What equipment do you need for the cable incline bench press?

You need crossover cable and incline bench to do the cable incline bench press.

What is a good cable incline bench press?

For men, a good cable incline bench press is about a 62.5 lb estimated one-rep max, the Gold (intermediate) standard in Kovo. Beginners start near 20 lb and elite lifters pass 205 lb. For women, the standards run from about 20 lb to 205 lb. The tier table above lists every rank from Bronze to Champion.

Chest · Cable

Cable Incline Bench Press

How to do the cable incline bench press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.

Equipment: Cable
Difficulty: Advanced
Logged as: Weighted reps
Movement: Horizontal Press
Mechanic: Compound

Find more:Chest exercises Cable exercises

How to do it

Set cables to a low position and lie on an incline bench. Press the handles upward and slightly together, squeezing your chest at the top.

1Squeeze your chest as you press or bring your arms together; the effort should come from your pecs
2Press straight out from your chest with elbows at a comfortable angle; you should feel your chest and triceps
3Move deliberately and with control rather than relying on speed or momentum

Common mistakes

Don't feel pain or strain in unrelated areas; adjust your load or range if you do
Don't flare your elbows too wide or bounce the weight; avoid excessive arching in your lower back
Don't use momentum or rush through the reps, quality trumps quantity

Muscles worked

The cable incline bench press mainly works the upper chest and mid chest, with the triceps, lower chest, and front delts assisting.

Upper ChestPrimary
Mid ChestPrimary
TricepsSupport
Lower ChestSupport
Front DeltsSupport
ForearmsMinor
Upper AbsMinor

Cable Incline Bench Press strength standards

See how your cable incline bench press ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.

Bronzee1RM20 lb
Silvere1RM42.5 lb
Golde1RM62.5 lb
Platinume1RM100 lb
Diamonde1RM160 lb
Champione1RM205 lb

Find your rank

Enter your best set. We estimate your 1RM and match it to a tier.

Weight (lb)Reps

Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.

Kovo programs the cable incline bench press for you and tracks it every session.

We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.

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More chest exercises

See all chest exercises →

Last reviewed April 2026.