HOLY Shit I'm PISSED at DB Press!!

[louden_swain]

You will be fine my friend. Since you have had some time off, it will require some time to get back into flat bench pressing. I always thought that dumbbells were supposed to help you in the long run, as they emphasize developing stabilizer muscles. How did your strength increase on dumbbell presses?

 

[luto199]

i was very pleased with the progress in DB presses. When i started i was doing 55x10 for my last set, and now my last set is 65x10. I also saw my inclines move up as well, and together this is why i thought my flat bench would be increasing also. Can someone help me to understand what muscles flat bench work that DB presses apparently do not. I just want to figure it out for future reference.

 

[bignate73]

my guess in this situation is that you have dramatically improved your coordination and stability of your shoulders...but your bench didnt improve because you havent trained for an increase in strength. the general consensus is that with increased stability you should be able to exert more force. not necessarily true...you have to learn to now produce more force...the stability is there.

there was a study done a while back on stable vs. unstable exercise and force output. the unstable exercises produced less force output due to the inhibition the body feels via proprioception. your body basically turns off its "max" effort in a tradeoff for coordination.

let your body get back into flat benching again and you will find you should be able to push harder due to your stability gained. you basically have to reestablish your motor patterns for that exercise.

the things im learning about strength training lately are very interesting. not all of them i will quote yet, because alot of it im implementing into my own workouts first. dbells were a viable option for a while but now its time to get back to the bench if you want that number to go up.

 

[supersizeme]

yeah i went through a period where i did basically all dumbells and little to no barbell benching. when i finally did get back to using the barbell, the weight i could use had dropped. all it takes is a few weeks of hitting the barbell again to get it back up.
right now i alternate barbells and dumbells. like one week i'll start off with db incline, then hit bb bench, and then then the next week i'll start off with bb incline, then hit db bench. the only thing i don't mix up is that i like doing incline first. but the alternating dbs with bbs has been working out nicely for me.

 

[Ingram]

I boosted my BB bench when I went with just flat DB's for a few months. I guess it doesn't work for everyone.

-Ingram

 

[ant256]

ant256

shit i have been doing dumbells for like the last 6 or so months. I left off at working my sets with 185lbs. Then I switched to all db's using the 60's. Now im doing my sets with the 80's. Im going to try and go back to bb in a few weeks, ive been looking for a massive increase in the amount i bench. I hope this plan doesnt backfire on me. Ive been working shoulders legs and back a lot too. Im looking to be able to work my sets with 215-225. I mean my db bench increased 40 lbs, shouldnt bb increase a portion of that?

 

[luto199]

let me know how it goes when you do flat bench, i'm very curious.

 

[luto199]

one other thing,
Can anyone suguest what to do for my fat bench sets? Considering I can do 185 x 10 (god that sucks!) What should i start at, what should i end at, and how many sets should i do? Thanks

 

[Ingram]

one other thing,
Can anyone suguest what to do for my fat bench sets? Considering I can do 185 x 10 (god that sucks!) What should i start at, what should i end at, and how many sets should i do? Thanks

I'd run it like this...

135 X 12
185 X 8
205 X 6
215 X (4-6)

Once you have 215 for 6 then start boosting up the weight.

-Ingram

 

[luto199]

i like that, i'll do that
karma for YOU!