Dumbell Press

[New Jack]

If you don't ever have a spotter and you substitute flat dumbell bench for flat barbell bench, will you get similar results in terms of size, strength, and pump. I know the range of motion is greater and the pecs are worked separately.

I also have the same question for dumbell military press instead of barbell military press.

What about for boxing, which one is better dumbell or barbell.

 

[b fold the truth]

I always suggest the flat barbell anything over a dbell...as well as overhead presses. I don't have a spot either...and I manage.

Anytime you are concerned with function...use the exercise where you can handle the most weight.

B True

 

[louden_swain]

I agree with B Fold, I favor barbells over dumbbells. I like barbells because I can handle a lot more weight. Don't get me wrong, dumbbells are excellent for developing size and strength. I guess it is what you prefer.

 

[bishonen]

Dumbbells are prime if one side of your body is weaker than the other. Better to concentrate on keeping them even, than doing a heavy barbell lift and compensating by using one side more than the other. That's just dangerous and silly looking.

 

[Vortexx]

progress with barbell presses contributes to progress with dumbell presses but it usually doesn't work the other way around.

I think that you should do them both, starting with the barbell exercise fist.

Let's see how that workout (pun indended) for chest:

As the benchpressin pressing exercise also tax the delts / tris and the the dumbell presses need some assistance of them as well, i do dumbell flyes to as the SECOND exercise to make sure that with the last exercise (the dumbell presses) the chest is more fatigued than the delts or arms....

Also throw out the cable curls, the peck decks etc, you got to get used to pressing some considerable weight to get sustained growth....


session 1:

- incline benchpress 8-6-12 reps
- decline or flat flyes 10-8-14 reps supersetted with dips
- incline dumbell press 10-8-14 reps supersetted with dips
- flat or decline dumbell press 10-814 reps supersetted with dips


session 2:

- flat or decline benchpress 8-6-12 reps
- incline flyes 10-8-14 reps supersetted with dips
- decline or flat dumbell press 10-8-14 reps supersetted with dips
- incline dumbell press 10-814 reps supersetted with dips

Do a LOT of variation with the incline angles everywhere from 65 to 35 degrees incline angle. I used to think that LOW inclines (20-309) degrees were the key to upper chest development due to less DELT involvement, but acually its the high incline 65-55 degrees that seem to do the trick and YES it does rely a lot on front delts, so the key to upper chest is to have powerfull front delts , so get serious with push presses and cleans....


Dave Draper has an exellent article about upper chest..

http://www.davedraper.com/article-43-upper-chest.html