Barbell bench press doesn't seem to hit my chest as well as dumbell?

D

DanHarris

0
When i'm doing dumbell bench presses I feel it working my chest more so than when i'm doing barbell bench presses.

Is this common or does it mean there's an issue with my technique when benching with a bar? I'm using correct weight for the amount of reps in terms of what my arms can take, but the dumbells just seem to hit my chest a lot better.

I want to switch between the two periodically to stop my body adapting, as well as switching up incline, flat, decline as well, but need to sort out any issues with my form with the bar if that's why i'm feeling a difference.

Cheers
Dan
 
Dumbbells are two separate objects moving all over the place and so you have to stabilise them. A barbell is connected so you can move more weight and overcome any imbalances or weaknesses. As you lift heavier weights then you cannot expect to DB Bench the same as you can BB Bench.
 
blackbeard said:
Dumbbells are two separate objects moving all over the place and so you have to stabilise them. A barbell is connected so you can move more weight and overcome any imbalances or weaknesses. As you lift heavier weights then you cannot expect to DB Bench the same as you can BB Bench.
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I'm not really thinking of the amount of weight itself, more so that when I BB Bench I don't feel like I am working my chest as much, but i'm using as much weight as my arms can take to hit my target reps and sets.

Is it just a common fact that DB Bench works the chest better than BB Bench? I'm using the heaviest weight on each that I can do to hit my target reps, so can't increase the weight.

Just wondering if i'm not feeling it in the chest so much when BB benching I may be doing something wrong, might try a wider grip on the bar tomorrow and see how that works.
 
Like the previous poster said. Dumbells are now involving your stabilizer muscles more because they have to stabalize two separate weights at a time as opposed to the barbell where youre stabilizer muscles are not engaged as much due to the bar doing most of the stabilizing.

It's been a long time since I've studied muscles at my massage therapy class, but the barbell would work to isolate your pec major/Ant. Deltoids with small amounts of stabalizing done with your biceps/triceps but more importantly, your Pec Minor/ant. 'rotator cuffs' (Teres Minor, Infraspinatus, etc.).

The dumbells will put more strain on the stabalizing muscles (Pec Minor/ant. rotator cuffs (teres minor, infraspinatus, etc.). Given that most people give secondary to no thought about their stabalizing muscles (which is why there are a lot of 'rotator cuff' injuries in weightlifters), it would indeed seem like a better workout both during and after because you are engaging the secondary set of muscles with more intensity.

So... depending on your weightlifting goals (overall fitness of all muscles in your body or bulking up the more visible muscles) you would go with dumbell exercises or barbell exercises respectively. Myself, I am a proponent of dumbells with almost every weight training exercise I do so I can get those unseen muscles involved and healthy to avoid injury vs. barbell exercises to bulk up or gain strength quickly. I am sure that there is a happy in-between though, where one would be able to incorporate some dumbbell training into their barbell training since just a little conditioning of the stabilizers will help your maximum barbell bench press and ability to avoid injury immensly.
 
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jermlm said:
Like the previous poster said. Dumbells are now involving your stabilizer muscles more because they have to stabalize two separate weights at a time as opposed to the barbell where youre stabilizer muscles are not engaged as much due to the bar doing most of the stabilizing.

It's been a long time since I've studied muscles at my massage therapy class, but the barbell would work to isolate your pec major/Ant. Deltoids with small amounts of stabalizing done with your biceps/triceps but more importantly, your Pec Minor/ant. 'rotator cuffs' (Teres Minor, Infraspinatus, etc.).

The dumbells will put more strain on the stabalizing muscles (Pec Minor/ant. rotator cuffs (teres minor, infraspinatus, etc.). Given that most people give secondary to no thought about their stabalizing muscles (which is why there are a lot of 'rotator cuff' injuries in weightlifters), it would indeed seem like a better workout both during and after because you are engaging the secondary set of muscles with more intensity.

So... depending on your weightlifting goals (overall fitness of all muscles in your body or bulking up the more visible muscles) you would go with dumbell exercises or barbell exercises respectively. Myself, I am a proponent of dumbells with almost every weight training exercise I do so I can get those unseen muscles involved and healthy to avoid injury vs. barbell exercises to bulk up or gain strength quickly. I am sure that there is a happy in-between though, where one would be able to incorporate some dumbbell training into their barbell training since just a little conditioning of the stabilizers will help your maximum barbell bench press and ability to avoid injury immensly.
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Thanks for that, i'd mis understood what was said previously (my fault! lol)

I'll continue to incorporate a mixture into my workouts, as I think that works. You've explained how each hits different muscles and that the dumbells are working the stabilisers more etc and that explains the difference in feeling between the two.

I think I can get the balance right without sticking to just one all the time. I do most of my weight training with dumb bells where appropriate anyway.

Sometimes find certain lifts, especially if i'm doing a high rep workout on that particular day my wrists can struggle when using dumbells for reasons mentioned in the two responses above. But this isn't so much a question just an observation lol.

Cheers guys.
 
When I was exercising, I used www exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html to find new/different exercises to put a little 'shock' into my exercise routine. It gives a general idea of what muscles it uses, etc. It misses some of the muscle groups that are used sometimes, but usually it is spot on.
 
Read what Mark Rippetoe says about the dumbbell bench vs barbell bench in Starting Strength (and why for example Starting Strength uses barbells). Your reliance on "feel" as the sole criteria for exercise selection is strange TBH. You don't "feel" pullups or squats and yet they are working your muscles.
 
When you do BB bench, do you use the same ROM as DB bench? On top of all the discussion on stabiliser muscles, this could be a factor as well. Frankly, you shouldn't go for increased ROM with DBs, even though they make it possible. The benefits of the increased ROM potential are easily outweighed by the risk of injury from putting your shoulder into such hyperextension.
 
I've heard that dummbell exercise are generally thought to be slightly superior to barbell exercises, since you can focus more on one side...
 
Jojo3000 said:
I've heard that dummbell exercise are generally thought to be slightly superior to barbell exercises, since you can focus more on one side...
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To quote Wendler, anyone with this sort of thinking hasn't been around for long enough.
 
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