Incline Cable Chest Press

How to do it

1. Set an incline bench between two low pulleys and set both to the lowest setting.
2. Take a handle in each hand and sit back against the pad.
3. Start with your hands beside your upper chest, palms facing forward.
4. Press both hands up and inward, following the angle of the bench.
5. Stop just short of straight arms, with the hands above the upper chest.
6. Let the cables draw your hands back down beside the chest under control.

Common mistakes

• Setting the pulleys high. The cable line should run up along the bench angle; a high pulley pulls the hands down and turns the press into something the triceps do most of.
• Pressing straight up as on a bench. The path follows the incline — up and slightly forward — because that is the direction the arms travel relative to the torso.
• Bringing the handles together hard at the top. The chest is already at its shortest with the arms up and in; the extra squeeze is a habit.
• Choosing it because cables feel easier on the shoulder and then loading it like a barbell. The constant tension is real and so is the load at the bottom, which is where a barbell would have gone slack.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Clavicular HeadPecs

Secondary

• Shoulders
• Triceps