I'm thinking of getting the powerblock dumbbells that go up to 45 or 50... Is that like a 100lb bench press or is it harder? I'm pretty weak and am looking if I should get dumbbells instead of bench + bar that I can do a complete upper body work out with for sometime without maxing out too quickly.
Only at first because of individual arm stabilisation.
50's will eventually become too light. Go with the barbell and extra plates if you have to choose between the two.
[QUOTE=omnomnomnom;214503381]I'm thinking of getting the powerblock dumbbells that go up to 45 or 50... Is that like a 100lb bench press or is it harder? I'm pretty weak and am looking if I should get dumbbells instead of bench + bar that I can do a complete upper body work out with for sometime without maxing out too quickly.[/QUOTE]
The only issue i have with dumbell bench press or any db press for that matter is when lifting heavy or near your limit is getting them into position to actually start the lift, if nobody is there to assist you then it gets a bit tricky and no matter what trick you use, when youre using heavy weight it can go easily wrong. Barbell is far easier to manouver but you still need a bench for barbell or dumbell.
they are super hard at first but after a while you get used to it. i can always do more on a bar bell though. right now i do 205 pounds on bar bell and 2 85# dumbbells (170 pounds).
[QUOTE=clusternakker;214506771]The only issue i have with dumbell bench press or any db press for that matter is when lifting heavy or near your limit is getting them into position to actually start the lift, if nobody is there to assist you then it gets a bit tricky and no matter what trick you use, when youre using heavy weight it can go easily wrong. Barbell is far easier to manouver but you still need a bench for barbell or dumbell.[/QUOTE]
i set them on my legs sitting up and kind of tip my whole body back and pick them up while im landing, kind of hard to explain but works good. its funny that the hardest part of the whole lift is getting them into place to start, on a positive note its much safer to do dumbbells without a spotter.
generally it's about 80ish% of your BB bench, so if you can bench 200lbs, you can DB press about 80lbs per hand
Yeah they are harder because they use more stabilizing muscles and also they allow a greater range of motion, and if you use that greater range of motion that will make it harder as well.
Personally I think 50 lbs dumbbells is about equal to 140 lbs barbell for bench press anyway.
Depends on what you've prioritized. For some, their DB press is much higher than BB, in comparison.
[QUOTE=bmk6;214517641]i set them on my legs sitting up and kind of tip my whole body back and pick them up while im landing, kind of hard to explain but works good. its funny that the hardest part of the whole lift is getting them into place to start, on a positive note its much safer to do dumbbells without a spotter.[/QUOTE]
I think thats how everyone would get them into place, with incline you have to almost throw them up with your knee, of course its ok if youre in a gym as you can ask someone to put them in your hands whilst youre in position, just at home you dont normally have that opportunity.
Yes they are most definitely harder...but its only because your individual arms will need to stabilize the weights. They are definitely more advanced as stabilization takes more of a role, whereas a bar is just grab and go. Dumbbells enable you to get a deeper stretch and therefore tap into more muscle fibers, hence more potential for growth, but a mixture of both is needed to ensure greatest stress. Maybe week on week off between bar and dumbbells.
50's will get light quick...they are a bit more difficult but over time they'll be close in weight depending how much you work with each...good luck though either way...
When I first started lifting, my experienced workout buddy told me that dumbbell press is harder than bench press. Even though my chest looked big naturally, I was very weak. I could barely lift 65lbs (lol), and I was so embarrassed that I stuck to dumbbell press because it just seemed like you could get away with that easier because people would think dumbbell press is harder. I started with 20s onto 30s and that's basically what I built up with. And I still prefer dumbbell vs barbell.
To me now, barbell is easier than dumbbell. Seems like I can always lift an extra 15 to 20lbs per arm on barbell vs. dumbbell.
I do my heavy sets using DB's because there is a greater range of motion and it targets all of your chest as long as your arms go at least 90 degrees(parallel with the floor). After incline, flat, and decline DB I go to BB and do a few sets with lighter than usual weights.
Incline, Flat & Decline DB Press: 3 sets each
80lbs x 10, 90lbs x 10, 100lbs x 8-10
Incline, Flat & Decline BB Press: 2 sets each
185lbs x 10, 205lbs x Failure(between 6-12)
I finish with a few sets of of cables at each angle.
Regarding 50lb dumbbells
These might not last as long as you want for presses.
I managed to increase from (in each arm)
12.5kg (about 25lb) when starting out [i][flat / decline / incline] [/i]
to
27.5kg (about 60 lb) at the moment [i][flat / decline][/i]
25 kg (about 50 lb) at the moment [i][incline][/i]
This was in about 5 weeks of increasing weight.
I am not that strong, but it seemed that the main part of these increases was just getting used to lifting the weight in this manner.
Basically
I would advise getting a larger range of weights, and strive to lift heavier.