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
Set an adjustable bench to a 30 to 45 degree incline and sit with a kettlebell in each hand on your thighs.
2
Lie back and use your knees to kick the kettlebells up to the rack position at your shoulders.
3
Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench and brace your core before pressing.
4
Press both kettlebells up and slightly together until the arms are extended over the upper chest.
5
Lower the bells slowly back to the rack position with elbows tracking at about 45 degrees from the torso.
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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