dumbbells or barbells?

[bigmike72887]

what works better to develope the chest dumbbell presses or barbell presse? i also need more work on my upper chest should i do more incline exercies then flat?

[Biggs]

I find that I am able to exert much greater concentration and place much more of the impact on my pecs with db's rather than a barbell, improving isolation, range of motion (especially with the incline press movement) and fatigue, etc... so I would say yes to the second question as well, incline presses give your chest a much more dramatic, less "slopey" appearance and really help give the whole front of your physique a "completed" look, as if you actually bodybuild rather than act like a "curl and press" pansy.

[Matthew D]

Incline movements will definely work on the upper part of the chest, decline on the lower. I would mix it up.. one week do movements with dumbells and the next with barbell..

[sage]

The one perception a lot of people have who's just starting off is that barbell is more for overall mass and thickness, while dumbbell is to cut up the muscles and make oneself leaner. (ha).... yea ok.....
The question of DB vs BB is debatable and i would lean towards an answer of "its up to the individual's presence and comfort in choosing one over the other". I second the notion that DB gives myself personally, a feeling of better contraction. Also, when lifting the last rep or two, i feel a lot of people (myself too), lose strictness in their form more so using BB presses, than DB. But remember, you body adapts to the exercises you do and if you're doing one exercise, on one angle, on everyday you train a specific bodypart, you're just asking for adaptation. So vary it up with db and bb, as well as the angles and types of exercises.
Sage

[max silver]

I too prefer dumbbells personally for all pressing movements. I used to use barbells exclusively for chest exercises, and found that I was seeing very little in the way of gains in my chest, as barbell pressing for me tends to only hit my front delts and triceps exclusively. It was getting to the point where my chest was lagging quite a bit, and still does now somewhat, I'll likely be playing catchup for a long time yet.

I find it way easier to make the proper mind/muscle connection with dumbbells, and find that they are much easier on my shoulders as well. I've switched to dumbbells for all my pressing exercises exclusively, and have no intentions of switching back to barbell pressing.

[Matthew D]

The only complain I have with DB is getting them into position to do a press. As you move up in weight in gets harder and harder to swing/knee bump them into place, at least that is with me

[Future]

Variation is nice. Inclines work the pec minor while declines work the pec major the best. Flat bench isn't as efficient for chest development.

[pegasus]

I've heard that it is good to switch it up from time to time.

[jweave23]

I use DB's for flat bench and BB for incline press. I think I would switch this up but I workout alone usually, so (as Matt said) it's harder to get those DB's up into position for inclne. In general though, I'd say I prefer DB's.

[sage]

I've heard that it is good to switch it up from time to time.

absolutely. not just dumbells vs barbells. But always keep variation an open option with the angles of your exercises, rep and set schemes, choice of exercises, splits, priority training, etc. The human body is a scary thing bro... its adaptation awareness is pretty damn amazing. So why would someone stick to one constant workout?
Sage

[Bean]

Variation is nice. Inclines work the pec minor while declines work the pec major the best. Flat bench isn't as efficient for chest development.

I dont even think the pec minor is visible is it? it sits underneath the front delt and pec major i thought

[Onslaught]

Try pinching your shoulder blades together when you're pressing. You won't be able to handle as much weight, but it has positive effects when training for hypertrophy. So, don't be an ego-lifter.

Bean, are you saying that it's not as important to train then? If so, that's wrong. Hypertrophying the pec minor will "bring out" the muscles you mentioned. Hence, why it's the prefered press for bodybuilders.

[size]

I will tell you this:
I can't remember the last time I did flat barbell bench press.
I do not do any decline movement.

I use incline movements as the foundation for my chest via barbell, dumbbells, smith machine, hammer press, etc.

Does this mean I am right and everyone should follow? Of course not,well maybe , but I have seen better gains just by sticking with strict heavy incline movements.

[cjb]

I did variations of BB benching (incline, decline, flat) for about 9 years and saw moderate gains. For about the past 2 years, I've been doing DB's only and my chest has grown more in that short timespan than the previous 9 years.

[jminis]

I just read an article about this here's the clip that pertains to this discussion:

EMG studies (which measure the activity of a muscle) show that the decline dumbell press is the single most effective excercise for stimulating the primary muscle of the chest-pectoralis major. This is thought to be due to the fact that the shoulder muscle, specifically the anterior deltoid, is taken out of the movement, placing virtually all the load on the pecs.

[88wheelie]

Decline DB are my personal favorite and weighted Dips

[FTMGuy]

Who said pec minor needs to be shot. Its the major clavicular head of the pec that inclines work (the upper pec).

http://bodybuilding.about.com/gi/dyn...FExercise.html

[2gcorey]

mathewD i agree 100% i'm now doing 70lb db incline presses and it SUCKS to get them into position, i dread that more than lifting them. i now have to stand up and do the knee bump and sit down to get under them, it blows, but once i'm there, wooo hooooo

[size]

mathewD i agree 100% i'm now doing 70lb db incline presses and it SUCKS to get them into position, i dread that more than lifting them. i now have to stand up and do the knee bump and sit down to get under them, it blows, but once i'm there, wooo hooooo

Wait until you start using the 100's and up. It is brutal.

[jweave23]

Wait until you start using the 100's and up. It is brutal.

Agreed. I tried getting 120's up on incline, didn't happen too well