Bar or dumb bells

[Trueman]

I know this shoukld be posted on the training section, but you guys are the only ones who reply, so what the fuck.

Anyway, i was wondering, when working out the chest how many of you just use dumbells, i.e. no bars involved?

If so, what do u think are the benefots of such a practice.

I used to do flat bench, incline bench, pullovers, flat flies and ocaasionally incline dumbell. My chest seemed to get stay as it as. Recently I tried throwing in a few more dumbell exercises such as decline flies, and since then the shape of my pecs has improved, not sure about any size yet.

What do u guys think about focusing more on dumbells and less on the bar. I mean the bar has its place, but dont you find it hard to isolate a single muscle when using it, e.g. the flat bench seems to work the pecs and delts.

Just throw in your $.02

 

[Golfer18--old]

I believe dumbells are superior to bars because you have to balance the weight more. It also emphasizes strength in each arm. On bench your right arm can be stronger and do more work. Dumbells are great for my chest. I also like to change my workout up to bars so i keep growing.

 

[barnes3]

I prefer dumb bell over bar bell. I believe that the extra stretch in-between reps helps with the growth of the pecs. Orville Burk had an article in Flex (I believe last month) about why he chose dumb bells and it came down to able to stretch out the pecs more for growth and shape.

I used to do bar bell but switch and will probably never go back.

just my .02

barnes3

 

[trial0r]

i agree in that barbells limit the amount of stabilizer muscles that come into play in doing a given movement, but i switch my routine frequently. for example 1 month ill do flat bb bench and incline db bench, and after that ill hit a month of flat db and incline bb

 

[Golfer18--old]

Barnes and Trail0r


Good point i forgot about that. Feels great the next morning after doing reps were you really stretch them.

 

[JC Grifter]

Dumbles are great.. i usually use them.. and once ina while use a barbell to change things up

 

[Willyumyum]

I love dumbbells for the stretch... Barbells seem to put more mass on some people, I've always found better results on myself with the dumbbells though... I guess it depends on what your body responds to best...

YUM

 

[Bar Room Hero]

Dumbells are great until you outgrow all of them.

 

[bigokie]

Barbells

I do prefer barbells just because at my current gym DB's only go up to low 100's. But even if I move to a new gym I'll stay with barbells because I just prefer them over db's for growth sakes. I guess if I was more interested in looks over function I might try db's more often.

 

[Code]

When I first started working out, I used strictly barbells and a couple cable machines.

I made very little progress, then I switched to d-bells. WOW, I put on more mass in much less time.

Now, I mix it up. I start my chest day with a medium barbell set. Then go super-heavy d-bells for flat and incline flyes.

But results vary, I know guys who swear by barbells.

 

[BeAsTiam]

many say it's based on the person's body response to either Db or Bb. But i use Bb personally, due to my shoulder injury (dislocated it 3 times this year). There's less of a chance to hurt yourself using barbells. But i also agree that Db give you a wider range of motion, but i'm too much of a pussy to go back to Db because that's how my shouler popped out (did i mention 3 times ) oh well, still need to be in the gym....

 

[JOKER47]

I started having better results when I incorporated BOTH into my chest workout.


.02,
Joker

 

[phatjimmy]

For a long time I stuck to db and saw some good growth. In the past month I have switched to wide grip bas bell presses and have grown a hell of a lot. My favorite chest exercise thought is incline flies. Dop that after 5 sets of wide grip and you are sore as hell.

 

[sausage]

i do dumbells once a month and my bench just constantly goes up

 

[da big thinker]

i beleive that DB's are superior to BB's when it comes to bodybuilding...the range of motion is greater and the fact that you work the muscle unilaterally,obviously creates BALANCE.
ever since incorporating heavy DB's primarily into my routines,my physique has improved by 110% in all aspects...---fyi

 

[strider364]

Their is no right or wrong, your best bet is to experiment and find what works for you. I prefer dumbells myself, but I feel my body reacts better to dumbell. Just keep an open mind.

 

[Bill W]

I think both have a place in your workouts, but I have to admit that I'm partial to barbells. I feel stronger and I enjoy the barbell bench much more, which generally means I have a better workout. I'm not saying I only do the exercises that I enjoy, but there's something about the barbell bench.

I generally start a training split with Chest, and after 2 days off, I like nothing better then getting on the bench. If you can pack on a few more pounds or crank out a few more reps, it continues to motivate me through the week.

 

[bigterm]

I started having better results when I incorporated BOTH into my chest workout.


.02,
Joker

i do the same thing. in my gym, db only go up to 100. so i use the bar and then towards the end of my workout, i do the dummies to kind of compensate. it works pretty good for me

 

[el cubano]

DUMBELLS DUMBELLS DUMBELLS

 

[Bigredbaron]

I work one muscle group per week. So I switch my chest routine with one week all BB, next week all DB, the following week hammer strength. I will also throw in some cable flyes and pec deck machine everytime I work out the chest. I prefer DB over BB for the simple fact that I get a better more isolated workout. The only problem is that my gym only goes up to 85lb DB. THAT SUCKS ASS.

 

[alwysgetnbigga]

i use dumbells for flat bench and the bar for incline

 

[pittbull2]

My dbs only go up 100 lbs so I do barbells heavy and then I do incline flys with the 100 s and its still to light will be getting bigger dbs soon so I will switch up like i use to in a public gym.