Upper Chest
Incline Bench Strength Standards
Everybody knows their flat bench. Almost nobody knows whether their incline is any good. Enter your bodyweight and this page gives your beginner to elite incline bench press figures, tells you which level your best sits in, and shows how it should compare to the flat bench.
Find Your Incline Bench Level
Enter your bodyweight, pick your sex, and put in your best lift. Everything below updates as you type.
What the Incline Bench Really Measures
The same press, aimed higher up the chest.
Tilting the bench changes the line of the press, so more of the work goes to the clavicular head of the pectoralis major and the front delts and less to the sternal chest. The triceps still lock the rep out. Because the shoulder is doing more flexion and the chest is in a weaker line of pull, the load drops compared with a flat bench, and it drops further the steeper you set the bench.
That angle is the whole problem with comparing incline numbers. At 30 degrees the lift is close to a flat bench. At 45 degrees it is heading towards a shoulder press. Gym benches are rarely marked, and adjustable benches sometimes have detents that differ by ten degrees between brands. The figures here describe a bench set at roughly 30 to 45 degrees, which is where nearly everybody trains.
Where These Numbers Come From
Eighty percent of your flat bench, across all five levels.
Every level here is 80 percent of the flat bench press standard for the same bodyweight and sex, taken from our strength standards page. The two lifts use the same muscles in different proportions, and lifters who bench more incline more at a fairly steady rate, so a flat proportion is the honest model.
Eighty percent sits in the middle of the range people actually report, which runs from about 75 to 85 percent depending mostly on bench angle. If your own incline is at 85 percent of your flat bench, the bench is probably set shallow. If it is nearer 70 percent, it is probably set steep, or your front delts are the weak link.
| Level | Share of the flat bench press standard |
|---|---|
| Beginner | 80 percent |
| Novice | 80 percent |
| Intermediate | 80 percent |
| Advanced | 80 percent |
| Elite | 80 percent |
These standards are estimates derived from typical ratios to the main lifts, rounded to the nearest 5 lb. The bench, squat, deadlift and overhead press figures they are built on are the bodyweight-ratio approximations published on our strength standards page, which are aligned with widely used references in the strength and conditioning field including ExRx.net. Nothing here is measured lab data, and no table anywhere else has been copied. Treat every figure as a target to aim at, not a verdict on you.
Incline Bench Standards for Men
Estimated 1-rep max including the bar, by bodyweight.
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 lb | 45 lb | 65 lb | 90 lb | 130 lb | 175 lb |
| 130 lb | 50 lb | 80 lb | 105 lb | 155 lb | 210 lb |
| 150 lb | 60 lb | 90 lb | 120 lb | 180 lb | 240 lb |
| 170 lb | 70 lb | 100 lb | 135 lb | 205 lb | 270 lb |
| 190 lb (your bodyweight) | 75 lb | 115 lb | 150 lb | 230 lb | 305 lb |
| 210 lb | 85 lb | 125 lb | 170 lb | 250 lb | 335 lb |
| 230 lb | 90 lb | 140 lb | 185 lb | 275 lb | 370 lb |
| 250 lb | 100 lb | 150 lb | 200 lb | 300 lb | 400 lb |
Incline Bench Standards for Women
Estimated 1-rep max including the bar, by bodyweight.
| Bodyweight | Beginner | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 lb | 20 lb | 35 lb | 55 lb | 80 lb | 110 lb |
| 130 lb | 25 lb | 40 lb | 60 lb | 95 lb | 130 lb |
| 150 lb | 30 lb | 50 lb | 70 lb | 110 lb | 150 lb |
| 170 lb | 35 lb | 55 lb | 80 lb | 120 lb | 170 lb |
| 190 lb | 40 lb | 60 lb | 90 lb | 135 lb | 190 lb |
| 210 lb | 40 lb | 65 lb | 100 lb | 150 lb | 210 lb |
| 230 lb | 45 lb | 75 lb | 110 lb | 165 lb | 230 lb |
| 250 lb | 50 lb | 80 lb | 120 lb | 180 lb | 250 lb |
A Worked Example
One flat bench number, four inferences.
A 190 lb man benching the intermediate standard of 190 lb should be looking at an incline of 150 lb, with 230 lb as the advanced target. If he presses 115 lb on an incline for eight reps, the estimate is about 145 lb, which sits between the novice mark of 115 lb and intermediate.
That gap tells him something specific. His flat bench is at intermediate and his incline is not, so the upper chest and front delts are lagging behind the rest of his press. Two months of incline work as the first pressing movement of the week, rather than an afterthought at the end, usually closes that sort of gap.
What These Standards Cannot Tell You
An unmarked bench angle makes every comparison approximate.
There is no standard incline. Two lifters both saying 185 lb may be pressing at 30 and 45 degrees, which is a real difference of maybe fifteen percent. Note the notch you use, use the same one every time and be wary of comparing your incline against anybody else's.
Arch and setup change the number too, and on an incline they change it in a way most people do not notice. A big arch flattens the effective angle and moves the lift towards a flat bench. If your incline number jumps suddenly, check whether your setup drifted before you credit it to training.
More Tools
Compare your pressing across every angle and implement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about these standards.
How much should I be able to incline bench?
At 190 lb bodyweight the intermediate incline bench is about 150 lb and the advanced mark about 230 lb. At 140 lb an intermediate woman is near 65 lb. Enter your bodyweight above to see your own figures.
What is the average incline bench weight?
For a 190 lb man who trains regularly, an honest estimated single sits between the novice and intermediate rows, about 115 to 150 lb, which means working sets of eight near 115 to 135 lb including the bar.
What percentage of my flat bench should my incline be?
About 80 percent, which is the ratio behind these tables. Anywhere from 75 to 85 percent is normal, with the main variable being how steeply the bench is set.
What angle should the incline bench be?
Around 30 degrees emphasises the upper chest while keeping the load high. Going past 45 degrees turns the lift steadily into a shoulder press. These standards assume something in the 30 to 45 degree range.
Does the bar weight count in these numbers?
Yes. Every figure is the total load including a 45 lb Olympic bar. If your gym uses a lighter fixed bar on the incline station, count its actual weight.
How are these incline bench standards calculated?
Each level is 80 percent of the flat bench press standard for the same bodyweight and sex, rounded to the nearest 5 lb. They are estimates derived from a typical ratio between the two lifts.