Incline bench PR!, now what?

[CobraUTAH]

Well I got my goal weight last night on incline bench. I've never been much of an incline bencher and certainly never maxed, but last night I got a 1RM of 245. Not to spectacular but a PR none the less. I love doing the incline and have made good size gains while on 5x5 with incline, but I want 315 on flat bench by the first of the year. I plan to get right to the flat bench 5x5 next week and hopefully get the 315 by January. I'm currently at 290 for a 1RM, so that's 25 pounds to increase.
How often should you switch 5x5 exercises for the major groups? I've been doing the inclines since the first of August so that's only two months, but I've gained alot. Is it too soon to switch to flat bench for 5x5?

 

[from zero]

I would wait until

1) until your incline becomes stagnant.

OR

2) until you are bored with it.

 

[Becoming]

Nice job on the PR, I have seen many dudes who hit more on the flat get owned by less on the incline, so good job!

If you are making gains on the program and want to stick with it, you can do one of two things 1) keep at the incline till you stop making gains... 2)Pick an amount of time and switch no matter what at the given date...

Ultimately you should do what works best for you... If you don't know, maybe try number one and find out how long you can make gains before you need to switch... Then you will know how long a time period to use when you start going route number two (just shorter than when your gains will cut out)...

Keep records, it helps when you want to plan stuff like this...

 

[louden_swain]

Cobra,

Sounds like you are making great progress!! All I can say is, "if it ain't broke. . don't fix it".

Use your instinct. If you become worried about hitting a plateau in the future, consider switching it up a little.

 

[CobraUTAH]

I can tell I'm close if not at my plateau with the incline. I could probably make some slow gains over the next couple months with it, but I'd rather just switch than fight the slow battle. I feel that I'd be better going to flat bench for two reasons. One it's what I want to do and what I need to do to reach my goal of 315 on flat bench, and two because I feel it will in give the upper chest time to rest and ultimately make it stronger. I find the 5x5 very taxing on the body and that good rest or a change in lift is required to keep the gains coming. I also feel a 50 pound differential between my flat bench and incline bench maxes is something I can live with, and much better than it used to be. It does mean however that once I get the 315 on flat or maybe even more that the incline will be right back on the list for 5x5 and that max will need to go up respectively.

 

[thebrute]

awesome work on the PR brotha. i would do it until your bored with it or swap it out week to week with somethin else like decline or flat bench to keep thing interesting. tb