Incline press weight by brand: stacks, starting weight and what the pin means

What the number means on an incline press

An incline press is a chest press with the seat back reclined, so you push up and forward instead of straight ahead. The angle moves more of the work to the upper chest and the front of the shoulders, and it also changes how the load reaches your hands: the same weight does not feel the same at a steeper or a flatter angle, and the angle is set by each manufacturer's frame, not by a standard.

The arms differ too. Converging arms travel on an arc and come together as you press; straight-line arms move parallel. Between the weight and the handles there may be a cable, pulleys, a cam or a lever arm. Each of these changes how much of the weight reaches your hands, and how it changes from the bottom of the press to lockout.

Selectorized incline presses have a weight stack: the stack weight is the total of the plates, and the number under the pin is how many of them you lift. Plate-loaded incline presses have no stack: you load plates on the arms, and the empty arm already has a weight of its own. Either way, the same pin number or the same plates on two brands is not the same load.

Converting a load between two of these machines needs a force curve for both. None has one yet, so the comparator answers "No data yet" for every pair.

How do weight stacks compare between brands?Plate-loaded vs selectorized machines: why the numbers differ

Selectorized incline presses, brand by brand

Stack weights and, where the manufacturer publishes them, the weight increment and the maximum load, quoted word for word with the link and the date we read it. When a machine is sold with a standard and a heavier optional stack, the manufacturer's own label under each row says which one it is: ask your gym which stack is fitted.

Atlantis Strength

Exigo

Nautilus (commercial)

Panatta

Most manufacturers do not state the increment between pins on their product page; where no increment row is shown, it is not stated (no data yet).

No data yet Brands in the catalog without a selectorized incline press (no data yet):

Technogymgym80Hammer StrengthLife FitnessCybexMatrix FitnessPrecorPrime FitnessArsenal StrengthWatson Gym EquipmentHoist Fitness

Pin setting versus the load in your hands

No data yet No incline press has an estimated or measured force curve yet, and none has a mechanical model yet (no data yet). Until one is measured, compare these machines by feel: start light on a new brand and work up.

Plate-loaded incline presses

No stack here: you load plates on a lever arm, often one per side (iso-lateral), and the empty arm already has a weight of its own. What the manufacturer may state is that starting resistance, per arm or for the whole machine, and the maximum plate load, quoted below with the link and the date.

Plate-loaded starting weight by brand

No data yet Plate-loaded incline presses whose manufacturer states neither a starting resistance nor a maximum load (no data yet):

Exigo Iso-Lateral Incline Chest PressHammer Strength Iso-Lateral Incline PressNautilus (commercial) Leverage Incline PressPrime Fitness Incline Press

How every figure is labelled

MachineConvert never invents a number. Each figure carries one of three levels, with its source link and the date it was read:

Measured

Read on the machine itself with a force gauge, following the measurement protocol, with a proof (continuous video or photos) and the date.

Manufacturer

Quoted word for word from the manufacturer's official page or document, in the units printed there, with the link and the date it was read. A stack weight says what the plates weigh, not what you feel at the handle.

Estimated

Computed from a mechanical model of the machine (lever, cam or pulley) built from sourced inputs. Each estimate shows its method, its error band and a derivation page, and is marked as not verified by measurement.

MethodologyData rules

Help fill the gaps

If you train on one of these machines and have a force gauge or a luggage scale, a measurement is the fastest way to turn "No data yet" into a real comparison. Every submission is reviewed before it is published.

Share a measurementOpen the comparatorAll brandsCoverage by machine group

Incline presses in the catalog

Arsenal Strength Reloaded Iso Incline PressAtlantis Strength Converging Chest Press: Incline DesignExigo Incline Chest PressExigo Iso-Lateral Incline Chest PressHammer Strength Iso-Lateral Incline PressHoist Fitness Incline Chest PressLife Fitness Plate Loaded Incline PressNautilus (commercial) Impact Incline PressNautilus (commercial) Leverage Incline PressPanatta Inclined Chest Press CircularPrecor Incline PressPrime Fitness Incline Press

Related guides

Panatta starting weight: what every catalogued machine weighs emptyChest press weight stacks by brand: Technogym vs Life Fitness vs Hammer StrengthShoulder press weight by brand: stacks, increments and what the pin meansPlate-loaded machine starting weight by brand: what the empty machine weighsHow to convert machine weight between gyms and brandsPlate-loaded vs selectorized machines: why the numbers differ