Incline Machine Fly

How to do it

1. Adjust the seat so the handles line up with your upper chest when you sit back on the inclined pad.
2. Sit with your back and head against the pad and your feet flat.
3. Grab the handles with the arms open wide and the elbows slightly bent.
4. Bring the handles together in front of your upper chest in a smooth arc.
5. Let them return slowly until you feel a stretch, without letting the plates touch down.

Tips

• Keep your back pressed into the pad so the chest does the work.
• Squeeze for a second where the handles meet.

Common mistakes

• Setting the seat so low that the shoulders shrug forward.
• Letting the stack slam between reps.
• Pushing with the hands and bending the elbows more at the end.

Muscles worked by the Incline Machine Fly

• Upper chest Primary37%
• Mid chest Primary35%
• Front delts Secondary12%
• Lower chest Minor6%
• Serratus anterior Stabilizer5%
• Biceps (short head) Minor5%

Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.

An upward line of pull matches the clavicular fibres. Fixed arc, seated, little stabilising. A fly is pure shoulder horizontal adduction with the elbow fixed, so the pec does nearly all the work and the triceps drop out.

Incline Machine Fly alternatives

Same equipment

• Single Arm Pec DeckMachine
• Pec DeckMachine

Different equipment

• Incline Cable FlyCable
• Incline Dumbbell FlyDumbbell
• Low Cable FlyCable
• Band FlyResistance band

Make it harder

• Incline Cable FlyCable
• Incline Dumbbell FlyDumbbell
• Single Arm Pec DeckMachine
• Flat Bench Cable FlyCable

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the Incline Machine Fly work?

Mainly the upper chest and mid chest. The front delts assist.

Is the Incline Machine Fly good for beginners?

Yes. The Incline Machine Fly is rated beginner in the Zulta library: the technique is easy to learn with a light weight.

What is a good alternative to the Incline Machine Fly?

For example the Incline Cable Fly, Incline Dumbbell Fly and Low Cable Fly. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.

How do you make the Incline Machine Fly harder?

Add weight or reps, or move on to the Incline Cable Fly and Incline Dumbbell Fly.

Sources

• Welsch et al. 2005, JSCR 19(2):449-452 (bench, incline, fly)
• Solstad et al. 2020, J Sports Sci Med 19(4):645-651 (bench press vs fly)

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