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  1. #1
    daem's Avatar
    daem is offline Anabolic Member
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    Dumbbell conversions to barbell...

    Whats up guys, I was just wondering if someone could point me in the direction of a chart or had some method to determining max chest strength when using dumbbells...

    ie. if i can rep 125lbs 8x's on incline bench then what should my max be? just curious to see how dumbbell weight translates to barbell weight or what kind of conversion factors are needed.

  2. #2
    Farmer's Avatar
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    IMHO, I don't think there is one...it can really vary a lot from different people. I know people that can barbell bench 315 and have trouble with the 95's and there are people that use the 95's that cannot bench 315.

  3. #3
    xxxl83 is offline Productive Member
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    Only one way to find out. Get under the bar and find out for yourself. All that chart stuff is bullshit.

    xxxl83
    Last edited by xxxl83; 03-18-2003 at 06:59 PM.

  4. #4
    harl's Avatar
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    You should be able to use the 60's for incline dumbells.....

  5. #5
    Yung Wun is offline Member
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    Originally posted by Farmer
    IMHO, I don't think there is one...it can really vary a lot from different people. I know people that can barbell bench 315 and have trouble with the 95's and there are people that use the 95's that cannot bench 315.

    i'm one of those people
    i can rep 100's but cant do shit on barbell

  6. #6
    Short_Guy's Avatar
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    Ditto: can handle 95 lb. dumbells but jack all on the bar.

  7. #7
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    BIG TEXAN is offline Respected Member
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    Farmer's right......if you really want to find out, just go in and max out on bench one day.

  8. #8
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    Same here... dumbell incline, flat and decline is fine, but anything with a straight bar is a nightmare because of the pain in my shoulder.

    Red

  9. #9
    PhatBack is offline New Member
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    From my experience, there is zero carry over from one to the other....when my barbell movements are stalled, I switch to d-bells for a couple months, then when I come back to the barbell I am usually weaker at first, but within a few weeks, I am smashing my old PR's, so basically they both work and as long as an unjury doesn't prevent you from doing one or the other switch them to stay fresh and keep making gains inthe long run.

  10. #10
    yellows2k is offline Member
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    Read this somewhere, theoretically, 225x10 on BB should be 100x10 onDB

    I can account to this theory. This is what I just heard.

  11. #11
    Rich8888's Avatar
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    Because Barbell vs. dumbell requires a differing techniques, there isn't really a straight forward strength conversion comparision form one to the other. They engage the muscle groups somewhat differently and therefore build those muscle groups indepently from barbell to dumbell.

  12. #12
    AndroholiK's Avatar
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    i can rep 90lbs dumbells but i cant do shit on the barbell bench. as long as my chest is coming along good i dont mind too much. like farmer said its different for everyone, no set rule or principle.

  13. #13
    Maximus_Pecs's Avatar
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    I think it vaires by person. I max 315 flat barbell press but can flat db press 130x8, while my workout partner can easily flat barbell press 315x10 but has problems flat DB pressing 110. ditto on the incline presses.

  14. #14
    Farmer's Avatar
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    Another factor is getting back into barbell after dumbell. When I switched to DB's for a good portion of time and then went back to barbell I was having trouble balancing 135. My chest wasn't used to working together so it took me a few times to get back into the groove of it.

    Peace

  15. #15
    Aguro's Avatar
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    115 dumbell on inclined, cant press more then 275 on flat.. Go figure..

  16. #16
    Gear's Avatar
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    From my experience I belive that using dumbells is harder as you can go down a lot further and feel that stretch (stretch marks). With the bar you can only go as far as your chest goes, as the bar goes across your chest and canot go down any further coz ur chest would b in the way. But like i said, with dumbells, you can actually bring them down as far as you want, and the lower you go the harder it is to push them back up so there4 IMO dumbells are harder if you are a strict trainer and go down all the way. IMO i prefer the dumbells over the bar but thats just me hey.

    -Gear

  17. #17
    Gear's Avatar
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    i have actually seen guys at the gym not use da bar at all coz their chest is so big and it stiks out too much when they lay down on the bench. So by the time they pik up the bar and start going down, they have hit their chest already and now must go back up. They say this isnt strict training so they use dumbells and go down as far as they want to. It sorta makes sense but then again you see the biggest guys in the world use the bar more then dumbells when it comes to chest. I dont know, a little confusing

  18. #18
    Gear's Avatar
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    Ok here is me again, I just 4got to say that when useing dumbells not only can you bring them down further then the bar, but when you push them back up you can actually bring them in 2gether and really squezze ur chest as your going up and bringing the dumbells closer to eachother. With the bar you can still squezee ur chest as your going up, but you can get more of a squezze if your pushing your dumbells up and bringing them closer 2 eachother. Bringing the dumbells in together as your pushing them up and squezzing IMO works a lot better then if you were to do that with the bar.

    -Gear

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