Switched back to BB Bench today...

[hoser813]

Wow I'm weak!! I switched back after almost a year of straight db press and Im down about 40lbs of what I used to do. I dont know if I should keep at it or go back to db. I might do what my lifting partner does, which is bb one week and db the next.

[JConrad]

Are you copying me LOL, i did the exact same thing today after 3 months. For some reason I expected to be able to lift more with a BB than two DBs combined, but it was a LOT less.
I don't know about you, but the reason I have gone back to BB bench is that the DBs got so heavy that it was hard to get in position for the bench.

[Natetaco]

thats weird, if you DB bench went up then your BB should have gone up some too.. or at least stayed about the same. I bet it will go back up fast, your probably just not used to it again yet.

[Nosaj]

You should do some kind of BB and DB pressing each week. If I do flat BB, I'll do incline DB, and vice versa, if I do flat DB, I'll do incline BB. Your BB bench numbers should go up pretty quicky as your stabilizer muscles get used to the feeling of BB benching again. Have fun with it, good times.

[f=ma]

i prefer the BB. occasionally when doing db, one will misload the weight when rolling back into position and its very fatiguing to straighten things out

[Nosaj]

i prefer the BB. occasionally when doing db, one will misload the weight when rolling back into position and its very fatiguing to straighten things out

I have never had that problem, maybe work on strengthening your stablizer muscles. Like you said, you prefer BB, so you probably just need practice with high weight DB's. I can incline DB almost as much as I can incline BB, it just takes practice.

[f=ma]

incline DB is much much easier to setup than flat DB because you can just kick the weight up and sit back

[f=ma]

its much easier to take a BB off a rack then roll back with DBs in hand IMO.. i cant think of a single argument that can refute that.

you can get someone to hand you the DBs but thats pretty much all

[Vapour Trails]

The same thing occured to me, switch to DB pressing killed my BB bench.

They aren't the same thing and when you stop BB benching, you become less efficient and coordinated at it. Also, you will invariably use less weight doing DBs which equals less stimulation.

[Stumprrp]

same thing happen to me also way back, it killed my BB bench, pick 1 and stick with it i would reccomend.

[DaoineSidhe]

I don't get it.

What mechanical differences would there be that would cause a loss in BB press lifts assuming all things were equal (sets, reps, weight)?

It even looks like all the same muscles and stabilizers are being targeted according to EXRX

BB Benchpress
Dumbbell Benchpress

[mrelwooddowd]

Also, you will invariably use less weight doing DBs which equals less stimulation.

I can't imagine how this could be an accurate statement.

[Songsangnim]

I can't imagine how this could be an accurate statement.

Most people who have wrote on this subject agree that you will not be able to bench the same amount of weight with DB's that you will with a barbell, (assuming that you train both equally seriously). I yet have to see a single person argue the opposite.

[f=ma]

i think he's disagreeing about the lesser stimulation, not the lesser amount of weight

[mrelwooddowd]

i think he's disagreeing about the lesser stimulation, not the lesser amount of weight

You are correct.

[BG5150]

Most people who have wrote on this subject agree that you will not be able to bench the same amount of weight with DB's that you will with a barbell, (assuming that you train both equally seriously). I yet have to see a single person argue the opposite.

But a lot of the guys above are saying they are doing less with the BB's. Which I really don't understand. I've never been able to DB bench as much as I BB benched.

[betastas]

How many of you press the dbs the same way you press the BB? Very few to none. The barbell press also has the advantage of two handed stabilization, which does not require as concentrated an effort as an individual weight in each hand.

The laterals and triceps play more of a role in the bb press than the db press. I've observed people press the DBs with elbows flared more than they do when they press the BB.

[Guido]

Stay with the BB bench again and it should go up quickly as your CNS relearns the movement. Once it does, your BB bench should shoot up quickly since your chest and arm strength is obviously there, and probably more than before you started doing just DB's a year ago. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing.

[Beast]

Same thing happened to me before. I spent a summer working only with dumbbells for chest and my barbell bench went down the drain. Your body loses the coordination required to handle the bar, but it comes back fast.

[BG5150]

Same thing happened to me before. I spent a summer working only with dumbbells for chest and my barbell bench went down the drain. Your body loses the coordination required to handle the bar, but it comes back fast.

I would think your body needs more coordination to do DB presses than BB presses.

[Nosaj]

I would think your body needs more coordination to do DB presses than BB presses.

I would think it goes either way, assuming you completely quit doing the other. I think a lot of people might not notice it if they do BB presses exclusively because most people I know do DB flys, which would stimulate similar muscle stabilizers as DB pressing, whereas nothing really re-inacts BB pressing besides, well, BB pressing.

[Sensei]

If you're not doing both regularly, there's going to be a lot less carryover than you'd expect.

I used to be able to do more w. DBs than on a BB. I stopped doing DB BP a long time ago and now when I do DBs I can barely do 100s for reps, but can do A LOT more with a barbell - I solved the problem by never using dumbells...

[Chris686]

I would think your body needs more coordination to do DB presses than BB presses.

Obviously it does, but that doesn't mean that it's going to carry over to a BB bench because it takes more coordination.

[Songsangnim]

But a lot of the guys above are saying they are doing less with the BB's. Which I really don't understand. I've never been able to DB bench as much as I BB benched.

Which is why I said "assuming that you train both equally seriously."

The guys that are saying that they are doing less have not trained with the BB for a while.