Pause Barbell Incline Bench Press
The Pause Barbell Incline Bench Press is a compound upper-body exercise that targets the upper chest and anterior deltoids by eliminating momentum. By coming to a complete stop on the chest, this variation builds significant starting strength and hypertrophy.
Because the pause eliminates the stretch-shortening cycle, this lift is highly sensitive to daily neuromuscular fatigue. Our AI analyzes your HRV and sleep data to gauge your recovery status, adjusting your target weight and RPE to ensure you are training the muscle, not straining your joints. The app also tracks the exact duration of your sets to ensure you aren't rushing the pause, optimizing the time-under-tension needed for upper chest growth.
Form Cues
- Set the bench angle between 30 and 45 degrees
- Lower the bar with a slow, controlled tempo
- Hold the bar completely still on your upper chest for 1-2 seconds
- Drive your feet into the floor to initiate the press
- Explode the bar upward to full lockout
- Don't bounce the bar off your chest
- Don't lift your hips or glutes off the bench
- Don't flare your elbows out to 90 degrees
- Don't turn the pause into a soft resting heave
Common Mistakes
- Bouncing the weight for momentum
- Excessive arching of the lower back
- Inconsistent pause duration
- Flaring elbows too wide
- Lifting heavy without a spotter
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily isolates the clavicular head of the pectoralis major (upper chest) and the anterior deltoids. By removing momentum, it places a higher demand on the triceps and chest fibers to generate force from a dead stop, improving muscle fiber recruitment.
Primary
Secondary
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