How to do an Incline Cable Chest Press
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Freemotion Machine (all forms)
Workouts with Incline Cable Chest Press
Instructions for Proper Form
Incline Cable Chest Press is a compound exercise targeting the upper chest muscles, shifting focus to the clavicular head of the pectoralis major. The inclined angle combined with the dynamic resistance of cables promotes muscle growth and enhanced upper chest definition. It offers the benefit of increased joint safety and muscle engagement over traditional incline bench presses, with added core stabilization requirements.
- Place the pulleys to just above shoulder height.
- Sit with your back pressed against the back rest of the seat while holding the pair of dual pulley handles at chest height, shoulder-width apart, and palms facing down.
- Brace your core to keep your spine in a stationary neutral position.
- Exhale to extend your arms forward keeping both handles in front of your shoulders with your elbows just below your shoulders.
- Once you’ve reached full arm extension, flex your elbows to bring the handles back to the starting position.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
Average Incline Cable Chest Press standards by male, female, weight, age and height
Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.
- beginner8reps35lbs1 Rep Max45lbs
- intermediate8reps45lbs55lbs
- advanced8reps55lbs70lbs
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Alternatives & Variations to Incline Cable Chest Press
1. Hammerstrength Incline Chest Press
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 1,005 TIMESHammerstrength Incline Chest Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound movement primarily targets your chest, shoulders and triceps. The incline allows you to further emphasize your upper chest and shoulders. The use of a Hammerstrength Machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which adds stability, and allows you to focus more on exertion.
2. Machine Bench Press
93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 831 TIMESMachine Bench Press is a compound exercise the primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which can be a great way to learn the movement, or to focus your effort on exertion rather than stability.
3. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 750 TIMESMachine Fly is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly. This isolation chest exercise primarily targets the chest, but also recruits the shoulders. The use of a machine makes the exercise more stable allowing you to focus on exertion or learn the movement with minimal risk of injury. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to learn the movement, or advanced lifters looking to push this movement to it’s limit.
4. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
99 mSCORESWAPPED 743 TIMESDumbbell Incline Bench Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound exercise primarily targets the chest, but the incline also places more emphasis on the shoulders. The use of dumbbells makes this exercise more unstable than its barbell counterpart, while also forcing you to address any strength discrepancies between sides.
5. Hammerstrength Chest Press
94.3 mSCORESWAPPED 543 TIMESHammerstrength Chest Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Bench Press. Similar to Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a Hammerstrength machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion. This can help you either learn the movement, or focus your efforts on exertion rather than stability.
6. Cable Crossover Fly
97.3 mSCORESWAPPED 508 TIMESCable Crossover Fly is an isolation exercise that targets the chest. It’s a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly, and can easily be adapted to further isolate specific areas of the chest. Using cables to add resistance allows you to keep more consistent tension on your chest, as well as control the angle that the resistance is coming from.
7. Cable Chest Press
73.8 mSCORESWAPPED 431 TIMESCable Chest Press is a compound chest exercise that also targets the shoulders and triceps. The use of cables allows for more consistent tension throughout the movement, while also giving you control over the angle that the resistance is coming from. By having cables wider than your shoulders there is also more tension at the end of your range of motion when compared to similar movements.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Freemotion Machine (all forms)
- Cable Crossover
8. Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Press
85.9 mSCORESWAPPED 367 TIMESIncline Dumbbell Squeeze Press is a variation on the more standard Bench Press. Like other Bench Press variations, this compound exercise primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The incline position emphasizes the upper chest and shoulders, while the act of squeezing the dumbbells together helps to maintain tension in the chest throughout the movement. This is a great exercise for building both strength and muscle mass in the upper chest.
9. Dumbbell Bench Press
99.7 mSCORESWAPPED 347 TIMESDumbbell Bench Press is a variation on the standard Bench Press. Like Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets the chest, while also training the triceps and shoulders. The use of dumbbells allows for greater instability which can help you become more stable on pushing movements in general, while also isolating each side of the body to prevent you from compensating for any weaknesses between sides.
10. Barbell Incline Bench Press
98.9 mSCORESWAPPED 331 TIMESBarbell Incline Bench Press is a variation on a standard Bench Press. Similar to Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, but this variation places much more emphasis on your shoulders and upper chest.