5x5 incline bench instead of alternating bench/ohp

Training
1

Hey guys,

I started lifting once I got myself a power rack w/ lat attachment mid April.

I was doing 5x5 every other day including weekends for this reason: I hate the idea of 1 chest workout one week (Wednesday) and then the next week only one shoulder workout (doing ABA, BAB workouts 3x/week). Every other day at least had a little more frequent workouts, the most time between a muscle group was 3 days. But weekends are tricky, end up too busy and miss a workout then poof there goes that every other day theory.

I want more volume in a week and I don’t want to only hit chest/shoulders once in a week like I mentioned. Feels like 2 steps forward 1 step back with the 1 workout weeks

Instead of alternating days between Bench press and OHP, I want to try incline press to hit both. Pro, I hit both, con, I can’t lift as heavy as flat bench which is of course everybodies fave

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Squat - 5x5
Deadlift - 1x5
Cable rows - 5x5
30 or 45 degree bench press - 5x5 (if I had to choose, should I do 30 or 45? I’m aiming for 50/50 chest/shoulders)

I tried bench and OHP same day, doesn’t work. My triceps were done after bench press

Thanks anyone readying. If i set you up, roast away. I guess this isn’t reddit though

2

Not going to happen. If your triceps are tired add in laterals.

3

Am I to assume that you are doing full body MWF? What you are now alternating is OHP and Bench Press, correct?

4

what i was doing was:

ABA week 1, BAB week 2

A
squat
underhand cable row (targetting lats)
flat bench press

B
deadlift
overhand row (targetting upper back)
OHP

Yes I’m alternating those 2, I’d like to put them together to incline bench press. It hits both nicely. If that’s too many heavy reps or not enough rest throughout the week, i could do sets of 4 instead of 5 for example

5

Of the presses that I did, it boiled down to just three after the first decade.

  1. Barbell Bench Press
  2. Barbell Incline Press
  3. Seated barbell Behind the Neck Press

I did separate my Chest Days and my Shoulder Days. On Chest Days I would periodically alternate my first “heavy” exercise between the Bench Press and the Incline Press. The second exercise was always less relative weight. Primarily I led with the Bench Press. (Very often there was a Bench Press Party every Monday.)

It was my opinion that the Bench Press and Incline Press were frontal delt focused. I needed the Behind the Neck Press to activate more lateral delt work via a heavy compound movement. From a bodybuilders perspective I was much more delt and trap focused than I was pec focused.

If I didn’t have a Behind the Neck Press “machine” I would do an Overhead Press.

Now your situation would present me with a problem. I liked to train a split combined as Chest/Back, Legs, Shoulders/Arms. Given your current ABA/BAB workout, I would alternate the press that I would do first and heavy between the OHP and the Bench Press. (I will add that you would benefit by periodically switching the Bench Press and the Incline Press: Maybe a 80% Bench Press and 20% Incline Press ratio.)