Is Incline Bench Harder than Flat? [Science-Backed]

Is incline bench harder than flat bench?

In terms of the amount of weight you can lift, yes incline is harder than flat. But, adjusting for the strength difference, is it actually a harder exercise to perform?

Yes. Incline bench is harder than flat bench for four reasons:

places less emphasis on the triceps
has a longer range of motion
relies heavily on the shoulders
harder to activate the pecs

Let’s unwrap the mystery of the incline bench using facts and logic.

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4 Reasons Why Incline Bench is Harder than Flat

One prominent study compared incline bench 6rm (six rep maximum) with flat and decline. The study found an 18.5-21.5% lower 6rm for incline vs flat and decline. (1)

Another study found similar results comparing decline, flat, incline, and overhead press: as the degree of trunk inclination is increased, the weight lifted goes down. (2)

So we know you can’t lift as much weight with incline bench. But, is it actually a harder exercise to do?

Here are four reasons why it is:

#1 – Incline Bench Places Less Emphasis on the Triceps

You might be scratching your head at this one. Why would less emphasis on the triceps make incline bench harder?

When exercising, the distribution of muscular activation changes the way you train.

The dominant muscle group in any given exercise is generally the one you want to train the most to improve it. For example, if for a given exercise one muscle group had a 75% higher activation than another, it would make sense to focus in on that muscle group.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should totally neglect training the less activated muscle group. Just that you should prioritize certain ones.

A study from 2017 compared the electromyographic (EMG) activity in 5 different muscle groups between wide-grip flat bench, wide grip incline, and wide grip decline. Twelve bench press specific competitive strength athletes were chosen to perform the exercises. The five muscle groups measured were:

Pectoralis major
Anterior and posterior deltoid
Biceps brachii
Triceps Brachii
Latissimus Dorsi

The researchers found no significant differences in activation for any muscle group between all three bench positions, except for the triceps and biceps.

Incline bench had a 58.5-62.6% lower triceps activation than both the flat and decline bench. And, interestingly, incline elicited a 48.3-68.7% greater biceps activation than flat or decline. (1)

*Source: The Effects of the Bench Press Variations in Competitive Athletes on Muscle Activity and Performance*

Why does this all matter?

The triceps are known to be the prime mover in the bench press. This is why powerlifters place such a huge emphasis on developing the triceps, using movements such as:

Pin presses (AKA ‘rack lockouts’)
Board presses
Floor presses
Close grip bench press
Extensions, pushdowns, and other triceps isolation exercises

Because the incline bench activates less triceps muscle than the flat bench, it is going to be harder. What you have left to increase your incline is training the deltoids and pecs. While there are tons of awesome accessory exercises to work your deltoids, pec training is much harder to isolate.

The lack of triceps involvement in the incline bench is one of the most significant factors explaining why people can’t lift as much weight with incline vs flat.

And why it’s a harder exercise.

#2 – Incline Bench has a Longer Range of Motion than Flat

One thing you’ll notice right away when performing the incline bench is it has a longer ROM (range of motion) than flat.

Your body is angled down slightly, so you’ll lose a couple of inches of thickness in the chest area, resulting in a greater ROM for most people. Now, this can be a benefit in certain ways. A longer range of motion means more overall musculature is targeted. And the muscles get a deeper stretch.

But, having a longer ROM also makes the lift more difficult.

Powerlifters do everything they possibly can to shorten the range of motion on the bench press. From ridiculously arched backs to beer bellies and bubble guts, you name it.

Because a shorter ROM means you can lift more weight.

Shorter distance + reduced time = higher strength.

#3 – Incline Bench Relies Heavily on the Shoulders

From one of the same studies referenced earlier, researchers found significantly greater anterior deltoid activation with the incline bench vs flat and decline. The difference was even greater with wide grip as opposed to narrow grip. (2)

*Source: Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles*

So, training your anterior deltoids is going to be crucial to improving your incline bench.

But, that means you have to do more overall shoulder training. And with the shoulder being an incredibly sensitive and injury-prone body part, this may present problems.

On the flip side, many lifters find the angle of the incline bench to be easier on their shoulders as opposed to flat.

So, you’re going to have to figure out what works for you and your particular biomechanics.

#4 – Harder to Activate the Pecs with Incline Bench

Another reason you can’t lift as much with incline vs flat is it’s much harder to activate your pec muscles.

Sternocostal head of the pectoralis major

One of the same studies referenced earlier compared the EMG activity between several muscle groups using the decline, flat, incline, and overhead press. For the sternocostal head of the pectoralis major (the majority of the pec muscle), incline bench was found to have a lower level of activation than the flat and decline bench. The only exception was when a wide grip was utilized, in which case incline was comparable to decline (but still lower than flat).

On the other hand, the study also found that, for the clavicular head of the pecs (upper pecs), the incline elicited the highest EMG activity, although it was comparable to the flat bench. (2)

This demonstrates that, in general, incline bench will not activate as much of the pecs as flat. And although the triceps may be more important for pressing strength, the pecs are still one of the prime movers.

Because of the reduced activation of such an important muscle group, you aren’t going to be able to lift as much. And this will shift the load more to the deltoids.

Why “Harder” isn’t Necessarily Worse

I want to make sure readers don’t walk away from this article with the wrong idea.

Just because an exercise may be harder to do doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. In fact, for the majority of my lifting career, I’ve favored incline over flat because it felt better with my particular shoulder issues.

Incline bench is an awesome exercise, and I can easily come up with many reasons why it might be even better than flat.

I also know that it’s harder than flat.

And that’s what keeps me coming back to it.

FAQ

Q: Which is better: 30 or 45 degree incline bench?

A: It depends on your goals. A study from 2015 compared EMG activity of several muscle groups during the bench press at four different angles (0, 30, 45, and -15 degrees). They found that the 45 degree bench press had the smallest lower pec activation of any of the exercises. It also found the 30 and 45 degree bench press resulted in greater activation of the upper pecs at certain points during the lift. (3)

So, if you’re looking for more complete pec development, I recommend sticking with a 30 degree incline.

Q: Is decline bench harder than incline?

A: In terms of weight lifted, no. A study from the Human Performance Laboratory comparing decline and incline bench found a statistically significant difference in 1rm between the two lifts. The decline bench 1rm was much higher. (4)

But, decline bench does have some disadvantages which may make it harder for some people, including:

- Lack of leg drive/leg support during the lift
- Angle causing too much pressure in your head (especially under heavy weight)
- Awkward to get into position for the lift

Q: Is incline bench better?

A: It’s impossible to make a sweeping judgment for everyone here. What I can say is the incline bench has unique benefits of its own, and if you want total upper body development for your pressing muscles, you should include both incline and flat in your routine.

References

Saeterbakken AH, Mo DA, Scott S, Andersen V. The Effects of Bench Press Variations in Competitive Athletes on Muscle Activity and Performance. J Hum Kinet. 2017 Jun 22;57:61-71. doi: 10.1515/hukin-2017-0047. PMID: 28713459; PMCID: PMC5504579.
Barnett, Chris1; Kippers, Vaughan2; Turner, Peter1 Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: November 1995 – Volume 9 – Issue 4 – p 222-227
Jakob D. Lauver, Trent E. Cayot & Barry W. Scheuermann (2016) Influence of bench angle on upper extremity muscular activation during bench press exercise, European Journal of Sport Science, 16:3, 309-316, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2015.1022605
Glass, Stephen C.; Armstrong, Ty Electromyographical Activity of the Pectoralis Muscle During Incline and Decline Bench Presses, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: August 1997 – Volume 11 – Issue 3 – p 163-167

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