Thread: ~dumbell presses!~

Originally Posted by kenwood

i love them i'm always doing benchpress with a barbell and yesterday i thought i would change things up and i did db presses and today both pecs are sore an i love them! but i have a couple questions about them below:

1.am i doing them right b/c today my lats are sore as hell.
2.same as question 1 but instead of lats my shoulders are sore too.
3.are you suppose to keep elbows in by ur side? or flared out?
4.it seems hard as hell to lay down on the bench and pick the db's up to do them...is their an easier way?

what i do is sit on the bench an lift a DB onto each knee, then i kind of lie backwards and lift the DBs into place at the same time.

thanks stu,
what i did yesterday i picked the db's up standing brought them up like doing a hammer curl and sat down on the bench and kinda fell back lol

but can anyone answere 1,2,and 3 now? lol

1. We can't say for sure if you're doing them right. However, your lats could certainly be sore. Your upper back do much to stabilize your body and allow for a fairly straight path for the weights to travel during the bench press.

2. Shoulders are a big part of virtually any pressing movement.

3. I prefer to keep my elbows in about the same position as I do when I bench press, which is tucked as much as I comfortably can do so. I don't like flaring my elbows and causing unecessary impingment of the shoulder joint just for the sake of chest development, which can be optimally achieved via other means.

wat works the stabilizers more - bb bench or db?

Originally Posted by kenwood

i love them i'm always doing benchpress with a barbell and yesterday i thought i would change things up and i did db presses and today both pecs are sore an i love them! but i have a couple questions about them below:

1.am i doing them right b/c today my lats are sore as hell.
2.same as question 1 but instead of lats my shoulders are sore too.
3.are you suppose to keep elbows in by ur side? or flared out?
4.it seems hard as hell to lay down on the bench and pick the db's up to do them...is their an easier way?

Just a guess but I would say no.

DB bench works the stabilizers far more than BB bench. It is superior in my eyes for this reason.

yer thought so - im guna focus way more on db pressin for a while now

Originally Posted by zapedy

yer thought so - im guna focus way more on db pressin for a while now

Or you can alternate, I switch it up every other week. I've thought about dropping the BB all together just becaue I feel like I get a much better work out with the DBs

Originally Posted by Squaggleboggin

DB bench works the stabilizers far more than BB bench. It is superior in my eyes for this reason.

You have to find the right balance though. You could also do unilateral DB bench presses on a stability ball. That requires more stabilization, but will detract from the force generated by the muscles involved in the actual pressing movement.

I would generally try to alternate between the two to activate the stabilizers to a greater degree sometimes and active the prime movers to a greater degree other times.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

You have to find the right balance though. You could also do unilateral DB bench presses on a stability ball. That requires more stabilization, but will detract from the force generated by the muscles involved in the actual pressing movement.

I would generally try to alternate between the two to activate the stabilizers to a greater degree sometimes and active the prime movers to a greater degree other times.

That would only detract the generated force in the main movers until the stabilizers are to such a point that they can handle heavier weights though, correct? So, in other words, if you train that for a year or so, you're going to be much stronger overall than someone who trains on a flat bench for a year (referring to the unilateral benches on a stability ball). Not that I'd expect anyone to do this, I'm just thinking out loud here.

Originally Posted by Squaggleboggin

That would only detract the generated force in the main movers until the stabilizers are to such a point that they can handle heavier weights though, correct? So, in other words, if you train that for a year or so, you're going to be much stronger overall than someone who trains on a flat bench for a year (referring to the unilateral benches on a stability ball). Not that I'd expect anyone to do this, I'm just thinking out loud here.

I understand your point, but I think you're off a tiny bit in your thinking. Unfortunately, I don't think that you will ever be able to stress the prime movers to the same degree in less stable exercises as you will with more stable exercise modalities. No matter how strong your stabilizers are, some force will still have to be dissipated from the prime movers in order to properly execute a less stable movement. I think both methods of training have their place. Depending on your goals, this may or may not be desirable.

My method is to take the middle ground and deviate slightly from there. I typically perform your standard compound movements using barbells for the vast majority of my exercises. However, I also implement the occasional machine just like I implement the occasional exercise to stress my stabilizers a little more, although I would say I lean more toward performing movements that require more stabilization than I do toward machines.

In your case, I would certainly lead more toward using less stable surfaces (Stability balls, one-legged stances, etc.) as well as amorphous/akward implements of resistance (Sandbags, kegs, logs, etc.) to perform various exercises.

Thanks for answering. I like taking my thinking one step further than what is typical. I understand what you're saying as well. I'm thinking of getting a sand bag or something similar with which to train and I'm going to try my best to add farmers' walks back into my routine, along with clean and presses.

Originally Posted by kenwood

i love them i'm always doing benchpress with a barbell and yesterday i thought i would change things up and i did db presses and today both pecs are sore an i love them! but i have a couple questions about them below:

1.am i doing them right b/c today my lats are sore as hell.
2.same as question 1 but instead of lats my shoulders are sore too.
3.are you suppose to keep elbows in by ur side? or flared out?
4.it seems hard as hell to lay down on the bench and pick the db's up to do them...is their an easier way?

You have received excellent responses to your questions. Just adding in that I keep my elbows flaired out on all chest movements, including the dumbell press.