Flat Bench vs Incline Bench

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hi friends!!

Flat barbell bench press has been a staple of mine for years, and recently I have decided to mix things up a bit and change my routine around.
Im considering swapping flat bench press for incline bench press.
I train for strength. For a closer look at my training log you can check out my log: http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/blog_sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_log/the_bird_cage_2_aviar_dreams

Questions:
What degree of incline should I be using? What percentage of flat bench press should I expect to be incline bench pressing? What different muscles will I be recruiting, what should I expect in terms of change in phyique as I progress? Whats the deal with the form when doing incline, do I still want to arch my back?

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2

Approximately 30 degrees, kind of personal though… a shallower angle means more chest (upper), and an angle closer to perpendicular means more shoulder (front delt).

My strength percentage is around 80… idk how this compares to the general population. I would be curious to know.

I would suggest continuing to arch your back and driving with your feet if you’re at all concerned with power/weight

As far as physique, expect enhanced delts, front especially, and upper chest, although I would accent the barbell pressing with some dumbbells.

I wouldn’t totally remove flat from the equation, although this is up to you. I would maintain some flat work, not necessarily every week, whether it be bb or db

3

I used to hardly train with incline bench press but the new program I’m on includes both incline and flat. All I know is my incline is absolutely trash compared to my flat bench so if it seems like its going south for you dont worry too much youll get the hang of it.

4

[quote]theBird wrote:
Hi friends!!

Flat barbell bench press has been a staple of mine for years, and recently I have decided to mix things up a bit and change my routine around.
Im considering swapping flat bench press for incline bench press.
I train for strength. For a closer look at my training log you can check out my log: The Bird Cage - Training Logs - Forums - T Nation

Questions:
What degree of incline should I be using? What percentage of flat bench press should I expect to be incline bench pressing? What different muscles will I be recruiting, what should I expect in terms of change in phyique as I progress? Whats the deal with the form when doing incline, do I still want to arch my back?

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Back when i was doing heavy singles, doubles and triples. I always noticed that you can lift approx. 100lbs more in the bench press than the incline press.

5

^^ You are a moron, “approx 100 more on flat than incline” Do you even work out Rogue Vampire?

I am pretty sure all you do is eat twinkies and troll, update pics or GTFO

6

[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
^^ You are a moron, “approx 100 more on flat than incline” Do you even work out Rogue Vampire?

I am pretty sure all you do is eat twinkies and troll, update pics or GTFO[/quote]

#burn

7

fwiw i prefer flat, if i do incline i do it at around 20 degrees or so, any higher than that and for me it

becomes a delt/tri dominant exercise (for me) so much so i do high incline press on shoulder days!

8

I do both, albeit my flat is far more frequent. I did 3x3 at 90kg incline the other day then 5x3 at 110kg flat and the flat was easier. The incline creates a lot more shoulder stress and soreness for me (going all the way to the chest) but it also seems to pump my chest more. I would start with DB’s to get used to the motion, then go to the bar if you want.

9

[quote]theBird wrote:
Hi friends!!

Flat barbell bench press has been a staple of mine for years, and recently I have decided to mix things up a bit and change my routine around.
Im considering swapping flat bench press for incline bench press.
I train for strength. For a closer look at my training log you can check out my log: The Bird Cage - Training Logs - Forums - T Nation

Questions:
What degree of incline should I be using? What percentage of flat bench press should I expect to be incline bench pressing? What different muscles will I be recruiting, what should I expect in terms of change in phyique as I progress? Whats the deal with the form when doing incline, do I still want to arch my back?

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  1. Use a degree you feel most comfortable/strongest with.

  2. The strength carryover is individual (and does not really matter).

  3. You are not recruiting any different muscles.

  4. A bigger chest.

  5. Your form should still be the same (yes, arch your back).

10

Bird

Try this. Instead of worrying about incline degrees and such, next time you do flat bench press, do them with your shoulders shrugged up towards your ears. You might have to go a bit lighter at first. Do several sets to near failure, then determine where you feel sore next day. I’ll bet you’ll have a wonderful soreness in your upper pecs!

11

[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
^^ You are a moron, “approx 100 more on flat than incline” Do you even work out Rogue Vampire?

I am pretty sure all you do is eat twinkies and troll, update pics or GTFO[/quote]

Wow, such anger. So, your saying a persons bench and incline are equal. Twinkies, lol. Do you wait for me to post, to spout your anger. I have been, I guaran dammm tee, i’ve been lifting alot longer than you. I said, from what i have noticed, whatever you can do for a 1 rep max in the incline, you should be able, and i said approx, 100lbs more in the bench press.

Do I even workout? lol. Ummm no, the hulk in my avi. is someone else, lol.

12

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
Do I even workout? lol. Ummm no, the hulk in my avi. is someone else, lol. [/quote]

lol Nothing to add here…

S

13

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
I said, from what i have noticed, whatever you can do for a 1 rep max in the incline, you should be able, and i said approx, 100lbs more in the bench press. [/quote]

So guys, that means you noobs out there who can only bench 1plate can’t even incline bench the bar.

100 pounds is completely arbitrary. Use your brain and at least come up with an approximate percentage.

14

[quote]anonanon wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
I said, from what i have noticed, whatever you can do for a 1 rep max in the incline, you should be able, and i said approx, 100lbs more in the bench press. [/quote]

So guys, that means you noobs out there who can only bench 1plate can’t even incline bench the bar.

100 pounds is completely arbitrary. Use your brain and at least come up with an approximate percentage.[/quote]

I was talking more about guys that have been lifting for awhile. I was just stating something that I noticed personally with myself.

15

Have you noticed an increase in cholesterol and blood pressure from being over weight

16

[quote]roguevampire wrote:

[quote]anonanon wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
I said, from what i have noticed, whatever you can do for a 1 rep max in the incline, you should be able, and i said approx, 100lbs more in the bench press. [/quote]

So guys, that means you noobs out there who can only bench 1plate can’t even incline bench the bar.

100 pounds is completely arbitrary. Use your brain and at least come up with an approximate percentage.[/quote]

I was talking more about guys that have been lifting for awhile. I was just stating something that I noticed personally with myself. [/quote]

Not to defend the Vampire, but the guy did say when he was going heavy, doing singles and doubles. Assuming, he is real, lets just for kicks say he benched 500 flat, then it would actually be reasonable to only bench 400 or so incline. roughly 80%, honestly you guys should just read the posts a little less critically, his post is no more useless than those saying, ‘dont worry about it’ or ‘who cares’ it wouldnt hurt to do a little deduction on your own

17

[quote]bignate wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:

[quote]anonanon wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
I said, from what i have noticed, whatever you can do for a 1 rep max in the incline, you should be able, and i said approx, 100lbs more in the bench press. [/quote]

So guys, that means you noobs out there who can only bench 1plate can’t even incline bench the bar.

100 pounds is completely arbitrary. Use your brain and at least come up with an approximate percentage.[/quote]

I was talking more about guys that have been lifting for awhile. I was just stating something that I noticed personally with myself. [/quote]

Not to defend the Vampire, but the guy did say when he was going heavy, doing singles and doubles. Assuming, he is real, lets just for kicks say he benched 500 flat, then it would actually be reasonable to only bench 400 or so incline. roughly 80%, honestly you guys should just read the posts a little less critically, his post is no more useless than those saying, ‘dont worry about it’ or ‘who cares’ it wouldnt hurt to do a little deduction on your own[/quote]

I agree with what you’re saying - I was partially being a dick because it’s RV. That said though, I have no idea how much he benches. He may bench 500, or he may bench 200 (does he even lift?). If he mentioned that it would make sense, we could get a rough percentage from it. But without that info, ‘100 pounds’ is arbitrary and useless.

18

[quote]anonanon wrote:

[quote]bignate wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:

[quote]anonanon wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
I said, from what i have noticed, whatever you can do for a 1 rep max in the incline, you should be able, and i said approx, 100lbs more in the bench press. [/quote]

So guys, that means you noobs out there who can only bench 1plate can’t even incline bench the bar.

100 pounds is completely arbitrary. Use your brain and at least come up with an approximate percentage.[/quote]

I was talking more about guys that have been lifting for awhile. I was just stating something that I noticed personally with myself. [/quote]

Not to defend the Vampire, but the guy did say when he was going heavy, doing singles and doubles. Assuming, he is real, lets just for kicks say he benched 500 flat, then it would actually be reasonable to only bench 400 or so incline. roughly 80%, honestly you guys should just read the posts a little less critically, his post is no more useless than those saying, ‘dont worry about it’ or ‘who cares’ it wouldnt hurt to do a little deduction on your own[/quote]

I agree with what you’re saying - I was partially being a dick because it’s RV. That said though, I have no idea how much he benches. He may bench 500, or he may bench 200 (does he even lift?). If he mentioned that it would make sense, we could get a rough percentage from it. But without that info, ‘100 pounds’ is arbitrary and useless.
[/quote]

this is true, but then again %'s are just as individual. prime example, 1RM calculators can be really accurate or way the fuck off depending on who you are, but ppl still use them as a ‘guideline’ in some cases. For posters, theres no way to know if they are who they are, so i generally go with what they want to be percieved as, RV wants to be percieved as big, strong, motherfucka, based on his pics benching less than 400-500 would just be stupid, so i judge his posts based on that, not who i think he is. Also glad this is a discussion not just a fucking fist fight haha, some of this shit i think applies to just reading posts in gneneral, i have noticed posters i know less about can be harder to reply to without pissing off.

19

[quote]theBird wrote:
Hi friends!!

Questions:
What degree of incline should I be using? What percentage of flat bench press should I expect to be incline bench pressing? What different muscles will I be recruiting, what should I expect in terms of change in phyique as I progress? Whats the deal with the form when doing incline, do I still want to arch my back?

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1/no more than 45°; if it is higher you do a MP ,with less angle (30ish) more pec involved&less tris,with a narrower grip (on incline) more pec clavicular portion (upper chest) involvement

2/everyone is different (arms lenght,chest size,tris power etc etc),btw a 10-30% less than flat?

3/pec tendon is just one so you will stress up entire pec ( emphasizing a portion of it),about physique changes; if you are genetically lucky a bigger chest,if no a bigger delts&tris lol

4/you cant arch on incline like on flat btw ,imo, you have to slightly arch your back to put shoulders in a safety position

20

Thanks friends for all of your useful advice. I was at the gym this morning, and someone was using the squat rack and incline bench to bench, so I only had the fixed flat bench to use. So hence I did flat bench press again this morning, but I will try incline next week. Thanks again.

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Try this. Instead of worrying about incline degrees and such, next time you do flat bench press, do them with your shoulders shrugged up towards your ears. You might have to go a bit lighter at first. Do several sets to near failure, then determine where you feel sore next day. I’ll bet you’ll have a wonderful soreness in your upper pecs![/quote]

Cereal?

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