what are the pros and cons of using dumbbells vs. barbells? sorry if this is a dumb question btw
do they act differently in the same workouts? for instance, a barbell bench press vs. dumbbell bench press, does one target a very specific part of your pectoral muscle? or are they just preference really?
i was looking into a workout routine and it says do barbell presses one day and dumbbell pressses another day, i was just wondering why not just use the same tool if it's targetting the exact same muscle group?

Barbell...Because woman don't care how much you Db bench obviously!

They act differently, because each arm has to stabalize the weight seperately.

Ive heard dbs > bb, when benching. Im sure someone else here can give you all the knowledge and details bout this

This post was edited by GLYC123 on Oct 13 2015 07:34pm

Dbs > bb unless your only goal is to increase your bb bench

I disagree. Care to share how you came up with that statement?

dumbbells require isolation of each arm whereas barbell they're working together as one.

switch on and off every now and then is my suggestion, I wouldn't just stick with one over the other.

I also switch it up on leg day, isolated single leg extensions, single leg hamstring curls or single leg romanians, etc shit like that

vormav told me bodyweight > cables > db > bb > machines

mark rippetoe also said dbs > bb

but also said something about too easy to break your shoulder or whatever if you have a 150lb+ db and you fuck up your "bar path" and it cranks your arm back or something like that

This post was edited by turtol on Oct 13 2015 10:31pm

Can confirm

DBs fucked me

BB allows for your stronger side to compensate for your weaker side, where as DBs isolate the specific arm/side.

Often times it comes down to preferance, as if you're following a balanced regiment the difference between the two is fairly insignfiicant.

In regards to your comment about sticking with the same exercise, it's called muscle confusion.


Any time you perform an action over and over, you'll get better and better at it. This can be seen by drummers practicing rudiments, guitarists practicing chords, etc: The more you do something, the more proficient you become at it.

Unfortunately, when it comes to bodybuilding, allowing your body to get used to the movement of a BB or DB bench press can be detrimental.


To surpass plateaus and ensure muscle confusion, you HAVE to change your regiment and implement different exercises. Although your chest routine may be working for you now, allowing you to add 5lbs every week, over time you will find that 5lb addition is only possible if you implement a different routine.


TL;DR - Personal Preference, change of routine, etc.

dbell sucks you gotta get like 3 guys to help you setup if you go heavy

This post was edited by Henchman21 on Oct 14 2015 01:06am