The Effect of Different Incline Angles on the Neuromuscular Activation of the Clavicular Head of the Pectoralis Major Muscle During the Barbell Incline Bench Press Exercise

The bench press is one of the most commonly performed exercises targeting the Pectoralis Major (PM) muscle. However, different inclination degrees of this exercise engage different parts of the muscle. This study aimed to analyze the effect of different incline angles on the neuromuscular activation of the clavicular head of the PM muscle performed on a barbell incline bench press. Twenty young males volunteered to perform 8 repetitions of the barbell incline bench press at 60% of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) at incline angles of 20°, 32°, and 43°. The neuromuscular activation of the PM muscle was recorded via electromyography during the concentric phase of the movement. The root mean square (in mV) was calculated for each repetition and averaged for each angle. The data obtained were analyzed using a repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc corrections (α = 0.017) to evaluate differences between the angles. The root mean square (in mV) at 20° (0.59 ± 0.29 mV) was statistically significantly lower [F (2,18) = 5.55, p = 0.013, η2 = 0.381] compared to 32° (0.64 ± 0.32 mV) and 43° (0.66 ± 0.34 mV) (p 0.05). Performing the incline barbell bench press at an angle above 32° can lead to significantly higher neuromuscular activation of the clavicular head of the PM muscle, with 43° being the most beneficial.