Barbell Incline Shoulder Raise

intermediate · isolation

Setup

Set an incline bench at a moderate angle inside a rack, with the safety pins set at chest height to catch the bar if you fail, or a spotter standing at the head of the bench. Load the barbell on the hooks within easy reach. Lie back with your head near the top of the bench, take a grip a little wider than shoulder width, and lift the bar off the hooks with straight arms above your chest.

Execution

Hold the bar with straight arms above your chest; this is the starting position and it does not change through the set.
Brace lightly and keep the lower back settled on the bench pad, without arching it up.
Exhale and push the bar higher by protracting your shoulder blades, reaching it toward the ceiling, with the arms locked straight the whole time.
Pause a beat at the top, feeling the upper back round slightly off the bench.
Inhale and lower the bar by letting the shoulder blades settle back onto the bench, arms still locked straight.
If the arms start to bend or shake, rack the bar immediately rather than trying to finish the set.

Breathing

Exhale as you protract the shoulder blades, inhale as you lower. Do not grip so hard that you hold your breath; if the arms shake or control slips, rack the bar right away.

Quick cues

Reach the bar to the ceiling.
Arms locked, no elbow bend.
Blades do the moving, not the arms.
Round your upper back off the bench.
Arms shake, rack it right away.

Common faults

Fault: Bending the elbows to press the bar higher
Fix: Keep the arms locked straight for the whole set, and drop the weight if you still cannot hold it.
Fault: Arching the lower back off the pad to gain extra range
Fix: Brace the core and keep the lower back settled on the pad throughout the movement.
Fault: Loading so heavy that only a tiny range of motion is possible
Fix: Cut the weight in half and rebuild the full range before adding load back.
Fault: The bar wobbling out of control near the top of the range
Fix: Rack the bar the moment it wobbles instead of fighting for a few more reps.

Equipment

barbell, bench, squat_rack

Muscle groups

chest, shoulders