Barbell Incline Shoulder Raise

What it is

This movement utilizes a barbell on an incline bench to target your shoulder strength and mobility. It primarily engages your shoulders, with secondary activation in your chest. You perform a raise by lifting the bar through the movement of your shoulder blades.

Technique tips

• Use a medium grip, slightly wider than your shoulders.
• Keep your arms straight throughout the entire exercise.
• Lift the bar by raising your shoulders from the bench.
• Exhale as you raise the barbell, inhale on the way down.
• Focus on protracting your shoulder blades to initiate the lift.
• Control the barbell's return to the starting position.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.