Incline Bench Press
The incline bench press is a great exercise to perform if you wanting to develop strength and power in the horizontal pushing plane through the upper body. It will also develop strength and mass through the pectoral, shoulders and tricep muscles when performed regularly.
Tips To Performing The Incline Bench
- Wrists – maintain a neutral wrist/hand position. People will often extend through their wrists and increase their risk of injury to this area.
- Elbows – aim to keep the elbows in as close to the body as possible. This helps with driving the bar up and also will help to reduce the likelihood of opening up the shoulder and causing a shoulder injury.
- Back/Scapular – close pack the shoulder and scapular to the bench to maintain a stable base. Pushing weight off an unstable base means that you are leaking efficiency in the movement and may also mean that you are increasing your risk of injury.
- Head – keep the head flat on the bench
- Spine – for those that are competing in powerlifting and aiming for the 1 Rep PR, maintain a flat spine. You will see many powerlifters arch their back and there is certainly merit behind this, however for the beginner, keep the back flat
- Feet and legs – keep the feet planted on the ground and try and keep the legs and gluteals tight to help maintain a stable base.
This blog was written by Osteopath Heath Williams of Principle Four Osteopathy.
Principle Four Osteopathy
Principle Four Osteopathy is one of Melbourne City CBD leading Osteopathy clinics. At the clinic we treat a wide range of clients, ranging from the office worker, exercise enthusiast to athlete. We have 3 experienced osteopaths working across both of the clinics.
The Melbourne City CBD clinic is located at 29 Somerset Place (basement), close to the corner of Elizabeth St and Little Bourke in the Melbourne City CBD. Our premises adjoin the Jon Weller Personal Training Studio, a fully-equipped training space which allows clients to combine their osteopathy treatment with exercise tutorials or specific training programs and rehabilitation.
The Docklands clinic is located at 717 Bourke St (Ground Floor), beneath the Channel 9 building near the walkway from Southern Cross Train Station to Etihad Stadium. Our premises adjoin Pilates on Bourke, a fully-equipped pilates and yoga training space which allows clients to combine their osteopathy treatment with exercise tutorials, pilates or specific training programs and rehabilitation.
To speak to an Osteopath or book an appointment at Principle Four Osteopathy, please book online or call 03 9670 9290.