Is this a chest exercise or a shoulder exercise?

It works both, and at this steep bench angle the front deltoid does a large share of the pressing. In a study of trained adults bench pressing a barbell at five bench angles, the front deltoid was the most active muscle measured at 45 and 60 degrees, while the middle and lower chest grew less active as the bench rose. For more upper chest work, lower the backrest to around 30 degrees.

Where should the pulley be set?

Set it at its lowest position, behind the bench on the side of your working arm, so the cable runs up to your hand roughly along the path of the press. A pulley placed too far behind or out to the side pulls the arm backward or sideways and makes the press harder to control.

Why press with one arm instead of two?

Working one side at a time keeps a stronger side from carrying a weaker one, and your trunk has to resist being pulled into rotation, which adds a stability demand. It also needs only one cable column, while the two-handed version needs a pulley on each side.

How heavy should I go?

Choose a weight you can press for every rep without twisting, shrugging or cutting the range short, and finish all reps on one side before switching. Add load in small steps once the last reps of a set still look the same as the first.

Can I do it with a dumbbell instead?

Yes. Pressing one dumbbell on a steep incline bench works the same muscles with gravity supplying the load instead of the pulley, and the two-arm version is the Dumbbell Incline Bench Press.

Cable Incline Single-Arm Bench Press

What Is the Cable Incline Single-Arm Bench Press?

Cable Incline Single-Arm Bench Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the chest and shoulders, working the upper chest and front deltoid together, and also engages the triceps, the serratus anterior and the trunk muscles that keep your body from twisting. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you sit on a steeply inclined bench in front of a low pulley and press a single handle from beside your shoulder until your arm is straight above it.

The bench in this variation is set steep, around 60 degrees, and the arm finishes close to overhead. That puts the movement between an incline chest press and a seated shoulder press, and the front deltoid takes a large share of the work. Lowering the backrest toward 30 to 45 degrees shifts more of the pressing onto the upper chest, which is how the two-handed Cable Incline Bench Press is usually set up.

Pressing with one arm lets each side work on its own, so a stronger side cannot cover for a weaker one, and it makes your trunk resist being pulled into rotation toward the working side. The cable runs from the low pulley behind the bench up to your hand, so it pulls down roughly along the line of the press, and it lets you change the load in small steps and get into position without hauling a heavy dumbbell up to your shoulder.

The exercise suits lifters who already press with good shoulder control and want an accessory for the upper chest and front shoulder, or a way to even out differences between the left and right sides. It usually sits after the main pressing work of a session, done for moderate to high reps with a load you can control. If it is too hard to keep steady, build up first with the two-handed Cable Incline Bench Press or the Dumbbell Incline Bench Press, which share the work between both arms.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Deltoid: Primary
Pectoralis Major: Primary
Triceps Brachii (Lateral Head): High
Triceps Brachii (Medial Head): High
Serratus Anterior: Medium
Triceps Brachii (Long Head): Medium
External Oblique: Low
Upper Trapezius: Low
Rectus Abdominis: Minimal

Instructions

Set the pulley of a cable column to its lowest position and attach a single handle.
Place an adjustable bench in front of the column, facing away from it, and set the backrest to a steep incline of around 60 degrees so the cable runs from the low pulley behind you up to your working hand.
Take the handle in one hand, sit down and lean back so your head, upper back and hips rest on the pad, with your feet planted wide on the floor.
Hold the handle beside your shoulder at about chin height, palm facing forward, with your elbow bent and pointing down and slightly out, just in front of your body.
Brace your trunk, set your shoulder blade back and down against the pad, and rest your free hand on your thigh or the bench.
Press the handle straight up until your arm is extended above your shoulder, stopping just short of a hard lockout.
Lower the handle under control along the same path to the side of your shoulder, without letting the cable pull your elbow behind your body.
Finish all reps on one side, then move the bench so the pulley sits behind your other shoulder and repeat with the other arm.

Common Mistakes

Twisting toward the working side
Letting the chest and hips rotate toward the pressing arm shifts the work onto a twisting trunk, so brace and keep both shoulders against the pad.
Shrugging at the top
Letting the shoulder ride up toward the ear as the arm straightens hands the top of the rep to the upper trapezius and crowds the front of the shoulder.
Flaring the elbow straight out
Pressing with the upper arm out to the side in line with the body puts more stress on the front of the shoulder than keeping the elbow slightly in front of the torso.
Letting the cable pull the arm back
Dropping the handle quickly lets the cable yank the elbow behind the body at the bottom, which strains the front of the shoulder.
Arching off the bench
Lifting the lower back and chest off the pad to drive the handle up turns the press into a lean and loads the lower back.
Using too much weight
A load heavy enough to force twisting, shrugging or a shortened range trains the compensation rather than the press.

Injuries

Cable Incline Single-Arm Bench Press is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The bench supports your back, the load is usually moderate, and a cable handle cannot drop onto you, but the steep angle takes the arm close to overhead, so the shoulder is where problems tend to show up.

The front of the shoulder and the rotator cuff take the most strain when the elbow flares straight out to the side, when the shoulder rolls forward or shrugs toward the ear at the top, or when the cable is allowed to pull the elbow behind the body at the bottom. Keep the shoulder blade set back and down against the pad, keep the elbow slightly in front of your body, lower the handle under control and stop just short of a hard lockout. Twisting toward the working side or arching the lower back off the pad moves stress onto the spine, so brace your trunk and start with a light load after warming up the shoulders.

If the steep angle pinches your shoulder, lower the backrest toward 30 to 45 degrees or switch to the two-handed Cable Incline Bench Press, which keeps the arm further from overhead. The Landmine Single-Arm Press is another one-arm option with an angled rather than vertical path. To progress, add load in small steps, slow the lowering phase or pause briefly with the handle beside the shoulder.

Stop the set if you feel sharp or pinching pain in the front or top of the shoulder, pain that runs down the arm, or clicking that comes with pain, and have a clinician or physical therapist check shoulder pain that keeps returning.

Overview

Primary Focus: Chest and shoulders
Equipment: Cable and bench
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this a chest exercise or a shoulder exercise?: It works both, and at this steep bench angle the front deltoid does a large share of the pressing. In a study of trained adults bench pressing a barbell at five bench angles, the front deltoid was the most active muscle measured at 45 and 60 degrees, while the middle and lower chest grew less active as the bench rose. For more upper chest work, lower the backrest to around 30 degrees.
Q: Where should the pulley be set?: Set it at its lowest position, behind the bench on the side of your working arm, so the cable runs up to your hand roughly along the path of the press. A pulley placed too far behind or out to the side pulls the arm backward or sideways and makes the press harder to control.
Q: Why press with one arm instead of two?: Working one side at a time keeps a stronger side from carrying a weaker one, and your trunk has to resist being pulled into rotation, which adds a stability demand. It also needs only one cable column, while the two-handed version needs a pulley on each side.
Q: How heavy should I go?: Choose a weight you can press for every rep without twisting, shrugging or cutting the range short, and finish all reps on one side before switching. Add load in small steps once the last reps of a set still look the same as the first.
Q: Can I do it with a dumbbell instead?: Yes. Pressing one dumbbell on a steep incline bench works the same muscles with gravity supplying the load instead of the pulley, and the two-arm version is the Dumbbell Incline Bench Press.