The incline bench press --- like every other pressing exercise --- works the front of your shoulders heavily. The incline press allows you to use more weight than many shoulder exercises, resulting in greater size and strength development. The incline press does not heavily work every aspect of your shoulders, so you must do other exercises for balanced shoulder development. Consult a health-care practitioner before beginning any strength-training program.
Incline Bench Press
The incline bench press works your chest, shoulders and triceps heavily, according to a 1995 study published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research." The primary aspect of your shoulders that gets worked remains the anterior deltoids, or the front of your shoulder muscles. The lateral and posterior deltoids receive less work, with the posterior receiving the least. The incline press also works your back to a degree, because part of the initial drive off of your chest comes from your latissimus dorsi --- the wide muscles of your back.
Active Muscles
The most active muscles in the incline bench press are your triceps --- the muscles on the back of your upper arms. These muscles get worked even more than on the flat bench press because the incline bench press allows you a greater range of motion. So by pushing the same weight a greater distance, your triceps must work harder. The primary function of your triceps is to straighten out your elbows, so the further your arms have to straighten, the more your triceps work.
Shoulders
To directly work your shoulders, the military press works them well --- this lift was the standard of strength prior to the popularity of the bench press. Pressing a heavy weight overhead limits the involvement of your pectoralis major --- the muscles of your chest. This lift also works your lateral deltoids more than the incline bench press, but your posterior deltoids --- the back of your shoulder muscles --- still do not receive a great deal of work.
Posterior Deltoids
Your shoulder contains one muscle, but certain aspects of it perform specific tasks. The posterior deltoid, or back of the shoulder, works to retract your upper arm. This remains the reason why it is not that active in pressing exercises --- under a heavy weight, gravity does the work for you as you lower the bar. To train your posterior deltoids, lie face down on the incline bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Raise your upper arms until they are parallel to the ground, then lower them under control.
References
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles; Chris Barnett, et al.; November 1995
- "The Weightlifting Encyclopedia: A Guide to World Class Performance"; Arthur J. Drechsler; 1998
- "Strength Training Anatomy"; Frederic Delavier; 2010
- "The Westside Barbell Book of Methods"; Louie Simmons; 2008
Member Comments