Are you curious about Jim Wendler incline bench press workout?
Do you wonder how the creator of 5/3/1 uses the incline press to build his upper body pressing power?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, I will show you how to use the Jim Wendler incline bench press to take your training to the next level!
Introduction
Jim Wendler is one of the most popular strength coaches in the world today.
He is most famous for inventing the incredibly popular 5/3/1 training program, which he calls “the simplest and most effective way to train for raw strength.”
Jim says the bench press and overhead press are the 2 best exercises to build your upper body strength. However, he knows that not everyone can perform these exercises.
Don’t worry – if you can’t perform one of these exercises, then you can also perform the incline bench press!
Jim Wendler Stats
- Date Of Birth: February 13th, 1975
- Height: 5 Feet 10 Inches
- Weight: 240 Pounds
- Body Fat: About 15 Percent
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The Jim Wendler Incline Bench Press
Jim Wendler designed his 5/3/1 training program using 4 main exercises: the squat, the bench press, the deadlift, and the overhead press.
He says these 4 exercises have stood the test of time as some of the most effective exercises that you can use to build size and strength. Of course, Jim knows that some people have trouble performing the bench press or overhead press.
Many older lifters have a hard time performing the overhead press due to injuries and other reasons.
If this describes you, then Jim says you can use the incline bench press instead of the overhead press as one of your primary 5/3/1 barbell exercises.
“You don't have to just do the standing press as your main supplemental exercise – you can use the incline press, high incline press, log press, or the football bar press.”
Fortunately, this exercise substitution doesn’t change the overall structure of Jim’s 5/3/1 program too much.
Let’s start by looking at the original 5/3/1 training split. Check it out:
The Standard 5/3/1 Training Template
- Day 1: Squat
- Day 2: Bench Press
- Day 3: Deadlift
- Day 4: Overhead Press
As you can see, Jim likes to focus on one of the “big 4” exercises at each of his workouts. He performs about 3 heavy sets on the first exercise, followed by 2-4 assistance exercises.
If you want to substitute the incline bench press for the bench press or overhead press, then all you have to do is perform the incline bench press at the start of one of your upper body workouts, followed by your accessory exercises.
Here is the 5/3/1 training split where you perform the incline bench press instead of the overhead press:
5/3/1 Template With Bench Press And Incline Bench Press
- Day 1: Squat
- Day 2: Bench Press
- Day 3: Deadlift
- Day 4: Incline Bench Press
And here is the 5/3/1 training split where you perform the incline bench press instead of the bench press:
5/3/1 Template With Incline Bench Press And Overhead Press
- Day 1: Squat
- Day 2: Incline Bench Press
- Day 3: Deadlift
- Day 4: Overhead Press
Of course, there are many different training splits that you can use with Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 training program.
Jim has many different 3-day and 2-day templates that you can choose from, including Krypteia, Building The Monolith, 5/3/1 For Beginners, and many others.
Here is a sample 5/3/1 incline bench press workout that you can perform using Jim Wendlers’ popular Triumvirate assistance work template. Check it out:
5/3/1 Incline Bench Press Day
- Exercise #1: Incline bench press, 3 sets of 1-5 reps**
- Exercise #2: Chin ups, 5 sets of 5-15 reps
- Exercise #3: Dips, 5 sets of 5-15 reps
**Performed using Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 training percentages
If you want to learn more about Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 Training Program, or about his different training splits and assistance work templates, then check out the following article:
Conclusion | The Jim Wendler Incline Bench Press!
Jim Wendler is one of the most popular strength coaches in the world today, and it’s easy to see why. He designed his 5/3/1 training program to be as flexible and customizable as possible.
After all, we are all unique with different recovery abilities, injury histories, and so on.
For example, Jim Wendler says that it is perfectly acceptable to replace the bench press or overhead press with the incline bench press as one of your primary pressing exercises if you are unable to perform one of these exercises.
In fact, the Jim Wendler incline bench press workout may be just what you need to take your training to the next level!
