dumbells and 5x5

[effinweakling]

Starting monday .....I've got all my numbers worked out...but I'm wondering if i can replace barbell bench w/dumbells. They go up to 130's in my gym. should be plenty for me. The only problem is..after the hundreds they go up by 20 lbs/set. 110, 120...etc. The only reason i ask is cause it's very hard to find a decent spotter i n my gym....I had to wait around for an hour last week to test my 1rm on flat bench cause there were nothin but chix and decrepid lookin old guys in my gym. Thanx

 

[Madcow2]

Better to not push yourself as hard with a barbell than to sub the dumbells. More weight on the system is more stimulus. The first couple weeks should be relatively no issue anyway. The final few should be hard but you shouldn't need a spot every set. Worst case, stop when you feel the onset of trouble and consider it your last rep. This isn't about going to failure as nothing special happens other than a serious tax on the CNS (yeah - there is no magic thing that happens in the muscle you just overly fatigue the system). It's about workload.

 

[effinweakling]

Better to not push yourself as hard with a barbell than to sub the dumbells. More weight on the system is more stimulus. The first couple weeks should be relatively no issue anyway. The final few should be hard but you shouldn't need a spot every set. Worst case, stop when you feel the onset of trouble and consider it your last rep. This isn't about going to failure as nothing special happens other than a serious tax on the CNS (yeah - there is no magic thing that happens in the muscle you just overly fatigue the system). It's about workload.

Thanx!!!..just read another post askin the same question....with basically the same answers LOL! Well, it starts tomorrow. I will be reading as much as possible until then. I'm excited about finally having a program that's regimented, and being able to keep a log that will actually mean something.....I'll be posting my results here as well.Tx again Madcow....k for ya