Those of you who are following my KSC Method for Power-Building Program are familiar with two recommendations I make in the introduction of that program.
One recommendation is to follow the 8-5-2 progression for your main exercise each day. That means setting up your primary barbell exercises for each day in a 3 week cycle that rotates between 3 sets of 8, 3 sets of 5, and 3 sets of 2. This is probably my most tried and true intermediate progression. It’s simple. It works. And it’s sustainable for long periods of time without over-reaching, constant resetting, etc.
Another recommendation I make is to periodically rotate the main exercise you perform each week at each workout. This gives you an opportunity to train some important lifts when you are fresh with maximal loads. While I don’t believe in the concept of “muscle confusion” in the way that the Weider Magazines describe it, I do believe in a little variety in training, especially at the intermediate level. Some sensible variations that still serve the ultimate goal of the program are a good idea. This can help you break through plateaus, or probably more accurately stated, it can help you avoid them, by forcing your body to get stronger on lifts that contribute to the performance of the parent exercise. Getting stronger on more than just 3-4 exercises is going to make you stronger in the long run.
Ed Coan followed a very basic routine of mostly Squats, Bench Presses, and Deadlifts, but he was also a huge advocate of things like High Bar Squats, Paused Squats, Incline Press, Close Grip Bench Press, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, and Barbell Rows. Ed treated the training of these lifts as seriously as he did the Big 3. Most of the time, these were second or third in his workouts, but occasionally he would prioritize a few of these variations and try to really drive up his strength on these lifts by training them fresh.
I’m a big advocate of rotating in the Incline Press with the Bench Press as a staple chest exercise. This is true whether you are training purely for strength and especially if you are training for physique. For physique oriented training, Inclines are a must.
In the system outlined in the KSC Method for Power-Building, we hit our chest 2x/week. The first session of the week is our “direct” session where we use the heaviest weights, the highest volumes, and the most exercises. Later in the week we hit the chest “indirectly”, usually with just a single movement – my preference being Dips for this second lower volume, lower intensity session.
Let’s assume session one is on Monday and we’ll focus on Flat and Incline variations (although you could also perform dips here also) and session two is on Thursday – hitting Dips on our dedicated Shoulder/Tricep workout to ensure we get a little chest stimulation twice per week. So we train Chest twice per week but we don’t kill the chest twice per week. We kill it 1x/week and just “touch it” later in the week. This is my preference when training for mass and physique.
Here is a sample week:
Monday
- Bench Press 3 x 8 / 3 x 5 / 3 x 2 (rotate scheme weekly)
- Incline Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- DB Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Biceps – 6 sets
Thursday
- Shoulders – 6-9 sets
- Dips – 3 x 10+
- Triceps Ext 3 x 10
Using this basic template you can work in your Incline Press prioritization in one of two ways – (1) every other cycle (2) every other week.
Here is how Monday would look training every other cycle:
- Week 1
- Bench Press 3 x 8
- Incline Press 3 x 8-10
- DB Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
- Week 2
- Bench Press 3 x 5
- Incline Press 3 x 8-10
- DB Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
- Week 3
- Bench Press 3 x 2
- Incline Press 3 x 8-10
- DB Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
- Week 4
- Incline Bench Press 3 x 8
- Incline DB Press 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Close Grip Bench 3 x 8-10
- Week 5
- Incline Bench Press 3 x 5
- Incline DB Press 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Close Grip Bench 3 x 8-10
- Week 6
- Incline Bench Press 3 x 2
- Incline DB Press 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Close Grip Bench 3 x 8-10
- Week 7 – Repeat 6 week cycle
Here is how training would look switching priority every other week:
Week 1
- Bench Press 3 x 8
- Incline Press 3 x 8-10
- DB Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
Week 2
- Incline Bench Press 3 x 5
- Incline DB Press 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Close Grip Bench 3 x 8-10
Week 3
- Bench Press 3 x 2
- Incline Press 3 x 8-10
- DB Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
Week 4
- Incline Bench Press 3 x 8
- Incline DB Press 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Close Grip Bench 3 x 8-10
Week 5
- Bench Press 3 x 5
- Incline Press 3 x 8-10
- DB Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
Week 6
- Incline Bench Press 3 x 2
- Incline DB Press 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Close Grip Bench 3 x 8-10
With the second option, I really like keeping the 3 week cycles of 8-5-2 even when the main exercise is rotated. I’ve tried it before with 2 weeks of 8s, 2 weeks of 5s, 2 weeks of 2s, and I don’t think it worked as well. However, there is plenty of wiggle room with how you arrange the other movements. For Power-Building, I like the 8-10 range for the secondary movements.
I’ve also had good success with clients who don’t have good dumbbells to work with, doing something like this:
Week 1
- Bench 3 x 8 / 3 x 5 / 3 x 2
- Incline 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
Week 2
- Incline 3 x 8 / 3 x 5 / 3 x 2
- Bench Press 3 x 8-10
- Dips 3 x 8-10
- Thursday – Dips 3 x 8-10
Sometimes, simple is better, and you really can’t go wrong with performing Dips multiple times per week when mass and physique is part of the goal. And if you have never Benched second, after Inclines, try it. Your chest will thank you / hate you for it.
