Hey BBM,
Is there any reason to include incline bench in a program that also includes flat benching and overhead pressing? Does incline bench lead to increased hypertrophy in the clavicular region of the pecs or would including it be a good idea to prevent overuse compared to flat benching 2x a week? I don’t compete.
MJetti8,
I think the incline bench press is a fine pressing variation, though there’s no reason it must be done unless you really want to get good at incline benching. I do not think the existing evidence supports the superiority of the incline bench to other bench angles for chest hypertrophy, despite what people claim. Similarly, I think the idea that folks don’t need to incline bench if they’re flat benching and overhead pressing to be one of the sillier sentiments. Training purely horizontal and purely vertical pressing does not adequately train the middle from a strength perspective. If you’re not competing in powerlifting, I think you should be doing some incline pressing unless you really hate it.
-Jordan