BB to DB pressing

[bolt10]

I was wondering is there any kind of conversion that helps you to know around how much you can use with one depending on the other(i know there should be alot of factors that can affect this but i was jw..)?

I mainly ask because i am not exactly sure why but i seem to be able to do pretty decent amount of weight with dumbbells but with the barbell presses i struggle. Not only with weight but on dumbbells i seem to be able to push through barriers easier...i think it has something to do with my past shoulder issues. Any tips on helping my barbell pressing?

 

[kitchenstud]

i'm curious about this, too. I feel like I can push reasonable weight with the db's, but I'm terrible with a bar. Most of that is because of my fragile shoulder.

 

[OCCFan023]

Its hard to convert from one to another due to varying strength in the supporting muscle that aren't utilized as much from one to the other.

I have found dumbbells to be far easier to progress in because it really concentrates solely on the chest as opposed to a lot of support from the anterior delt and other synergists.

Personally I think it could also be a mental thing with some people with a barbell (especially if you don't have a spotter.)

Curious what does your current bb to db schedule look like? Do you do bb one week and then db the next or is it longer periods of time in between?

 

[bolt10]

Its hard to convert from one to another due to varying strength in the supporting muscle that aren't utilized as much from one to the other.

I have found dumbbells to be far easier to progress in because it really concentrates solely on the chest as opposed to a lot of support from the anterior delt and other synergists.

Personally I think it could also be a mental thing with some people with a barbell (especially if you don't have a spotter.)

Curious what does your current bb to db schedule look like? Do you do bb one week and then db the next or is it longer periods of time in between?

Well usually i will switch it up...like 6 weeks i work on BB press then the next 6 weeks i will work on DB press. It just seems like i can keep progressing on DB presses but have trouble on BB presses. The point you make about the mental thing could be it bc i do not usually have a spot. I also think something about barbell press does aggravate my shoulder more than anything else i do.

 

[luxxor]

personally, I have found that no matter how much my DB's progress, my BB bench will stall if I dont train it once a week. Since I used to be a professional powerlifter, I can attribute this to the fact that DB and BB bench use completely BB bench utilizes mainly the front delts and tris. DB bench hits the pecs mainly.

 

[B5150]

The dumbbells natural instability provides the benefit of the conditioning of stabilizing muscles. This will contribute to the difference.

Dumbell presses provide a greater range of motion, varied width of grip, arm and hand rotation throughout the exercise that can lead to increased poundage relative to BB press.

 

[bolt10]

hmm interesting. Thanks for some of the info guys...it is definitely along the lines i was thinking. I was just seeing if more people came across what I had noticed. I no doubt still benefit from BB Pressing and over the last year i have developed good form on it and have really learned to press mostly with the chest, it just gets discouraging when i struggle so hard to progress with it.

 

[drummaboyzl]

The dumbbells natural instability provides the benefit of the conditioning of stabilizing muscles. This will contribute to the difference.

Dumbell presses provide a greater range of motion, varied width of grip, arm and hand rotation throughout the exercise that can lead to increased poundage relative to BB press.

the same point i was going to make. BB keeps you in one position as far as wrists, elbows, arms in general. the DB's you have an increased range of motion playing more to your strengths.

as far as the mental block, test that theory. find a day when one of your buddies isn't busy and get him to go with you and be your spotter. i know that when i have a spotter i put up more weight than i normally do which has seemed to progress me more than/equally as much as the DB's

 

[OCCFan023]

I'm not saying this is your case but I find that since most people will bump up weights on dumbbells pretty readily (it has to be a 5 pound increment or even a 10 in some gyms) thats a massive jump in percentage of weight. On barbells people are afraid to use the 2.5 pound plates. An extra 5 pounds does make a difference.

But if you don't have a spotter than theres no way you can truly get all the benefits out of a bench press (if your training for strength increases.)

 

[bolt10]

I'm not saying this is your case but I find that since most people will bump up weights on dumbbells pretty readily (it has to be a 5 pound increment or even a 10 in some gyms) thats a massive jump in percentage of weight. On barbells people are afraid to use the 2.5 pound plates. An extra 5 pounds does make a difference.

But if you don't have a spotter than theres no way you can truly get all the benefits out of a bench press (if your training for strength increases.)

yea i use the 2.5 quite often and it does help with my progression. I would like to say that it is not like i have not been progressing on the BB, i actually have made some really good gains on it this past year while gaining a good mind muscle connection on it rather than just powering up the weight. I train it mostly for the muscle building effects with strength secondary. thanks once again every1 this basically just reaffirms what i was thinking in my head i was just making sure i was right :hammer:

 

[KurtisWicked]

The dumbbells natural instability provides the benefit of the conditioning of stabilizing muscles. This will contribute to the difference.

Dumbell presses provide a greater range of motion, varied width of grip, arm and hand rotation throughout the exercise that can lead to increased poundage relative to BB press.

Defintiely agree with this. I stopped benching for about 6 weeks and just used DB's. I got up to 120's. Went back to bench and was repping 315 without a spotter.

 

[kitchenstud]

my shoulder can't handle the BB presses, so I just stick to DB's. I've made a lot of progress here lately, I'm up to the 60's.

 

[Necroticism]

i dont think there is a direct correlation. for instance, on chest, my bench max with a BB is about 265, but with dumbells i rep 100s, whereas with shoulder press i can rep 80's, but have trouble with 135 on barbell.

 

[BigCasino]

i dont think there is a direct correlation. for instance, on chest, my bench max with a BB is about 265, but with dumbells i rep 100s, whereas with shoulder press i can rep 80's, but have trouble with 135 on barbell.

I concur

I remember I used to do dumbells exclusively, was cranking out the 130lbs DBs for 10 reps and benching 225 for bench when I first tried it. Of course after working at it for two months I was doing 315 for low reps, so I think part of it is training your body to do the exercise movement and form those mind muscle connections that vary exercise to exercise.

Now I incorperate both DBs and BBs for chest

 

[jminis]

my shoulder can't handle the BB presses, so I just stick to DB's. I've made a lot of progress here lately, I'm up to the 60's.

I agree bb puts a lot of stress on my right should so I stick with H.S. press and DB's. It's amazing how far some of these machines like hammer strength and cybex, ect... have come in the plate load machine market.