how to do incline dumbbell chest press?(do not do barbell press anymore!)

the incline chest press is a perfect exercise to target higher fibers of chest muscle(pectoralis major), meaning the fibers that come from clavicle or collarbone to your arm bone(humerus).

although you must consider, like always, you cannot just isolate one muscle and it is going to use other muscles to perform the exercise as well. generally, from parallel or zero degrees to fully seated or 90 degrees, you are going to use all main push muscles(chest, shoulder, triceps), but lower degrees hit more chest(especially lower fibers) and as you move the angle higher, it is going to affect more higher fibers of chest and incorporate more triceps and deltoid, but make sure you do not exaggerate the arch in your back as well since that can change the angle of the exercise and also, more importantly, put pressure on your spine, especially when the angle is more vertical.

another risk factor you should always keep in mind is the way you position your wrist and shoulder. after all, this is why barbells are not good and we avoid them. for the health of the wrist, it is best if you position it with zero angle and for the health of the shoulder, you better choose a degree between 30 to 80 for the shoulder to be healthy and the chest to be activated.

also, another risk factor is the elbow extension. do not make it fully straight and keep some degree left on top. last but not certainly least, keep the neck neutral as well. like the wrist which is supposed to be aligned with your ulna bone, your neck should be aligned with your chest and head and you should keep the natural curve all through this exercise(like every other exercise except bodyweight or lightweight exercises for neck strength which must be controlled and have no momentum).

also for overall stability make sure feet are wide and flat on the ground, core is tight, breathing is controlled, and you look at the weights most of the time, not the mirror in front. only look in the mirror to measure how balanced you are and if you have a friend, tell them to do so while you focus on the weight lifting or use your phone to record.