Hi. Is there a general way to convert what I bench with dumbbells to what I could possibly bench with barbell weight? For instance, my current bench workout is:
1st set: two 100lbs dumbbells - 10 reps
2nd set: two 100lbs dumbbells - 8 reps
3rd set: two 110lbs dumbbells - 3 reps
Generally, how would this convert over to barbell weight if I wanted to have the same intensity level?
Thanks.
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09-21-2004, 03:25 PM #1
dumbbell bench to barbell bench conversion
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09-21-2004, 03:26 PM #2
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09-21-2004, 03:32 PM #3
- Join Date: Oct 2003
- Location: currently at Binghamton University
- Age: 38
- Posts: 289
- Rep Power: 251
well, obviously if you are strong with dumbbells you will at least be moderately strong with barbell as well. but you really gotta understand that for this exercise in particular there is truly no equation. ive seen guys chest press simliar poundages in both lifts (despite dumbbells generaly being much more difficult) merely because their past workouts favor dumbbells. likewise, i know guys in my gym who can barbell bench press 50 more pounds than i can, yet we are just about equal on a dumbbell chest press
all that you can really do is go and find out and have a spotter for sure
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09-21-2004, 03:33 PM #4
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09-21-2004, 03:35 PM #5
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09-21-2004, 03:40 PM #6
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09-21-2004, 03:43 PM #7
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09-21-2004, 03:44 PM #8
I've got a full set of dumbbells in my garage - no gym membership. The problem is that I jump from 100 to 110 to 120. I don't have 5 lbs increments like with the lower weights. I can't quite make the leap to doing a single with the 120s (240lbs). It sticks to my chest.
But I have a barbell bench press. So I wanted to find what weight I could use to incrementally push beyond this sticking point, and then go back and kick the asses on those 120s.
Call it ego, but I really want that goal!!!
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09-21-2004, 03:46 PM #9
Wait. Your saying that I will do LESS with barbells? That doesn't make sense physiologically. The barbell is easier since it takes advantage of bilateral stabilization. I haven't barbell pressed in a few years since I've been slowly working up my strength with the dumbbells to recover from a shoulder injury. Now my shoulders are strong as heck. But I can't get over this hump between the 110s and the 120s.
So I was going to use the barbell as an assistance lift.
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09-21-2004, 03:49 PM #10Originally Posted by jimmylee
BUT, since you've never done barbell bench (right?), you will probably only be able to do like 200-250max.
but then again, im not nearly as strong as you, but this is how it works for me. but after a few weeks you should be up to speed with your barbell bench press
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09-21-2004, 03:51 PM #11
So, you're saying that there will be a short 'adaptation period' for the skill, and then it will start to climb numbers fast towards the actual raw strength max. Hmmm... That sounds feasible. Thanks.
But in general (skill acquisition aside) then you think that the conversion of raw strength from dumbbell to barbell is about 1.5X?
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09-21-2004, 03:53 PM #12
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09-21-2004, 04:05 PM #13
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09-21-2004, 04:06 PM #14
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09-21-2004, 04:11 PM #15
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09-21-2004, 04:17 PM #16
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09-21-2004, 04:22 PM #17
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09-21-2004, 04:24 PM #18
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09-21-2004, 04:25 PM #19
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09-21-2004, 04:28 PM #20
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09-21-2004, 04:30 PM #21
I believe you read it somewhere and tested it out. That's why I asked the rationale behind it. Too many times we are instructed out of some 'guru's' whacko idea that this is what we should be able to lift, and they dont give you any reason behind it. As a result, tons of guys are out there stuck at the wall of what one guy happened to BELIEVE to be his potential.
However, if something has a scientific rationale behind it, then it's understandable, researchable. I've read alot, been training for awhile. But am not familiar with any conversion table, which is why I asked everyone's opinion. Your's seems to be very low-ball, and not "scaled" (since strength increases by percentage, rather than a static add-on.)
Anyway, the other guys here have proven that number to be too low... and on average 1.5 times higher. 30lbs is not sufficient to account for the dramatic carryover when moving from unilateral to bilateral stabilization.
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09-21-2004, 04:31 PM #22
- Join Date: Oct 2003
- Location: currently at Binghamton University
- Age: 38
- Posts: 289
- Rep Power: 251
Originally Posted by TheNextBigThing
if you had experience with this youd probably know that despite the range of motion, the exercises can seem quite different. so lemme get this straight, a person who can lift the 30 lb dumbbells once can bench 90 lbs, and a person who lifts the 150 lb dumbbells benches 330?
the first one can bench 50% more, and the second can only bench 10% more?
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09-21-2004, 04:32 PM #23
I'm not here to debate which is superior - barbell or dumbbell bench press. Bottom line is that dumbbell lifts require superior stabilization and motor control than the same lift secured between both hands - the barbell. If that weren't the case, then the number would be lower, not higher.
If "everyone knows" that conversion rate, then why only one out of 10 people here have heard of it? And its the first time I've ever heard of such an add-on.
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09-21-2004, 04:33 PM #24
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09-21-2004, 04:48 PM #25
If you've never done barbell bench, or haven't done so for a good many months, your barbell may actually be lower then your dumbell press. The ROM is completely different. On a DB press your hands aren't always the same length apart. It varies at the top an bottom of the movement. On a BB press, your grip is fixed, at say shoulder width, and never changes. BB press also usually incorporates more tricep use then the DB press. The form takes a bit to get used to if you don't ruitinely alternate between the two.
D.I.
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09-21-2004, 05:25 PM #26
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09-21-2004, 06:10 PM #27
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09-21-2004, 06:21 PM #28
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09-21-2004, 06:38 PM #29Originally Posted by Swole4Life
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09-21-2004, 06:45 PM #30
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