Make the Most of the Weight Machines at Your Gym

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Make the Most of the Weight Machines at Your Gym

Incline Chest Press

Targets: Chest, shoulders (front), and triceps

Why it's key: It beats the on-your-back version for cleavage. "Using an incline bench positioned at 45 degrees engages more of your upper-chest muscles, because they're working against gravity," says FITNESS advisory board member John Porcari, PhD, professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

How to use it: "Place your hands on the bars six to 12 inches wider than your shoulders to work the most chest fibers," says trainer Brad Schoenfeld, author of Women's Home Workout Bible, "and keep your elbows in line with your hands, not pointing down." To target triceps, "grip with hands slightly narrower than shoulders," says Christopher Berger, PhD, an exercise physiologist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Watch a video of this exercise