Bench vs dumbell press

[Garra]

Hey guys,

I seriously need some advice concerning my chest workout. Im totally useless when it comes to benching, actually i shouldel press nearly as much as i bench. On the other hand i can dumbell press a pretty decent weight. the problem i believe is that the benchpress should put more mass on the pecs and thats why im trying to increase my overall strength, it just seems that the exercise seems rather awkward.

Could i put on some decent size my just doing the dumbell presses?

[Adam F]

Yes you can. I have a bro that has massive pecs, and i mean massive! best overall part of his body, and he uses just dumbbells. Maybe he has great genetics for a large chest i dunno.

[Garra]

thanks man, maybe i should stick with the dumbell presses

[paul_22]

i think you should rotate .... i really think its best maybe dumbell pressing for 6 weeks and benching for 6 weeks will give ya an overall more fullness in ya chest rotating them 2 exercises and driving up the weight as much as you can in the gym combined with the fly ... that will really do the trick....just stick at the bench and it will come in time i was hopeless squating im a big guy and a year ago i benched more than i squated and i my will power and modivation sorta went but my friend just powered and willed me though it and ive realli increased my squat.....

[paul_22]

drop the weight down put a light load on but not to light you wanna be maintaining a steady slow pace to master your technique ... i would throw on around 40-60kg to warm my muscles up and get into the movement .... just fire a light load on and talk yaself though it and get a spotter to give ya ease of mind

[Garra]

thanks for the advice guys i think ill do a four week rotation and see how it pans out

[access]

I used to do a lot of flat bench but have skipped it recently in favor of dumbells. I think like most anything with exercise it's always good to rotate things around.

I am actually finding some nice pumps with dumbell press that I did not have with flat bench to the same extent. Seems for me dumbells might be a better exercise than flat, for me at least. I am going to stick with dumbelss for the time being and see how we go.

[oldmma]

Experiment with different grip and elbow positions. elbows close to your sides with your traps dug into the bench will probably be the strongest position for you make sure to arch your back so that you could fit a rolled towel between it and the bench. there are also many different ways to bench, off of boards , carpets or foam on your chest. floor pressing is something else you could rotate into your program, also dont neglect the triceps blast them hard too. due to recovering from bicep tendon surg i am only dumbell pressing right now but i have maintained nearly all the fullness in both pecs by pressing a 100-150 in the left and a 10 in the right. dumbells allow you a greater range o motion so when you use them dont short stroke it go all the way to the arm pits(with moderate weight) if you can. sounds like your tris and chest just need to catch up with your shoulders. hope this helps

[martyrobbins]

Im like Access on this one, the dumbells give me a bigger pump for my chest. IMO if u want ur bench to go up and already have strong shoulders go with flat bench first 4 sets of 8 reps to the point of failure then next chest workout day do 4 sets of 2-3 reps of heavy weight and always blast triceps on same days. I went 195 to 365 with this technique, but it takes time and effort.

[madruga]

i always switch it up every other workout. one workout DB and the next one BB.