bench press or dumbell press

coltrain

Hello there, just have a question,probably a stupid one but anyway,Is there a difference between bench pressing and dumbell press,i know they both work the chest,should i do both when working the chest or just one, thanks in advance,

cardio,shoot me

neither is better, they are different exercises.

rccaulfield

For stricter/safer form -go for the bench press using the Barbell! Dumbells can twist turn/move slightly as you tire-this can lead to very bad form in the later reps! The barbell being a bigger solid mass lends itself to very good form!

jackonmsn

there two dif exercises i do both as do most bodybuilders they are for different things...both chest but still different

Inspector Coptoor

use both.
and yeah, you can bench more with the BB than the DBs
I can bench about 25% more on the BB than i can with the DBs

maybe try doing a 5 x 5 programme on the BB bench

and then hit chest again later in the week with 3 x 12 flat DB bench
and 3 x 12 Incline DB bench and throw in some push ups too

narwog81

when i started lifting i did the usual: pissing around on the bench, no leg work etc. after a while i realised i wasnt making much if any gains with the barbell bench so decided to cut it out altogether and just use dumbells.

the dumbells in my gym only went up to 30kg so i set myself the goal of not touching the barbell again until i could lift 30kgs DBs for 4 x 10.

when i did go back to the barbell i found myself a lot stronger and more confident and progressed more consistently.

not sure if that helps, just my personal experience.

Zamboni

narwog81 wrote: »

the dumbells in my gym only went up to 30kg so i set myself the goal of not touching the barbell again until i could lift 30kgs DBs for 4 x 10.

when i did go back to the barbell i found myself a lot stronger and more confident and progressed more consistently.

That was a good goal and I am not surprised it worked.
Fair play.



As for form...well you can only get good at it if you practice it, make mistakes, correct them and progress.
Avoidance won't improve form. Ever.

Yapamillias

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

neither is better, they are different exercises.

Why is this? just curious as I know they are different exercises and both use different stabalising muscles and have different max rep levels. (Genuine interest :pac:)

itsallaboutheL

Yapamillias wrote: »

Why is this? just curious as I know they are different exercises and both use different stabalising muscles and have different max rep levels. (Genuine interest :pac:)

wuht?

Yapamillias

just wondering why they are different without sounding like i was disagreeing with him...and it came out confusing

d'Oracle

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

neither is better, they are different exercises.

This.

From my humble and limited experience.

Yapamillias

d'Oracle wrote: »

This.

From my humble and limited experience.

d'Oracle

Yapamillias wrote: »

I have done both and they feel very different.

I can't give you a biomechanical analysis.

Yapamillias

d'Oracle wrote: »

I have done both and they feel very different.

I can't give you a biomechanical analysis.

Dont think i asked you for a biomechanical analysis...but thank you for your 'limited and humble experience' *

*your words

Futurism

Yapamillias wrote: »

Dont think i asked you for a biomechanical analysis...but thank you for your 'limited and humble experience' *

*your words

Yapamillias wrote: »

just wondering why they are different

Ahem.

cardio,shoot me

yamamillias, what are you asking me? They are different exercises. Theres nothing more to it imo

qt9ukbg60ivjrn

Yapamillias wrote: »

Why is this? just curious as I know they are different exercises and both use different stabalising muscles and have different max rep levels. (Genuine interest :pac:)

you answered your own question

Yapamillias

Edith Thankful Gentleman wrote: »

you answered your own question

was just wondering was there anything more than what I said...Edith Thankful Gentleman...thank you for answering my question

qt9ukbg60ivjrn

Yapamillias wrote: »

was just wondering was there anything more than what I said...sternbutfair...thank you for answering my question

well since everyone is being mean to you i'll tell you what i think:D
edit: my comment also was not nice:(

i found in the past that dumbell press really helped improve my bench press

as you mentioned the dumbell press is probably hitting more/different stabiliser muscles from the bench press, the range of motion is also alot different, you can go deeper and wider or narrow all because the two weights you are lifting are not attached to eachother and you are trying to control their trajectory

Yapamillias

Edith Thankful Gentleman wrote: »

well since everyone is being mean to you i'll tell you what i think:D
edit: my comment also was not nice:(

i found in the past that dumbell press really helped improve my bench press

as you mentioned the dumbell press is probably hitting more/different stabiliser muscles from the bench press, the range of motion is also alot different, you can go deeper and wider or narrow all because the two weights you are lifting are not attached to eachother and you are trying to control their trajectory

Cheers stern

itsallaboutheL

Carryover from DBs really has a lot to do with your Bench technique.

IMO you're only really going to get carryover from DB Bench to BB if your technique isn't up to scratch.

While they probably help you sink deeper, it is generally in a plane of motion which is well off good solid BB form.

I would consider DB Incline to offer much more direct carryover because at least its going to offer power off the chest when transfer to a flat barbell bench.

If you really want carryover from DBs to Barbell the Tate Presss, Rolling DB extensions, Key Presses, Incline Presses etc are you're friend... Even Neutral Grip Flat DB presses if you want to do DB presses... at least these will force you to tuck your elbows. ( i'd forgotten about these might throw em in next week!)

itsallaboutheL

NBB Bohs wrote: »

actually just on the last point(well sorta) how often do people mix up their workouts? ive heard u should stick with a plan for like 6 weeks

Well i wouldn't really recommend doing anything i do!!

I tend to change everything every week

Rep Ranges Sets, Assitance exercises to some degree or other