Incline Bench Pull
Trains the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius.
- Equipment
- A barbell and an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set an incline bench to about forty-five degrees and lie face down on it, chest against the pad.
- Let both arms hang straight down with a barbell on the floor beneath you.
- Take an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders.
- Pull the bar up toward the underside of the bench, driving the elbows back and out.
- Squeeze where the shoulder blades come together.
- Lower under control until the arms hang straight again.
Common mistakes
- Lifting the chest off the pad to pull higher. The pad is what removes the hips and lower back from the movement; coming off it hands them back.
- Setting the bench so low that the bar reaches the floor before the arms straighten. The bottom of the range is where the shoulder blades travel, and cutting it removes the part worth having.
- Choosing the load from a bent-over row. Chest-supported means no help from the hips, and the honest weight is usually a good deal lighter.
- Letting the head hang forward off the top of the pad. Resting the forehead or keeping the neck in line with the spine both work; craning it up under load does not.