What angle should an incline dumbbell press be?

Around 30 degrees. When five angles were compared, the upper chest worked hardest at 30, and anything above 45 significantly raised front-delt involvement while lowering the chest contribution. On most benches that is the second or third notch from flat.

What muscles does the incline dumbbell press work?

The chest does the work, with the upper part carrying the biggest share on a shallow incline. The triceps and the front of the shoulders assist. If the shoulders are what feel worked, your bench is probably set too steep.

Is the incline press better than the flat press?

No. It is a different angle on the same movement. Flat lets you press the most weight and works the chest as a whole. Incline moves more of the work upward. There is no version that has to come first or replace the other.

Does the incline press really build the upper chest?

It works the upper chest hardest, which is measured and consistent. Whether that translates into a visibly different chest is less clear than you will usually be told, since the studies that looked at growth rather than activity do not all agree. Press it for the second angle, not for a promise.

Where should the dumbbells come down to on an incline?

To the top of your chest, roughly level with your armpits. Bringing them down toward your collarbones or chin stretches the shoulder at the point where it has the least room.

How do you get heavy dumbbells up on an incline bench?

Sit with them on your thighs and use one knee at a time to kick each dumbbell up to your shoulder, then lie back once both are set. The both-knees-at-once method that works on a flat bench is awkward here because the back rest is behind you.

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Dumbbell · intermediate · chest

Dumbbell bench press incline

Also called Incline dumbbell press, Incline DB press, Incline press, Incline dumbbell bench press, Incline dumbbell chest press.

The short answer

The incline dumbbell press is a bench press done on a sloped bench, and the chest is still the muscle doing the work. Tilting the bench shifts the load toward the upper part of the chest, with the triceps and front delts assisting. The angle matters more than anything else here: the upper chest works hardest at about 30 degrees, and past 45 the front of your shoulder starts taking the press off your chest.

How to do it

Step oneLie on an incline bench set to 30-45 degrees and hold a dumbbell in each hand at chest level.
Step twoPress the dumbbells upward and slightly inward until your arms are fully extended.
Step threeLower the dumbbells back to chest level in a controlled arc.
Step fourPause briefly at the bottom, then press back up to the starting position.

What usually goes wrong

Each starts with what you would notice.

It feels like a shoulder press, and your delts are what ache the next day.

WhyThe bench is set too upright. Once the back rest passes about 45 degrees the front of the shoulder takes a growing share and the chest gives up ground.

FixDrop the bench to around 30 degrees, which is two or three notches up from flat on most benches, not halfway to sitting. If the bench has no markings, the back rest should look barely tilted.

Your shoulder blades creep up the bench during the set and your neck ends up jammed against the pad.

WhyOn a slope you are sitting on an angle, so nothing stops you sliding upward as you press. On a flat bench the same fault shows up as the shoulders rolling forward instead.

FixPlant your feet and push yourself down into the seat before the first rep, then set the shoulder blades back against the pad. Reset between sets, not during.

The dumbbells come down near your collarbones or your chin.

WhyThe arms are traveling straight down the line of your body instead of down to the chest, which puts the shoulder at full stretch at the bottom.

FixAim the dumbbells for the top of your chest, roughly level with your armpits. On an incline the bar path is a shallow arc, not a straight drop.

Your elbows are square out to the sides and the shoulder joint pinches at the bottom.

WhyA flared arm path pulls the upper arm into the position where the shoulder has least room, exactly where the weight is heaviest.

FixLet the elbows sit somewhere between 45 and 60 degrees from your ribs. The upper arm should point out and slightly down, not straight out.

You cannot get the dumbbells up into position without a struggle.

WhyThe back rest is in the way, so the trick that works on a flat bench, lying back and driving them up with your knees, only half works here.

FixSit with the dumbbells on your thighs, kick one knee up at a time to drive that dumbbell to your shoulder, and lie back once both are up. Reverse it at the end rather than dropping them from the top.

What angle should the bench be

This is the only question that really matters on this movement, and unusually there is a clear answer. When researchers tested five bench angles at 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees, the upper part of the chest worked hardest at 30 degrees.

The same study found that going above 45 degrees significantly raised front-delt activity and cut how much the chest contributed. So a steep bench does not give you more of what you came for. It gradually turns your press into a shoulder press.

In practice that means a shallow tilt. If your bench has notches, that is usually the second or third from flat. If it looks like you are sitting up rather than lying back, you have gone too far.

Incline or flat

Both press with the chest and both use the triceps and front delts to help. The difference is which part of the chest carries the most, and the tilt is what moves it upward.

The flat version lets you handle more weight and works the chest as a whole, which is why it is the one to learn first and the one most people should press most often.

The incline is a variation, not a graduation. Nothing about it makes it the more advanced lift, and there is no reason to stop pressing flat once you have added it.

Where the work lands, and what that settles

Every guide to this movement sells it the same way: this is how you build an upper chest. Look closely at what has actually been shown and what has not.

What has been shown is where the work goes. Set the bench near 30 degrees and the upper part of the chest is the part working hardest. That is measured and it is repeatable.

What has not been settled is whether that reliably produces a differently shaped chest. One review pooling the studies found the incline reduced work in the lower part of the chest but found no clear difference in the upper part. Another study measured swelling after training and got a pattern that did not match the activity readings. The honest summary is that the angle changes where the work lands, and the evidence that it changes the outcome is much thinner than the confidence with which it gets sold.

Press it because it gives your chest a second angle to work at with your shoulder in a different position. That is a good enough reason without the promise attached.

What it is for

The incline dumbbell bench press is a compound exercise targeting the upper chest. The inclined angle emphasizes the upper pectoral fibers, and the use of dumbbells allows for a natural pressing path and greater range of motion.

Questions people ask

What angle should an incline dumbbell press be?: Around 30 degrees. When five angles were compared, the upper chest worked hardest at 30, and anything above 45 significantly raised front-delt involvement while lowering the chest contribution. On most benches that is the second or third notch from flat.
What muscles does the incline dumbbell press work?: The chest does the work, with the upper part carrying the biggest share on a shallow incline. The triceps and the front of the shoulders assist. If the shoulders are what feel worked, your bench is probably set too steep.
Is the incline press better than the flat press?: No. It is a different angle on the same movement. Flat lets you press the most weight and works the chest as a whole. Incline moves more of the work upward. There is no version that has to come first or replace the other.
Does the incline press really build the upper chest?: It works the upper chest hardest, which is measured and consistent. Whether that translates into a visibly different chest is less clear than you will usually be told, since the studies that looked at growth rather than activity do not all agree. Press it for the second angle, not for a promise.
Where should the dumbbells come down to on an incline?: To the top of your chest, roughly level with your armpits. Bringing them down toward your collarbones or chin stretches the shoulder at the point where it has the least room.
How do you get heavy dumbbells up on an incline bench?: Sit with them on your thighs and use one knee at a time to kick each dumbbell up to your shoulder, then lie back once both are set. The both-knees-at-once method that works on a flat bench is awkward here because the back rest is behind you.