The incline barbell chest press is the perfect exercise to make the top portion of your chest thick. When performing this exercise, you want to have the maximum stretch as you lower the bar, lowering the bar all the way to your chest.  Make sure to achieve maximum contraction by squeezing your pec muscles as you push the bar back up.  This will give you complete muscle fatigue which will provide maximum growth for your chest. 

When setting up to perform this exercise, start by lying flat on the bench then adjust yourself to the proper position. The only two parts of your back that should rest on the bench are the rear of your shoulders and your glutes.

Then, grip the bar.  Place your hands far enough apart so that when the bar touches your chest, your forearms will be perpendicular to the ground. The bar should touch about a 1/2 inch below your clavical. In this position, you are at maximum stretch.

When pressing the bar to the top, or the contraction portion of the exercise, always squeeze your elbows up and toward an intersection point approximately 8-10in above your chest.  Don’t push your arms straight up.  Focus on squeezing your arms above that intersection above your chest.

When you push your arms straight up without squeezing over that central point on your chest, you run the risk of inuring your elbows and placing undue stress on the tendons and ligaments of the shoulders and elbows. By focusing on a central point over your chest and squeezing, you will feel more chest involvement rather than shoulders and triceps. 

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Let’s start with the bench press exercise. To many times I seen men and women performing this exercise incorrectly.  The key is in the range of motion…and that is often the first thing I see people doing wrong.

When performing the bench press exercise with a straight bar, you should always complete a full range of motion, bringing the bar all the way back down to your chest. The reason for this is so you get maximum stretch and a full contraction, this encourages a complete breakdown of muscle fiber so you can stimulate growth.

In order to get maximum growth you need to rest the empty bar on your chest, while it’s resting there you forearm should be at a ninety degree angle or perpendicular to the floor. This will create maximum stretch in the pecs and place the least amount of stress on the elbows and the shoulders.  If your forearms are any further apart it will not encourage proper pec development, it will just add more stress on the wrist, elbow and shoulder joints. It may also cause rotator cuff problems.

Bench correctly and be injury free while achieving thick, full pec development.

About Edward Albert:

Edward Albert is a former body builder and former Mr New Jersey title holder.  He is currently the owner and director of personal training at Ultimate Fitness Training Center in NJ.