A mistake I see many trainees make, new and seasoned alike, is to stick with the same exercise week after week, month after month, and wonder why progress has stagnated. It is best for new trainees to stick to the same exercise for a period of time to establish a base but, at some point, the stimuli must be changed or progress will be halted.
There are multiple ways to change the stimuli including sets, reps, load, and rest periods along with more advanced methods such as rest pause sets, strip sets, or an all out overhaul of the entire training program.
However, in this series of articles, we will be looking at exercise variations to spur new growth. Not only is swapping exercises great for blasting through plateaus, but it is also beneficial for any lifts prescribed in a program that may be aggravating an old (or new) injury. In this case, the trainee would just swap the exercise that caused the aggravation with one that has the same movement pattern but does not cause pain.
As stated before, this will be a series that will go through the main lifts and movement types to supply some ideas for trainees looking to mix up their sessions. Today we will be looking at the Bench Press.
Let’s jump in.
The bench press has long been a staple of strength, bodybuilding, and athletic training but, as many other lifts, it has its downfalls. While it is one of the best upper body strength and power exercises, it can leave something to be desired for bodybuilding/aesthetic purposes e.g., the difficulty of targeting the entire pectoral especially the upper pec. Other trainees will have joint problems that make the bench press impossible to do (although it is normally an easily fixed form mistake causing the discomfort) and some others have simply been training long enough that they need to alter their stimuli to spur new growth.
Whatever the reason, the similar exercises below can be swapped in and out for each other as needed as a horizontal push exercise. I will also detail how and why the exercise should be used in lieu of other horizontal push exercises.
Incline Barbell Bench Press – For when more upper chest and shoulder development is desired. Perfect first new movement for a newer trainee to swap out with.
Dumbbell Bench Press – As with the barbell bench press, the DB bench press can be done at different angles; the higher the angle, the more upper chest and shoulders will be used in the movement. DB presses should be used when more hypertrophy of the pectoral muscle is desired over pure upper body strength/power.
Bow Bar/Cambered Bar/Paused Rep Bench Press – This movement will create more strength and power off the chest in any pressing movements. If you do not have access to a cambered or bow bar, you can simply pause for a 2 count before exploding the weight off your chest.
Close Grip Bench Press – Use the close grip bench press when tricep size and strength are the goal. The close grip will also target more of the inner chest at the lockout position but will target more triceps overall.
Banded/Chained Bench Press – This exercise is done by either wrapping bands or hanging chains from the bar to add accommodating resistance at the top of the movement. This will make it harder at the lockout position where most people are stronger therefore creating better training stimuli.
Football Bar/Neutral Grip Bench Press – Like the close grip bench press, the football bar or neutral grip bench press will target more triceps than the standard press. In addition to this, they are also a favorite of trainees with shoulder problems as they allow the elbows to travel closer to the body protecting against shoulder impingement. As with the close grip press, these will allow for a better contraction of the inner chest at lockout as well.
Hopefully the preceding exercises will allow you to keep making progress, train through injuries, or bring up lagging muscle groups in the upper body horizontal push movement pattern. We will go over other movement patterns in upcoming newsletters; stay tuned.