Choosing press exercises

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

When running the beginner template (or any other where this is relevant) there are multiple press exercises that can be chosen. Paused, pin, close grip, incline, etc. This is great for dealing with equipment limitations but assuming no equipment limitations what factors should drive selection other than preference for general strength gains? Could you point me to any material that outlines some benefits of each lift perhaps?

Practically, the template defaults to include incline bench press in the second phase. I don’t have an incline bench but purchasing one wouldn’t be an issue. Alternatively I could swap for 2 ct paused bench press, or some other allowed press in the template. What are the factors that should be considered?

thanks!

2

GW,

There’s a pretty in-depth section on exercise selection considerations in the accompanying PDF to that template. However, we don’t discuss specific benefits for each variant to a particular lift because there’s going to be so much variance between individuals in how they respond.

Briefly, as far as the incline bench vs 2ct paused bench press vs another press variant- say a shoulder-level pin press:

  1. The 2ct paused bench press is most useful for improving bench press strength. It focuses on the isometric portion of the lift and forces the lifter to maintain appropriate posture throughout the rep.
  2. The incline bench transfers a bit to both the bench press and overhead press strength-wise, but isn’t that great for either IMO. It’s more for “general” strength training and variation to improve movement proficiency/tolerance.
  3. The shoulder-level pin press is most useful for improving overhead press strength. It focuses on the concentric portion of the lift and forces the lifter to select the correct bar path to be successful. I think in the Beginner Template, I’d pick the incline bench here. No need to specialize IMO.

-Jordan

2 Likes
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Thanks Jordan - I purchased the template in May 2019 so maybe my version is out of date but, my pdf has about a half page on the exercise selection which is focused on how to operate the template. Then there’s the section at the end with the demo videos. Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place. The info you provided is the type of info I’m looking for, very helpful.