Push exercise selection

[Kenneth Watts]

Joe,

I have been working with incline Db press and reverse banded high incline smith as my big output movements for the last 6 weeks or so. I’ve made progress on those lifts and have been able to increase load while maintaining proper execution.

On my push workout this week I tried doing a very low incline (10-20 degrees) Smith press as my 2nd movement instead of the high incline. I definitely felt activation and feel soreness now in the bottom half of my pec significantly more than I normally do when I just do my normal 2 main movements.

I know soreness is usually attributed to a new type of stimulus, would you say that this is the case, or did I maybe address a weak point in my physique? I would say that my “upper chest” is stronger/more developed compared to my lower pec fibers. Do you think this is a lift I should be incorporating more regularly?

[Joe]

Joe,

I have been working with incline Db press and reverse banded high incline smith as my big output movements for the last 6 weeks or so. I’ve made progress on those lifts and have been able to increase load while maintaining proper execution.

On my push workout this week I tried doing a very low incline (10-20 degrees) Smith press as my 2nd movement instead of the high incline. I definitely felt activation and feel soreness now in the bottom half of my pec significantly more than I normally do when I just do my normal 2 main movements.

I know soreness is usually attributed to a new type of stimulus, would you say that this is the case, or did I maybe address a weak point in my physique? I would say that my “upper chest” is stronger/more developed compared to my lower pec fibers. Do you think this is a lift I should be incorporating more regularly?

[Kenneth Watts]

Awesome, thank you so much!! I definitely still enjoy the high incline too and have seen benefits since I’ve started to incorporate that. I know some athletes will rotate a movement in every other or every 3rd workout (for example 2 workouts of incline Db/low incline smith, then 1 workout of incline Db/high incline smith) . Obviously they’re not “switching it up” to “confuse the muscle”, rather I’m guessing they’re recognizing both movements have benefits. Do you like this approach, or is it better just to pick your main movements and stick to them 100%? Thanks again for your advice, always very appreciated!

[Joe]

Kenneth Watts wrote:

Awesome, thank you so much!! I definitely still enjoy the high incline too and have seen benefits since I’ve started to incorporate that. I know some athletes will rotate a movement in every other or every 3rd workout (for example 2 workouts of incline Db/low incline smith, then 1 workout of incline Db/high incline smith) . Obviously they’re not “switching it up” to “confuse the muscle”, rather I’m guessing they’re recognizing both movements have benefits. Do you like this approach, or is it better just to pick your main movements and stick to them 100%? Thanks again for your advice, always very appreciated!

[Kenneth Watts]

Makes total sense, I’ll experiment with a couple different approaches and see what fits best. The incline Db is a real staple for me and one I feel I progress well on, so probably will keep that as a main stay and rotate the 2nd movement depending on where I feel like I’m making the most progress. Thanks again joe!

[Author]

Posts