OHP vs Bench

[Joesph155]

I'm am going to be running Operator with base, and my shoulders and chest are small. Should I use OHP or bench in my cluster? I plan on rotating them, but which one would build the muscle group the fastest? Thank you.

[DocOctagon]

KB suggests the bench press is a bigger bang-for-buck exercise than the OHP (in the context of a TB cluster), and I tend to agree. As stated in the good book, most people can bench more than they OHP. It stands to reason if you're working frequently with heavier weight you'll see quicker improvement. There's a reason the timeless "Big 3" are Squat/Deadlift/Bench .

[StayGrey]

Bench. You'll put on a lot more muscle and overall strength, as you'll be able to handle much heavier loads.

I tend to mentally divide my lifts into primary and secondary exercises. Primary = BP/SQ/DL, secondary = OHP/Front Squat/Romanian DL or Weighted Pull-ups. Primary are the "bang for buck" exercises. Secondary are thrown in occasionally as support exercises and to hit things from a different angle.

[Joesph155]

I have 100% confidence in the bench press building my chest, but will it build my shoulders. I was going for squat, bench, weighted pull up, will weighted pull ups build my shoulders? Sorry if these questions are odd.

[J-Madd]

When in doubt, go with SQ/BP/WPU and then add in either heavy swings or DL (however you can handle the latter), because (as K. Blacks argues in TB) and others here have said, that's your best bang for your buck. I'm on an OHP jag myself, but that's an anomaly for my overall training history, and I have probably neglected relatively OHP for years.

[Joesph155]

Will doing this cluster build my shoulders at all though?

[Barkadion]

Josef, you and only you can build your muscles. Proper eating pattern and TB training will help you to succeed.
Be consistent with it. Log everything you do. Give yourself a year.
Keep us posted.

[Stechkin]

Ideally you would do both, and it is the reason both are included in typical programs (SS, 5/3/1, etc). One really isn't an alternative to the other, and you will need to balance them for even development and shoulder health.

Operator is very effective, but it requires sacrifices. You hit 3 full body lifts 3 times a week and that will develop a lot of what you need, but it isn't complete. You will either need to swap some exercises every other block, do assistance work through conditioning, or switch to Zulu for more exercises. It all depends on what you want out of it. Personally I am thinking of switching to Zulu for a little more balance.

[Barkadion]

You will either need to swap some exercises every other block, do assistance work through conditioning

I am trying it now and loving it so far. 12 weeks of main cluster following by 6 weeks of sub cluster. Repeat. GC for assistance.

[Aelian]

Will doing this cluster build my shoulders at all though?

The right question is, does the bench press work the pectoral muscles, posterior deltoid, anterior deltoid and triceps?

Bench will give you the stimulus. But there's more to growing muscle than just stimulus. Like eating enough food. Eating enough is a bigger problem for most people trying to gain muscle than doing enough of the right exercises.