The first question you’re going to have is, “Will bench press reduce chest press?” and that’s a good starting point for most lifters.
It’s essential to plan your workout routine by understanding how the body responds to different angles and exercises.
For those wanting to develop their chest and triceps, it’s time to look into pressing movements such as the bench press and chest press.
This detailed guide will answer the question and shed light on whether or not it’s okay to bench press while improving your chest press.
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- Multiple Seat Positions
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The FLYBIRD Adjustable Bench is a highly-rated bench and offers a long list of advantages. It’s sturdy, made of robust materials, and has an aesthetically appealing look for your home gym. When it comes to the best adjustable bench for chest press, it is time to look at something as refined as this product.
With the simple adjustment mechanism, it takes no more than a few seconds to change the angle and continue with your workout routine.
Will Bench Press Reduce Chest Press?
In general, you are going to want to start by incorporating both movements into a workout routine.
This shouldn’t be done on the same day!
This is a mistake lifters make when it comes to the bench press and/or chest press. They do both of the movements one after the other.
Why is this an issue?
It fatigues the chest and triceps as soon as you begin the second movement. As a result, you’re going to assume the second exercise is getting weaker with each passing day! Instead, it has more to do with your endurance levels.
The best course of action to get a stronger bench press or chest press is to alternate exercises each time you workout the body part.
For example, you would split it as follows:
- Monday: Bench Press (Heavy)
- Wednesday: Chest Press (Heavy)
- Friday: Bench Press (Moderate)
- Sunday: Chest Press (Moderate)
This is just one example of how you can go about splitting up the movements. Of course, you are going to include other movements whenever you workout the chest to create a functional physique.
Start with this approach and you are never going to see a reduction in strength. It’s all about building towards getting stronger and continually increase the weights on both movements. Don’t sell yourself short in the gym!
Learn more about how to use the smith machine bench press in our detailed guide. It’s essential to recognize how you’re going to do the bench press before building a well-rounded workout program.
How To Increase Your Chest Press
Learn the Technique
You have to take the time to learn the technique, if you’re worried about getting weaker on this movement.
Too many people head to the gym and immediately rush to the bench press. This ensures they get stronger on the movement and continue to teach their body the movement pattern. You have to do the same with the chest press.
It’s the only way you are going to see amazing results and it’s going to develop the way you want it to.
If you only focus on the bench press, there is going to come a time when it’s impossible to get stronger on the chest press. You will start to stagnate and that’s going to frustrate you a lot. This means having to spend an even longer time to reprogram your movements. You will start to get bad habits and those become a real hurdle in your path towards gains.
Instead, you want to start to learn the right movement pattern to save energy on the chest press. This is how you are going to end up optimizing the lift and getting more leverage out of the “pushing” phase of a chest press.
When you do this, the results will pour in!
Use Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is essential when it comes to developing a strong chest.
When it is time to work on this movement, you should continue to add weight to the movement. This can be in small increments (i.e. 2.5 lbs.) if that is all you can do. The goal is to continue to get stronger until it is impossible to do so.
There is always a time in your progress when the weights can’t be increased. This tends to happen after 6-10 months.
At that point, you will have hit a plateau.
This means you have to start making adjustments to how you approach the chest press. There are several benefits of doing the chest press as long as you program your workout routine properly. The same applies to the bench press or any other movement at the gym.
To get stronger at the chest press, you will need to start taking your heaviest possible weight and increasing the reps by 1-2 per set.
Do this until the weight becomes easier to lift and your endurance levels skyrocket. This will ensure you burst through the plateau and get stronger.
It might not happen after a week or two, but it is going to happen as you continue to get stronger and build a bigger chest.
Change the Angles
It is the angles that trouble lifters when it comes to the chest press.
You have to try different angles to make sure the chest is being hit from different parts. In some cases, the chest press is better than the bench press for this reason. It is far easier to make adjustments even by a few inches when it comes to the chest press.
You can change how your hands sit or how your chest is positioned.
Play around with the seat and make sure you are in the right position. By doing this, you’re going to get stronger and the chest press numbers will skyrocket too. It’s these little details that go a long way when you are stuck on a certain number with your chest press.
Each lifter is unique when it comes to changing angles. Some prefer slight changes while others don’t mind making radical changes to how they do the chest press.
You have to make sure the chest is puffed out and your shoulders are retracted during this movement. As long as you do this, the gains are going to be in line with what you want for the chest press.
Final Thoughts
For those asking, “Will bench press reduce chest press?” it’s all about using the right form and building a well-rounded workout program.
Half of the battle is learning the movements and making sure you’re good at both. This is why people start to struggle with the chest press after introducing the bench press into their routine. They forget to work on the chest press!
You have to swap between the two for maximum results.
This should be done on separate days and you’re going to see impressive gains on both lifts. Don’t restrict yourself and make sure the appropriate adjustments are made.
