Incline Push-up (Bench)
The Incline Push-up (Bench) is a beginner-friendly compound exercise that targets the lower chest, triceps, and shoulders while reducing the amount of body weight you have to lift. By elevating the hands on a bench, it allows for proper push-up form development and core engagement with less resistance than a standard floor push-up.
Iridium tracks your performance relative to body weight and uses RPE trends to detect when you have adapted enough to require added resistance or a more difficult variation. Since this movement spares the anterior deltoids compared to flat pressing, Iridium frequently schedules it to maintain lower chest volume when your shoulders show high fatigue from recent sessions.
Form Cues
- Place hands slightly wider than shoulder-width on the bench edge
- Engage your glutes and core to form a straight line from head to heels
- Lower your chest slowly until it nearly touches the bench
- Keep elbows tucked at a 45-degree angle to your torso
- Exhale and press firmly through your palms to return to the start
- Don't let your hips sag toward the floor or pike upward
- Don't flare your elbows out to 90 degrees
- Don't lead with your head or chin
- Don't shrug your shoulders toward your ears
Common Mistakes
- Sagging hips (hyperextension)
- Flaring elbows too wide
- Incomplete range of motion
- Jutting the neck forward
- Poor core engagement
Muscles Worked
This variation primarily targets the lower pectorals (sternal head) due to the pressing angle relative to the torso, along with significant contribution from the anterior deltoids and triceps. It also serves as an effective core exercise, requiring isometric contraction of the abdominals and glutes to maintain a rigid plank position throughout the movement.
Primary
Secondary
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