Starting Strength, 3rd Edition - Mark Rippetoe [162]
Most incline benches are made to be adjustable so that the incline can be varied according to individual preference. They are made with support uprights for the bar, like a bench press bench, and the supports are also adjustable to enable the bar to be unracked at a position that matches the angle of the bench. (Fixed-position incline benches are available from some manufacturers, with neither the angle nor the uprights adjustable.) The incline bench also has a seat built into the frame so that trainees can maintain a secure position without their feet becoming too critical to the lift. It would actually be better if the feet were more involved, since this would extend some, although not all, aspects of the kinetic chain down to the floor. You occasionally find very old benches built this way, with a foot plate at ninety degrees to the bench angle at the floor, but they are not the industry standard now.
Figure 7-21. A useful type of incline support bench.
When doing the exercise, select a back angle of between 30 and 45 degrees from vertical. Flatter angles are too similar to the bench press, and steeper angles are too similar to the press, with the disadvantage of having the back angle held immobile in a position that is very hard on the shoulders. One reason the press might be a better choice is that the stress of a tough rep can be accommodated by the natural adjustment of the back position, whereas the incline bench nails you into a fixed position that might exceed the capacity of the fatigued shoulders.
The uprights should support the bar at a height that allows the lifter to take it out, complete the reps, and rack it with a minimum of elbow extension but no danger of missing the racks. This means that the uprights should be set as high as possible so that the lifter’s elbows are nearly straight, and so that when they are straightened, the bar clears the hooks by a couple of inches. If the supports are too low, too much work has to be done getting the bar out, and more important, too much work will have to be done getting it back in the rack at a time when lots of control might not be possible. The easiest rack position will vary with your bench, and finding it will involve some trial and error.
Most of the differences between the incline and the bench press are positional. The two are basically executed the same way. The chest is up, the back is tight, the drive is to the point of focus on the ceiling, the feet are planted to connect firmly with the floor, and “big air” supports the chest. The position of the shoulders and back against the bench, the elbow position, the eye gaze direction, breath control, grip, and foot position are all the same for the incline as they are for the bench press, while the differences are related to the angle. The shoulders are squeezed together for a tight position, and the back is arched into a brace between the seat and the point of contact on the shoulders. The elbows stay directly under the bar for the whole movement; they control the bar path as they do for a bench press. The eyes focus on the stationary reference of the ceiling; they do not follow the bar. The breath is held during each rep, with breathing occurring between reps at the top. The grip is the same as that used for the bench, with the thumb around the bar, which rests on the heel of the palm. The feet are firmly planted against the floor as a brace for the position against the bench. The bar path will be straight, but instead of touching the mid-sternum, the bar will touch right under the chin, just below the sternoclavicular articulation (the point where the collarbones and the sternum meet). The range of motion, through an almost perfectly