Kettlebell Incline Bench Press

What you'll gain

• Builds upper-chest size with a longer, more natural range of motion.

• Strengthens the front shoulders and triceps in the pressing pattern.

• Spares the wrists and shoulders compared to a fixed-bar incline press.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Set an adjustable bench to a 30 to 45 degree incline and sit with a kettlebell in each hand on your thighs.

2. 2

   Lie back and use your knees to kick the kettlebells up to the rack position at your shoulders.

3. 3

   Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench and brace your core before pressing.

4. 4

   Press both kettlebells up and slightly together until the arms are extended over the upper chest.

5. 5

   Lower the bells slowly back to the rack position with elbows tracking at about 45 degrees from the torso.

6. 6

   Pause briefly at the bottom with the chest stretched, then press back up for the next rep.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the elbows flare straight out to the sides, which strains the front shoulders.

• Pressing the kettlebells with wrists bent backward instead of stacked over the forearm.

• Bouncing the bells off the shoulders instead of controlling the bottom of each rep.

• Lifting the hips off the bench to leverage the press, which kills the upper-chest stretch.

About This Exercise

The kettlebell incline bench press is a two-kettlebell upper-chest press performed on an inclined bench. The offset weight of the bells pulls the wrists into a neutral, slightly rotated position, which lets the shoulders move through a deeper range of motion than a barbell allows while still loading the upper chest, front shoulders, and triceps. For kettlebell-only apps and home-gym content, this is the cleanest way to cover the incline press pattern without a barbell. Use it in push-day kettlebell flows, upper-body hypertrophy blocks, and shoulder-friendly pressing tracks where users with cranky shoulders need an alternative to a fixed-bar press.

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