BB to DB?

[Silverback]

if i switch to doing dumbbell press in place of barbell bench..will my bench strength go down as a result?

or should i stick with bb bench?

ive been pondering the change for sometime, also when you say that you do a dumbell bench of e.g. 100lbs does that mean 100lbs each hand or 50 lbs in each hand?

your opinions are appreciated.

[EVO]

I am new to this but i work with several people who are into bodybuilding and powerlifting and the swear by doing both. Why not stick to a barbell bench press and the do a low inlice dumbell press. That is what i do and it kills me, btw that was the advice i was given by people who lift at work.

[NateDogg]

The total weight you lift will probably decrease. Meaning 200 lb BB bench =/= 100 lbs each for DB presses.

When I say 50 lb DB press I mean 50 lbs in each hand

[Raven Blade]

They key is mixing it up. Don't let your body get too used to one thing. One day you could start with BB and the next chest workout do DB. Keep your body guessing and it will keep on growing.

[Silverback]

thanks NateDogg for clearing it up,

i have talked with a local powerlifting world champion who lives a few streets away from me and he says that he never does dumbell presses because they are used for growth, whereas barbell focuses on strength.

[body]

Originally posted by Raven Blade
They key is mixing it up. Don't let your body get too used to one thing. One day you could start with BB and the next chest workout do DB. Keep your body guessing and it will keep on growing.

won't this shock your nueral system, rather than your muscles.

after all, all a muscle can do is contract.

some people, i agree with them, will say the opposite. get a routine and keep on it. mixing it will not increase hypertrophy if you have a good routine in the 1st palce.

if you have a bad routine, then mix in a good one, you will improve. but then i would drop the bad part.

[MonStar]

Your strength in barbell bench may go down a little if you switch to DBs. That what happened to me but it came back quick. Switching to flat DB pressing though really helped me gain size in my pecs because I was so accustomed to flat BB pressing.

[Kal Vegas]

I tend to just do BB on bench. One could argue that dips are better still. I don't belong to that camp, but I could probably argue for it. Save the db's for your incline press. Bench is a great compound, lift a much as you can when doing it.

[zwarrior99]

Hey the DB are great for mass, I would pick them over a BB anyday. Just BB are much better for strength.

[Goin_Big]

My bb strength is usually either the same or stronger after doing db bench for awhile. Also, I dunno that yer gonna be able to do the 100 lb dbs if you can bb bench 200. No offense Nate, but it's just a harder exercise and I usually end up workin with much less weight comparitively than I do on bb bench.

[NateDogg]

Originally posted by Goin_Big
My bb strength is usually either the same or stronger after doing db bench for awhile. Also, I dunno that yer gonna be able to do the 100 lb dbs if you can bb bench 200. No offense Nate, but it's just a harder exercise and I usually end up workin with much less weight comparitively than I do on bb bench.

No offense at all reread my post bro, I aid that a 200 lb bench IS NOT NECESSARILY EQUAL to the same amount of reps with 100 lb DB's. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

[Goin_Big]

my bad bro, I didn't realize what =/= meant, lol.

[NateDogg]

Lol, ok...funny thing is, I knew what it meant, but I learned how to do it like that "=/=" on this board about 2 days ago.