Dumbell or Barbell presses for bench/ which first and whats better???

[punch]

Did chest yesterday.

Flat Barbell:

warmup
225 10 reps
275 5 reps
" "
" "
225 10 reps

Dumbell Incline:
100's 10 reps
100's 6 reps
" "

Flyes:
50's 10 reps
60's 10 reps
70's 8 reps

Problem is when I do Incline dumbell first my chest is torched the next day. This is not the case with the workout I posted.

Also when I concentrate on Dumbells it seems as if I feel more fullness in the entire Pec region. I am a big advocate of both movements, however, it seems as if the dumbells have consistantly given way to more well rounded chest. What do you all think.

 

[PolishHammer1977]

Problem is when I do Incline dumbell first my chest is torched the next day. This is not the case with the workout I posted.

Sounds like you have it figured out.

I like incline barbell first in chest workouts. I like incline db's too. For me barbell is better

 

[punch]

I thought i had it all figured out, however, I am an old school warrior who always believed super heavy barbell. Im 32 now and am starting to realize that for SHAPE and overall developement, dumbells work more muscle than barbell. Go figure.

 

[notoriousQQ]

Over the winter, I got excellent results from varying the order in which I did flat and incline work and would typically rotate dumbbells and barbell.

dumbbells = better strech and pump 4 me

 

[PolishHammer1977]

I thought i had it all figured out, however, I am an old school warrior who always believed super heavy barbell. Im 32 now and am starting to realize that for SHAPE and overall developement, dumbells work more muscle than barbell. Go figure.

Old school warrior

DB's do work well for shape. No doubt about it Rock on man.

 

[Lee]

i ALWAYS do incline db first on chest/tri day. its my favorite excersize of that group and i fell the best pump from it. then i move onto flat barbell, then incline flyes.

 

[witkowsd]

I rotate between dumbells and barbells but I usually always do db flys - this week I added the pec dec for a finishing exercise - today I am feeling it.

 

[JollyRogers]

Incline bench 5x5 & then some standing cable flys, flexing when you bring in your arms (for about 2-4 secs) 4x10. then after I add in spec iso work on my delts with uprights at 5x6-10

I get quite sore doing this, sometimes for 3 days, when I get used to it, Im gonna add in some pec deck movement, prob 2 sets

So dumbell, barbell, they all work great.. both have thier uses

 

[punch]

It seems rather simple actually. If you could go down further on presses w/ dumbells you get better range of motion and your shoulders are not placed under as much stress. Problem is most gyms only go up to 120-140lb dbls, so if your lifting heavy you may have to prefatigue w/ straight bar. Anyway, its all good!!!

 

[PolishHammer1977]

your exactly right.

I think you may be graduating from the 120 and under db gym and into the 120 + gym.

congrats amigo

 

[punch]

right on PH77. going to start hitting dbls first for a month and see what difference it makes. One or two workouts are not enough. thx for the input

 

[PolishHammer1977]

Anytime brother. I see big things for you!

 

[Vortexx]

Bump for heavy incline dumbell presses as first exercise.

Actually you might consider doing decline benchpress or decline dumbell press instead of flat benchpress as second exercise, this way, you can still use really heavy weight, without front delt (wich you killed with the inclines) being a showstopper...


After reading this great article wich absolutely rocks:

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine/fascialstretching.htm

I started to incorporate dropsets, dumbell flye stretches and static holds in my chest workout and believe me, your chest will feel sore and full the following days...

Sample INTENS HARDCORE chest workout including fascial stretches:

Incline (25-35 degrees) dumbell press, 3 sets (after warming up)
set 1: 7 reps + 2 forced assisted reps
set 2: 4 reps + 2 forced assisted reps + triple drop set + incline flyes dumbell stretch (30 sec) + static hold upward cable scoop (30 seconds)
set 3: 6 reps + 2 forced assisted reps + triple drop set + incline flyes dumbell stretch (30 sec) + static hold upward cable scoop (30 seconds)

Decline benchpress
set 1: 5 reps + 2 forced assisted reps
set 2: 4 reps + 2 forced assisted reps + triple drop set + flat flyes dumbell stretch (30 sec) + static hold downward cable cross (30 seconds)
set 3: 6 reps + 2 forced assisted reps + triple drop set + flat flyes dumbell stretch (30 sec) + static hold downward cable cross (30 seconds)

Incline dumbell flyes
set 1: 8 reps + 2 forced assisted reps + dips to failure
set 2 10 reps + 2 forced assisted reps + dips to failure + incline flyes dumbell stretch (30 sec) + static hold upward cable scoop (30 seconds)

decline dumbell press
set 1: 8 reps + 2 forced assisted reps
set 2 10 reps + 2 forced assisted reps + flat flyes dumbell stretch (30 sec) + static hold downward cable cross (30 seconds)

Ouch!

 

[Debaser]

You're right ouch. That's the most ludicrous chest workout I've ever seen. I'd even call it catabolic.