DB vs BB?

[Fastcav]

First off I would just like to say hi for I am new to you board. Hopefully I can get the insight and help I need to get my workout to the next level.

That being said I would just like to ask everyone if they have more trouble benching with a barbell as opposed to dumbells? I am 6'2" 180lbs with pretty long arms. My max lift with a barbell is 235 x1 but I can get the 130lb dumbells x1. Everyone I have talked to says dumbells are much harder than barbell so my question is if thats true am I training something wrong that is making my dumbell lift heavier than the barbell?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[perfectbeast2001]

Dbs should be harder. I can bench a hell of a lot more with BB (although I dont due to rotator cuff problems). Maybe you need to take some tips on your flat BB bench form.

[BigLittleTim]

Conventional wisdom has it that dumbbell work-outs use auxiliary muscles which help stabilize the main muscles being worked, ie: You're recruiting more muscles to keep yourself steady and on-balance when you're benching with dumbbells vs. a barbell.

This is supposedly also why you should work-out with free weights as opposed to machines; the machine helps "track" the weights and you're not using those auxiliary muscles, again.

Then again, I could just be talking out my arse.

-BigLittleTim

[terboman]

Do you have some kind of rotator cuff injury? What you are being told is correct, you should be able to press more with a BB than with a set of DB's. However, when you grip the BB, your grip width is fixed (the same at the top as it is when you touch your chest with the bar). With DB's, you can move them closer together at the top and further apart at the bottom. If you have injured something in your shoulder that compensates for the distance during BB presses...I could see this situation occuring.

Do you normally do power singles during your training? When you do say....a set of 8, is the difference between BB and DB's still as apparent?

[SuperLift]

Its wise to incorporate both freeweight and machine, BB and DB in your workouts imo. Im always abale to lift more with BB ..

[Fastcav]

Do you have some kind of rotator cuff injury? What you are being told is correct, you should be able to press more with a BB than with a set of DB's. However, when you grip the BB, your grip width is fixed (the same at the top as it is when you touch your chest with the bar). With DB's, you can move them closer together at the top and further apart at the bottom. If you have injured something in your shoulder that compensates for the distance during BB presses...I could see this situation occuring.

Do you normally do power singles during your training? When you do say....a set of 8, is the difference between BB and DB's still as apparent?

No injuries that I know of. I get a cramps in my shoulder while doing flat bench with DBs but its very rare. But it usually works itself out with in an hour or so of finishing my work out.

Doing my normal routine its still very apparent. The week I do BB bench on flat I usually start with 195 x8, 205 x8 and finish with 215 x6-8. The week im on DB flat bench I'll start with 110s x8, 115s x8 and finish with 120s for 6-8 reps.

Im starting with more total weight on DB than I finish with on BB day. If its gentics or something like that I have no controll over then Im fine with that. But if this is a result of me training something incorrectly then I would definatly like to fix it. Its embaressing to be working out with some guys pressing about the same weight as them when we are on DBs but then the next week when we are doing BB presses they are all doing over 300 lbs and im struggling to put up 200 lbs.

Thanks for any help/advice in advance.

[hanibal829]

Sorry to kinda jack your thread but i have a question about DB and BB also.
Which one should you use if your trying to build mass?

[WelshWarrior]

I'm struggling with those numbers - I've always been stronger on DB than most, yet still my BB is better. You can really bang out 6-8 strict ones with 120lb DB's, yet you do 215lb total on BB? Thats a big disequilibrium.

Aside from too much help from a spotter or poor form, I would think it must be an injury.

At your weight, 120lb DBs are respectable.

[S431M7]

I use both Dbel and barbells depending on the exercise. Somtimes i prefer dbell over barbell, sometimes it is the other way round.

[Fastcav]

Sorry to kinda jack your thread but i have a question about DB and BB also.
Which one should you use if your trying to build mass?

I do both;

week 1 bb
week 2 db
week 3 bb
week 4 db

Don't know if thats the best way to go about it but it seems to be working ok.

[Fastcav]

I'm struggling with those numbers - I've always been stronger on DB than most, yet still my BB is better. You can really bang out 6-8 strict ones with 120lb DB's, yet you do 215lb total on BB? Thats a big disequilibrium.

Aside from too much help from a spotter or poor form, I would think it must be an injury.

At your weight, 120lb DBs are respectable.

Depends on how im feeling, what I ate and what time of day it is when I hit the gym. On a good day I can get 6-8 with the 120s with a little help on mabye the 7th or 8th rep. I have also had days though when I could only get 3-5 and with some help on the last one.

As far as injury I have a physical coming up maybe I'll ask the doc to check my shoulder out, I do get pain in it every once in a while.

[Fastcav]

sorry for so many posts. I ment to also add I think im going to try and closer grip next time I bench on the barbell. I have been reading a few of the other members posts about benching and have seen a few people sugest that so im gonna give it a shot and I'll let you guys know on Monday night.

Thanks again for everyones help.