Incline Bench Press

• 1). Tilt the bench so that your chest is slightly higher than your pelvis to focus the upper pectoral muscles. Start by using the smallest possible angle adjustment on your bench and gradually increase the angle as your body adapts to the exercise.
  
  
• 2). Select a weight that you can lift between eight and 12 times in a row.
  
  
• 3). Position a spotter behind your head if you are using a barbell rather than a bench press machine or dumbbells.
  
  
• 4). Grip the bar with an overhand grip, positioning your hands directly in front of your shoulders. A very narrow grip will focus your triceps rather than pectorals.
  
  
• 5). Lift the weight directly up in a slow steady motion, pause momentarily at the top of the lift and gradually lower the weight. Don`t hunch your shoulders forward, move your lower body or jerk the weight to use momentum.
  
  

Sets and Reps

• 1). Do sets consisting of eight to 12 reps. If you can lift a weight more than 12 times, add another 10 pounds and if you cannot lift the weight more that eight times, remove 10 pounds.
  
  
• 2). Do two full sets of eight to 12 reps with a short rest in between. Many lifters work their abdominals between upper-body sets for a more efficient use of gym time.
  
  
• 3). Vary your workout by adding additional sets of a different type after your first two sets are complete. Increase to a higher weight for one set of fewer reps or try adding several sets and decreasing the weight by 10 pounds per set to exhaustion. Another variation is to add dumbbell sets after your barbell sets to recruit different stabilizer muscles.