Dumbell Bench Press vs. Barbell Bench Press

[bauuey]

Which is better?

[Deronys]

I far prefer DB presses given that they require more stabilizers and what not, however, its nice to switch it up a bit ever few weeks.

[GuyJin]

Whichever gives you a better feel and better development.

[SwiftyX]

Use both.

[miamibodybuilder]

i say use them both and see which feels better for you. as for me, i currently use them both in my routines i just switch them up every workout. if i do barbell incline today then next workout i'll do DB incline. but i'm not gonna lie, i do prefer db's over barbells but i still use them both because i know they both work well for me. just use all types of different exercises and angles and especially rep ranges. keep your muscles guessing. good luck

[BruceBruce325]

the next thread i see on this is getting negged...too many threads on this pointless topic already

however... do what feels better to you. if you feel like you're seeing better gains with one stick to it.

i prefer to switch it up every other month.

DB's are better IMO

[dizzzane]

There is no "best". Different things work for different people. Have a little conviction and believe what you are doing works. If you are seeing gains (or even feeling them) then keep on with it. Every one has an opinion but it may not be what works for you.

I personally use dumbells for some exercises and a barbell for others. Incline barbell limits my range of motion and stresses my collar bone, so I use dumbells almost exclusively for that. But for flat bench I switch it up and often on decline I prefer a barbell. I will say when I was in the early stages of lifting I worked extensively with dumbells to strengthen my grip and focus on stabilizing the weight. However, I feel there is just something mechanical about a barbell press.

[L080100]

Use both.

Ditto

[TheAncientOne]

Dumbbells allow bigger range of motion, but barbell allows heavier loads. The choice is yours

[braden101]

Use both...However id probably say DB's are the bigger bang for your buck, you may not be able to move as much weight, but you make up for it with the ability to get them fukers up in the first place lol. (I beleive Rippetoe mentions soemthing bout this in his book)

Also DB's will give you a bigger ROM, ability to concentrate on each arm, and imo alot more fun.

[kusok]

BB obviously. Allows you to push more weight = get bigga and stronga.

Can't believe people say DB... I bet they also think:
leg press > squat,
px90 > SS,
protein shake > steak,
machine biceps curl > pull-ups,
fly > bench press,
yoga > weight lifting
etc.

[BruceBruce325]

BB obviously. Allows you to push more weight = get bigga and stronga.

Can't believe people say DB... I bet they also think:
leg press > squat,
px90 > SS,
protein shake > steak,
machine biceps curl > pull-ups,
fly > bench press,
yoga > weight lifting
etc.

right... but it isolates... while bb doesn't... hence why one arm is usually higher than the other when pressing

[usfbullsfan100]

right... but it isolates... while bb doesn't... hence why one arm is usually higher than the other when pressing

yea but it depends what you going for if your more of a bodybuilder type then use both, but if your going for more of a powerlifting then barbell is the way to go

[seanality]

I would say use both.

I use BB as more main chest workout and follow-up with DBs at the end to tone. But when I had a hard time increasing my max I focused more on DBs and then followed up with BB or didn't do BB at all for a few weeks and then I saw my BB increase.

I would say for muscle growth both are necessary. For straight tone emphasize on DB and for straight strength emphasize on BB.

[thebuffer]

I find using first BB presses followed by a set or two of DB presses to be the most effective for me.

[kusok]

right... but it isolates... while bb doesn't... hence why one arm is usually higher than the other when pressing

Isolations = gay + useless.

IMHO only of course.

[kusok]

yea but it depends what you going for if your more of a bodybuilder type then use both, but if your going for more of a powerlifting then barbell is the way to go

To me that makes no sense at all. Strength is universal, there is no bodybuilder strength and powerlifter strength, there is just muscle and weight that it lifts.

Notice how dieted down powerlifters look like bodybuilders and beat them on a bodybuilding stage without doing 75 sets of dumbbell upright dowright lieft right row supersetted with machine flies (insert major eyeroll here)

[guest89]

right... but it isolates... while bb doesn't... hence why one arm is usually higher than the other when pressing

That just happens because people don't know how to bench press properly.

[Synyster06Gates]

Mondays are my chest day, I do BB bench and DB incline bench (and a few others). Friday (leg day) I throw in 3 sets of flat DB bench then do my leg workout. It's really helped my BB progress quicker. Do both.

[Blitanicle99]

Ive never gotten anywhere with the barbell bench. As soon as I started with the dumbell I felt that I got stronger much quicker.

Obviously you can do more weight on barbell bench, but I think its more difficult to work with the dumb bells.

[ko300zx]

How are you all even attempting to answer the question? Which is better for what?

That's like making a thread saying,

Coffee or duct tape?
Which is better?

and you all trying to answer it.

[BruceBruce325]

Isolations = gay + useless.

IMHO only of course.

awww did i hurt your feelings

wouldn't really expect you to understand anyways

[BruceBruce325]

That just happens because people don't know how to bench press properly.

so you're telling me you don't a stronger body part than the other... meaning a MORE DOMINANT one

[ThickAsABrick]

How are you all even attempting to answer the question? Which is better for what?

That's like making a thread saying,

Coffee or duct tape?
Which is better?

and you all trying to answer it.

lulz

[kusok]

How are you all even attempting to answer the question? Which is better for what?

That's like making a thread saying,

Coffee or duct tape?
Which is better?

and you all trying to answer it.

Duct tape is better. At least it has some use.


By the way, obviously he means better for mass and/or strength.
And in both cases barbell is a well-known and rather obvious answer.
When Rip starts putting dumbbell inclines into his SS program, I will reassess. Until then I will bench.

[ko300zx]

Duct tape is better. At least it has some use.


By the way, obviously he means better for mass and/or strength.
And in both cases barbell is a well-known and rather obvious answer.
When Rip starts putting dumbbell inclines into his SS program, I will reassess. Until then I will bench.

Coffee wakes me up in the morning and I don't break enough stuff for Duct Tape to be very useful.

BB is hardly the obvious answer. I've heard in many instances, people prefer DBs to work the chest muscles when looking for size because the ROM better isolates the chest muscles and allows for a better contraction. Jim Cordova has an article on his website about how he had difficulty developing his chest until he began working with DBs and I've seen the same argument many other places.

I've heard BB allows you to move more weight by recruiting a number of other muscles in the body to assist with the lift, which all in all leads to lifting maximum weight, therefore increasing strength.

So which is correct? Regardless of what you prefer, the question still cannot be answered properly until you know what he is trying to accomplish, unless you are of course (and so it seems) set in your ways that one will never be as good as the other.

[ILurkAtWork]

Either are fine. The problem w/ dumbbells is progression. It is much harder to achieve linear progress w/ a dumbbell, as you don't tend to have as many small weight increments available. Microplating is possible but hard, especially if your dumbbell isn't magnetic and isn't adjustable--and lengths of chain are tough to fit. There's only so much you can do by manipulating rep ranges before you need to try to add weight, and sometimes 2.5 lb or 5 lb increments just don't work well.

Take this into account when you decide to use dumbbells.

[ThickAsABrick]

Coffee wakes me up in the morning and I don't break enough stuff for Duct Tape to be very useful.

BB is hardly the obvious answer. I've heard in many instances, people prefer DBs to work the chest muscles when looking for size because the ROM better isolates the chest muscles and allows for a better contraction. Jim Cordova has an article on his website about how he had difficulty developing his chest until he began working with DBs and I've seen the same argument many other places.

I've heard BB allows you to move more weight by recruiting a number of other muscles in the body to assist with the lift, which all in all leads to lifting maximum weight, therefore increasing strength.

So which is correct? Regardless of what you prefer, the question still cannot be answered properly until you know what he is trying to accomplish, unless you are of course (and so it seems) set in your ways that one will never be as good as the other.

remind me to rep you once i recharge

[usfbullsfan100]

To me that makes no sense at all. Strength is universal, there is no bodybuilder strength and powerlifter strength, there is just muscle and weight that it lifts.

Notice how dieted down powerlifters look like bodybuilders and beat them on a bodybuilding stage without doing 75 sets of dumbbell upright dowright lieft right row supersetted with machine flies (insert major eyeroll here)

well i meant that because body builders like to hit muscles with different movements and different angles rather where powerlifter focus on solely strength in the big compound movements but yea i guess your response makes sense

[Kirra]

BB obviously. Allows you to push more weight = get bigga and stronga.

Can't believe people say DB... I bet they also think:
leg press > squat,
px90 > SS,
protein shake > steak,
machine biceps curl > pull-ups,
fly > bench press,
yoga > weight lifting
etc.

But dumbbells require more controll since they can move independedly of each other. I'm pretty sure that they engage more muscles than the barbell version.

Lifting more weight doesn't always mean better exercise.