles).
But, with various studies comes differing results, which of course leads to confusion.
Nevertheless, most researchers agree that an incline angle between 30 to 45 degrees will provide the best upper pec activation.
That being said, there is one particular study conducted by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health which seems to trump all other studies.
Researchers tested the activation of the upper pecs, anterior deltoids, and triceps at different bench press angles.
The angles were 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 degrees.
It was found that the greatest upper activation was achieved at 30 degrees, whereas the anterior delts were most activated at 60 degrees.
It was concluded that any angle greater than 45 degrees would target the delts more than the chest.
The triceps and lower chest were activated more at 0 degrees, and a 15-degree angle made very little difference to the flat bench press in terms of muscle activation.
So, if you’re looking to specifically target your upper pecs anywhere from 30-45 degrees is the “sweet spot”.
However, a 30-degree incline bench will provide the greatest upper pec activation.
How to Hit Your Upper Chest With Non-Adjustable Incline Benches
Now, this is all well-and-good if you have access to an adjustable bench, but I’m aware that many gyms have fixed incline benches.
Admittedly, this is few and far between, as the vast majority of gyms nowadays will have both fixed and adjustable benches.
However, I have certainly visited hotel gyms on my travels that simply provide either a fixed flat bench or a “fixed” 45-degree angle bench.
So, what exactly should you do in this situation?
I’ll cover how you can hit your upper pecs with a flat bench in a moment, but for now let’s look at the fixed 45-degree angle bench.
Firstly, according to the study mentioned above, performing incline bench press at a 45-degree will hit the upper pecs.
So, you could simply suck it up and perform incline bench press on the 45-degree angle bench.
You’re still hitting the upper pecs really well, but obviously not to the same extent as a 30-degree bench would provide.
That being the case, you can easily alter the angle of a fixed 45-degree angle bench by simply placing a step underneath the front feet of the bench.
I can’t promise that this will provide the perfect 30-degree angle, but it will definitely reduce the angle of incline.
How to Hit Your Upper Chest on a Flat Bench
Now, if you have access to adjustable or even non-adjustable incline benches you can clearly hit your upper pecs.
However, what are you supposed to do if you only have access to non-adjustable flat benches?
Does this mean that you’re going to have to forgo upper pec development?
Not at all, in fact, you can actually greater activate your upper pecs with a flat bench than an incline bench.
There are two flat bench press variations that are fantastic for upper pec development.
However, I much prefer one over the other, but this is a matter of personal opinion.
Guillotine Bench Press
The guillotine bench press was made famous by the late, great, old-time bodybuilder Vince Gironda.
In fact, this bench press variation was often referred to as the “Gironda neck press”.
Vince was actually extremely well-known for his unique and often “out-there” training techniques.
Now, I’m going to admit that I’m not a fan of the guillotine bench press and after trying it out for a few months I decided it wasn’t for me.
The aim of the guillotine bench press is to reduce involvement from the anterior delts and triceps, while increasing and isolating the pecs more.
Guess what, the guillotine bench press definitely achieves this, but for me this is at the cost of a potential injury.
Firstly, you’re lowering the barbell to your clavicle, so as the name suggests, in line with your neck.
So, rather than the standard J-path of taking the bar from the lower chest area to eyeline level, you’re pretty much going straight up and down.
Now, I would always suggest that you bench press with a spotter, and failing that, set up the power rack or even the Smith machine.
However, there are obvious dangers to lowering a heavy load directly over your neck, if you get my meaning.
Additionally, this bar path forces you to flare your elbows out to the side.
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