How to do an Incline Cable Chest Press
Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Incline Cable Chest Press
Freemotion Machine (all forms)
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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Alternative Exercises to Incline Cable Chest Press
1. Hammerstrength Incline Chest Press
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 915 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Hammerstrength (Leverage) Machine (all forms)
2. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 851 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Fly Machine
3. Machine Bench Press
93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 850 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Bench Press Machine
4. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
99 mSCORESWAPPED 667 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. Cable Crossover Fly
97.3 mSCORESWAPPED 594 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Cable Crossover
6. Hammerstrength Chest Press
94.3 mSCORESWAPPED 528 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.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Hammerstrength (Leverage) Machine (all forms)
7. Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Press
85.9 mSCORESWAPPED 504 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.
8. Dumbbell Squeeze Press
91.1 mSCORESWAPPED 436 TIMESSimilar to other Bench Press variations, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Unlike many other variations, some of the tension from this exercise is caused by pressing two dumbbells together rather than simply relying on the weight of those dumbbells. This helps maintain more tension in your chest throughout the movement without relying on other pieces of equipment. The positioning of the dumbbells can also take some tension out of your shoulders, and helps to further isolate your chest.
9. Cable Chest Press
73.8 mSCORESWAPPED 427 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
- Cable Crossover
- Freemotion Machine (all forms)
10. Dumbbell Fly
98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 407 TIMESDumbbell Fly’s are one of the most common isolation chest exercises, and for good. It primarily targets the muscles in the chest, but also recruits the shoulders for stability. The use of dumbbells ensures that you’re targeting each side of the body independently, and prevents compensating for any weaknesses between sides. In addition the isolated nature of this exercise is a great way to fatigue your chest, and focus on building both muscle mass and increasing strength in your chest.