Press vs bench

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

I’ve recently had an awakening that despite benching 3 times a week and trying to get stronger in the bench , I really just don’t enjoy it that much. When I go to put up heavier weight , I struggle to get amped up or excited like I do with ohp squat and deadlift. So I think what I want to do is replace bench with ohp as my main pressing movement. Question is , have you found that there’s any differences in how you program between the 2 being that they’re both pressing movements?

Right now now since it wasn’t a main movement , I’ve had a light day and a heavy day. Just adding 5 pounds to the bar every week , figure I’ll do this until progress stalls and then add in maybe pin presses. As for bench do you feel I should still continue to dabble in heavier weights for increased pressing ability or could I take a completely hypertrophy standpoint with it now

2

We tend to program similarly for them, depending on which one a lifter prefers to specialize in. On average, both seem to benefit from higher frequencies, and may benefit from a bit more frequent exposure to higher intensities compared to the squat and deadlift. The amount of variation used is a bit more individualized and up to personal preference. I’d definitely keep at least some bench pressing in the picture, though.

2 Likes
3

Awesome thanks doc !