Are weighted vest pushups a suitable replacement for bench press for a few weeks? I have upped the reps to 10 and the sets to 5 . Normally I would use a 5 x5 in the bench press . My elbows felt a little achy after a few weeks of bench pressing. The pushups seemed to work my lats ( apparently they shouldn’t) like crazy. My sides along my ribs are quite sore. Any guidance is valued .
A few weeks is absolutely nothing…it doesn’t really matter.
Also, if your elbows are achy following bp work-outs you should look into form tweaks to alleviate pain.
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You’re probably not working your lats, you’re working your serratus.
Pushups are great. Wide grip, narrow grip, underhand placement, knuckles, diamonds, one armed, clapping, the possibilities are endless and there is nothing wrong with doing them for a while.
Push-ups in general are worth considering to balance out all the retraction of the shoulders in typical barbell training. The soreness alongside your ribs is the serratus helping protract the shoulders; having your feet up on a bench or something may emphasize that even more for you. It circles around back to the scapula so it may make it feel like your lats. I’ve only really noticed my lats doing anything when I’m trying psuedo-planche push-ups but wouldn’t say they worked “like crazy”, just that I can notice they are flexing. I wonder if they’re just doing work they aren’t used to and are helping keep the torso rigid? Or I wonder if you’re flaring your elbows and they’re working to pull the humerus back in as you rise. It’d be interesting to know a bit more on that.
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For what purpose do you bench press?
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General upperbody strength.
Dips, pushups, rows, pull ups, overhead pressing, db work, landmine pressing, benching at different angles, closer grips, neutral grips, chest pressing etc and more will build upper body strength without having to bench.
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