Weight lifting varieties

fareast91

Hey there. I've got some questions regarding weight lifting techniques. Hope you guys could help clear this out for me.

So, as we have known it, specific exercises target specific muscles, let's say, bench press is for the pectoral, right? But, to my knowledge, exercise such as cable pullover, dumbell bench press, etc, also target the same muscles (pectoral). So, why do some people do a lot of the exercises that target the same muscles? Do such varieties have different effectiveness? I mean, if I did a couple of bench press sets, do i need to do the cable pullover? Thanks

SezxyStef

Well Benching does more than just the "pecs" it is considered a compound movement by most as it targets multiple muslce groups.

Other exercise target specific muslce (isolation) and are often use to help with a particular compound movement if you are failing due to one particular area.

For example in OHP if you are failing due to tricep weakness you do isolation on the tricep as accessory work.

Esp in certian programs such as 5/3/1

When I do my benching with 5/3/1 my accessory work is pushups 5x10, lat pull downs 5x10@30-40lbs and triceps pushdowns (5x10@20-30lbs)

212019156

What SezxyStef says is on the mark. Structure your workouts around compound lifts and add accessory lifts to build weak areas.

Sam_I_Am77

Something like the bench press and squat are more movements than specific muscle group exercises although they may favor certain groups. Remember that your body works as one big chain, one muscle group influences another.
- bench press: When done correctly the triceps are primary movers, then in no specific order, deltoids, pecs, and lats. edit: legs & core should stabilize the lift.

In-terms of balance and maintaining muscle health, it's a good idea to pair a pressing movement with a pulling movements. So if you Bench Press then do something for your upper back (pull-ups, lat pulldowns, db rows, bb rows, etc). These exercises put added emphasis on the muscles that support the pressing movement, think "Yin & Yang".

jacksonpt

In addition to what stef said, you can train the same muscle group in different ways to "more completely" (for lack of a better phrase) train said muscles.

Additionally, dumbbell work or single leg/arm movements can help identify and correct muscle imbalances.

So there are a number of reasons/benefits to doing different lifts even if they seem, on the surface, to be targeting the same muscle. Ultimately though, your goal(s) and the equipment you have access to should determine what lifts you do.

philwrightfitness

Some muscles are more complex than others, think of them being like two or three muscles joined together, some exercises emphasise different portions of the muscle so people use a variety of exercises to give the muscle a more complete workout.....this is very simplified but accurate enough for your question