45-Incline Press as the Only Pressing Exercise? Minimalism reasons.

[Fleischman]

Andy,
Back in 2011 here you said this about incline presses:

I often use inclines as an intro into an intermediate pressing program. Basically a version of the heavy/light/medium program.

Mon - Bench
Wed - Press
Fri - Incline

Generally this variation is made in one of two situations:

1. The client is mainly interested in aesthetics. Inclines are useful for this
2. The press is progressing very slowly. Inclines seem to aid the press more than they aid the bench in my opinion

Would the following be a third situation in which you'd use the 45-degree Press?:

3. The client is keen on Minimalism. 45-degree presses take place at the mid point in the upper-arm-to-torso angle between the Bench and the Overhead Presses, so the client opts to replace the two common pressing exercises with just one pressing exercise, the 45-degree Press.

Would you find it a reasonable or a farfetched compromise? Thank you,

Fleischman

[Ham]

Eventually you need more than one exercise. Do you also deadlift every workout?
Wouldn't a normal flat bench (+ the standing press) require the same equipment, ie one bench?
How long do you expect to make progress on the incline bench with just incline benching?

[Satch12879]

How does the 45 degree press train the rest of the kinetic chain involved in the press?

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Andy,
Back in 2011 here you said this about incline presses:



Would the following be a third situation in which you'd use the 45-degree Press?:

3. The client is keen on Minimalism. 45-degree presses take place at the mid point in the upper-arm-to-torso angle between the Bench and the Overhead Presses, so the client opts to replace the two common pressing exercises with just one pressing exercise, the 45-degree Press.

Would you find it a reasonable or a farfetched compromise? Thank you,

Fleischman

Even in a very minimalist strength program the Bench Press / Press combo is gonna be superior to just Inclines. It's not just about the angle at which we press. The full body nature of the Press (just you and the barbell out in space, standing on two feet, etc) is something unique it offers to us that other upper body movements do not. We lose a lot from the strength program when we exclude it. Plus, for keeping the shoulders healthy as we age, the Press is hard to beat, IMO. But the Press is very light, relatively. We keep the Bench Press in the program because it thoroughly trains the musculature of the pectorals and triceps and allows for significantly heavier loads to be lifted than either the Press or the Incline.

Trying to be too minimalist is a potential risk. For intermediate and advanced athletes you'll likely have to broaden your base of exercises you include in your programming.

[Fleischman]

Eventually you need more than one exercise. Do you also deadlift every workout?
Wouldn't a normal flat bench (+ the standing press) require the same equipment, ie one bench?
How long do you expect to make progress on the incline bench with just incline benching?

Ham, thank you for your reply. In considering replacing the Press and the Bench exercises with the 45-degree Incline Press I am not intending to save dollars on equipment. Only exploring a simpler approach, with only one pressing exercise to learn and keeping track of.

Regarding how often I deadlift: only yesterday we got our first home barbell equipment so have not gotten started yet. Getting ready to start soon. Since age is 52, I am considering the "Model 1 for Older Lifters" schedule in PPST3 (1 day on, 2 days off) in PPST3. If you have any tips for a beginner, I am all ears.

How does the 45 degree press train the rest of the kinetic chain involved in the press?

Satch, thank you for this question. You are right: the Incline Press is a seated exercise that will not train the lower body. If only (or Rip) could come up with a way to Standing 45-degree Incline Pressing...

Even in a very minimalist strength program the Bench Press / Press combo is gonna be superior to just Inclines. It's not just about the angle at which we press. The full body nature of the Press (just you and the barbell out in space, standing on two feet, etc) is something unique it offers to us that other upper body movements do not. We lose a lot from the strength program when we exclude it. Plus, for keeping the shoulders healthy as we age, the Press is hard to beat, IMO. But the Press is very light, relatively. We keep the Bench Press in the program because it thoroughly trains the musculature of the pectorals and triceps and allows for significantly heavier loads to be lifted than either the Press or the Incline.

Trying to be too minimalist is a potential risk. For intermediate and advanced athletes you'll likely have to broaden your base of exercises you include in your programming.

Andy, thank you for your detailed response. Is there a variation/modification of the regular Standing Press such that, while still training the shoulders, one can also train the pectorals & triceps some, even if not as much as with the Horizontal Bench Press?

Thank you everyone.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Satch, thank you for this question. You are right: the Incline Press is a seated exercise that will not train the lower body. If only (or Rip) could come up with a way to Standing 45-degree Incline Pressing...

Rip has already devised a program that does everything it needs to do. Maybe you should read the books.

[Matt James]

Is there a variation/modification of the regular Standing Press such that, while still training the shoulders, one can also train the pectorals & triceps some, even if not as much as with the Horizontal Bench Press?

The press doesn't train the pecs and triceps? I must be doing it wrong.

[Fleischman]

Rip has already devised a program that does everything it needs to do. Maybe you should read the books.

Fair enough. Currently reading through the 3rd revision of SSBBT3 and PPST3. The (mental?) quest for a single (instead of two) pressing exercise seems a reasonable one (even if a priori chimeric and in the end futile).

[Mark Rippetoe]

Fair enough. Currently reading through the 3rd revision of SSBBT3 and PPST3. The (mental?) quest for a single (instead of two) pressing exercise seems a reasonable one (even if a priori chimeric and in the end futile).

Why not a single "lower-body" exercise too?

[KeithI]

You’re trying to get rid of two valuable lifts for one that does nothing as well as either. Incline press is more complicated to learn than regular bench press and you don’t get to handle as much weight. And part of the benefit of pressing is that it is somewhat complicated, in that the kinetic chain uses pretty much everything. But it’s still simple enough that you’re less likely to hit your nose than you are with an incline press.