Dumbell or Barbell on chest??

S

specialk12

0
I use dumbell exercises when doing my chest. I do dumbell bench press and dumbell incline press.

I noticed taht when I do barbell bench press I lift a lot less then when I do dumbell bench press.

Should I stick with dumbell when working my chest??
I tend to lift a LOT more when using dumbells. But is that bad???
Should I work on using barbells also???


I mean, they both work that chest area.
 
Mix it up from week to week. They both have their benefits. If you have shoulder issues then sticking with DB's is probably a better option.
 
i do bench press with dumbells more than with a barbell...i think that it is safer in some respects, more versitile, and personally, i just like it better. if you are trying to build muscle both will be very effective.
 
Are you using correct hand positioning in the BB press? Try to take a look at this links and see if you are performing the BB press with a good form:

Bench Press Form:




Techincal Advices for Bench Press and others:
 
in the technical advice aricle, it states:
<quote>As long as you don't have back problems, the lower back needs to be flexed to help stabilize the hip area. In most cases I don't believe in keeping the lower back completely flat against the bench. I have even seen excessive flattening of the lower back cause back problems because the lumbar spine is unstable due to the spinal erectors not being flexed. The ideal lumbar positioning for the bench press resembles that for a deadlift...flexing the lumbar spine does not mean exaggerating the arch in your back. It simply means preserving the natural curvature in your back</quote>

whilst in the insiders part 3 web page it states:
<quote>
Comparison of the degree of arching the lower back while bench pressing. Up on toes (top), feet flat on the floor (middle), and feet on a 4" platform (bottom). The greater the arch, the more dangerous the stress on the spine</quote>

So how arched should your back really be??!!

Ive always thought that an arched back is just plain bad form - trying to force too much weight. I personally try to kep my back almost flat to the bench (when I say almost, I mean I dont actively flatten my back..or arch it...just let it rest naturally with a very slight curve)
 
I found that working with dumbells help stabilization muscles more. On my chest day i do:

3 sets of Barbell Presses
3 sets of Incline Barbell Presses
3 sets of dumbbell presses
3 sets of incline barbell presses
3 sets of flat bench flies
3 sets of incline bench flies

then i move onto working my triceps. My question is am i doing to much or not enough of a certain excercise. Should i add more sets? I really need help with this and i even started another post with more questions. http://training.fitness.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1280

I am trying to build mass. Especially in the shoulder area if you have anymore advice. I would be grateful of anything.
 
Hi Alex!

I agree with you about keeping the normal back curvature when benching. However if your bench is too high for you body structure you can use some kind of plataform to reduce the back curvature keeping it natural. That's what I've understood from the texts.

The inseders text it is a bit big but some tips can be extracted like:
-the adjustment of hand spacing
-bar position on the top and the bottom of the moment
-the movement itself
-etc...

I believe that these tips can be used to perform the bench press with less risk of injury. That's at least the main concern of the author...

Good Benching! :)
 
3 sets of Barbell Presses
3 sets of Incline Barbell Presses
3 sets of dumbbell presses
3 sets of incline barbell presses
3 sets of flat bench flies
3 sets of incline bench flies


all that in 1 workout? you over working,

I do 4 sets of 10 on my workout days, and i never mix bench positions either, so 1 day ill do bar flats, then other flat db, then other incline bench then other decline dumbells etc. You shouldn't go over 4 sets of 10 in a workout, because u shudnt be able to I could never do that many sets with the weight I have.

eg my chest day:
Ratio = flats/incline/flats/incline/Declines

4 sets 10/10/10/10 Bar Press 81 kg OR Dumbell Press 62 kg

3 sets 10/10/10 Pullovers 30 kg both arms

3 sets 10/10/10 Chest Flys 21 kg/arm

4 sets 10/10/10/10 Bicep Exercises (Rotate Order)

1 x 10 Dumbell Bicep Curls 18.5 kg/arms
1 x 10 Hammer Curls 18.5 kg/arms
1 x 10 Barbell Curls 41 kg
1 x 10 Dumbell Bicep Curls 18.5 kg/arms
 
Last edited:
Exe said:
3 sets of Barbell Presses
3 sets of Incline Barbell Presses
3 sets of dumbbell presses
3 sets of incline barbell presses
3 sets of flat bench flies
3 sets of incline bench flies


all that in 1 workout? you over working,

Click to expand...

Although there is a GREAT possibility he is overtraining on this workout, you need to be positive someone is overtraining before telling them they are. Lately, I have been reading individuals' posts that claim someone is overtraining even though they are having success on the workout they are using. Many other issues come into play when determining why someone is failing at making gains, why a lifter had a bad workout, and so forth.
1) Amount of sleep
2) Alcohol consumption
3) Diet
4) Stress

Now back to the original question. Both BB's and DB's have their strong points. Switching back and forth between the two could be a good way to periodize your workout.
I personally believe barbells are better for mass gains than db's.
 
I am fairly new to all this, but I am having good results switching between DB and BB for chest.

I also agree it seems liek over training to do so much in one day for chest, but as some others have said. If it works stay with it.
 
Genius, i have a question. How do i know if i'm doing too much on a workout. I can do four different bicep excercises in one workout, three sets of each. Is that too much?
 
Leandrofu said:
Genius, i have a question. How do i know if i'm doing too much on a workout. I can do four different bicep excercises in one workout, three sets of each. Is that too much?
Click to expand...

Well, do you make gains by working out with 4 different bicep exersizes? Personally, I don't think you would be asking if it was okay to use 4 different bicep exersizes if you were making progress.

There is no need for so many exersizes. For the most part, all of the bicept exersizes are going to work the biceps almost the same. Your biceps are the smallest muscle in your arm. You only need a few sets to work them (if that!).
Throw in at the end of your upperbody workout something like,
Barbell curlsx2 (8-10 reps)

Working muscle groups with tons of exersizes does not mean that you will grow faster. In fact, there is a good possibility that it will actually hinder your gains. You want to pick compound exersizes, then throw in a few isolations to polish everything up if you must. The simple fact is, you are going to put on the most muscle mass by lifting moderate-to-heavy with compound movements such as the bench press and squat movements. You want big arms? Then you need to get bigger. Big arms usually belong to big guys. Train to get stronger with a rep range anywhere between 5-10 reps.
 
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