Press and squeeze for upper-chest tension that lingers.
Never stop squeezing the dumbbells together. That tension is the magic.
Crushing the dumbbells together while you press turns the entire rep into a chest contraction: the pecs' job of driving the arms toward each other never switches off, from the bottom touch at your upper chest to the lockout. The incline points that constant tension at the upper chest, while the shoulders support the pressing angle and the triceps extend the elbows. It earns its place as a mind-muscle fixer and upper-chest finisher for lifters who press plenty but feel it all in their shoulders.
It adds a horizontal pressing force the whole rep. The chest fires by pulling the arms toward the midline, so mashing the bells together keeps the pecs maximally involved even at points where a normal press lets them relax.
Noticeably less than your usual incline press. If the dumbbells drift apart mid-rep, the load has beaten the squeeze and the exercise has stopped working. Pick a weight where you can crush them together hard from first rep to last.
Yes, that is the exercise. Press them together before the first rep and never let the pressure drop, up and down. The moment daylight appears between them you are doing a narrow press, not a squeeze press.
