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Why does nobody talk about the choice between flat and incline bench?

I had to pick between running a flat bench focused program or switching to incline as my main press. I went with incline for 8 weeks cause I wanted more upper chest work. The numbers were rough at first, dropped about 15 pounds off my flat bench 1RM. But after those 8 weeks my shoulders felt way better and my incline actually went up 20 pounds. Flat bench started moving again too when I went back to it. I think people sleep on how much shoulder health matters when picking your main lift. Has anyone else made that swap and seen similar results?
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alice_wilson73
Right? I switched to incline as my main press for like 4 months and it fixed my shoulder problems completely. My flat bench actually went up 25 pounds after I went back to it, even though I was pressing way less weight for a while. I think the stability and shoulder angle just let me finally grow my chest without grinding my rotator cuff into dust.
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the_seth
the_seth5d ago
@alice_wilson73 same here, incline saved my shoulders too.
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