Barbell Incline Shoulder Raise

Also called incline shoulder raise, scapular protraction and serratus press.

Works

Shoulders, plus chest

Equipment

Barbell

Level

Beginner

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. Lie back on an Incline Bench. Using a medium width grip (a grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width), lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms straight. This will be your starting position.

1. While keeping the arms straight, lift the bar by protracting your shoulder blades, raising the shoulders from the bench as you breathe out.
2. Bring back the bar to the starting position as you breathe in.
3. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Arms locked straight.
• Push the bar up with the shoulders.
• Lower until the blades touch the bench.
• Small range, slow pace.

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows.
• Shrugging toward the ears.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

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