If you want to develop your upper chest, the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press is one of the common "go to" exercises.

However, using the normal incline bench has it's drawbacks in terms of putting the upper pec fibers in an optimal position to contract.

The "board" style of bench doesn't allow you to get your shoulders back, which tends to shift a lot of the focus onto the front delts, in my experience.

So instead, we're going to use the front face of a Preacher Bench to set yourself on so that you can get your shoulders back, essentially wrapping your back around the bench. This is a similar concept to the arched bench, invented by John Parillo, only done with an incline/upper chest focus instead.

Obviously, you'll need a Preacher Bench to perform this one. Use a pair of dumbbells that you know you can control very easily with a regular incline press (I'm using a pair of 65's in the demo).

Take the bar off the racks before you do this one so that you just have the bench there. Pick up the dumbbells, est them on your thighs, then set your mid back against the face of the bench. Your upper back and shoulder blades should be over the top edge of the bench.

This allows your shoulder blades to move freely during the movement, which also helps with pec isolation.

Kick the dumbbells up and back into the bottom start position. What you'll notice in the bottom is that your upper arms actually contact/rest on the top edge of the bench. This turns the exercise into something resembling a floor press for the upper chest.

You don't HAVE to fully rest your upper arms on the bench during the exercise...if you prefer continuous tension, when you feel the light touch of the bench on your upper arms, reverse the direction and press up.

Here's a direct side view.

Then press up.

Having the upper back off the top edge of the bench allows you to really get the shoulders back and squeeze your shoulders blades in at the bottom of the exercise. When the shoulders are pinned back, the front delts are still involved but to a lesser degree.

I also find the back and leg position to be better in terms of "solidifying" the arched position of the upper body for the press. Because you're not sitting on the seat of a bench, your spine doesn't flatten out as you're pressing. This helps tremendously with isolating the upper pecs.

I recommend using a moderate weight for this one, rather than trying to go super heavy. The upper chest can be notoriously hard to develop and a lot of the time, this is due to trying to use too much weight, which forces the body to bring the front delts and triceps more in order to move the weight.

This setup allows you to laser focus on upper pec contraction and the ideal "feel" of the exercise.

Aim for 8-12 reps per set and 2-3 sets. Use it in your workouts just as you would a regular incline dumbbell bench press.

You can watch the full video of the exercise here.

If you'd like to start from the exercise demo, click here.

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Want More Unique Chest Training Ideas Like This?

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Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"

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