Which one is more effective in stimulating the chest muscle, barbell press or dumbbell press?:bb:

I think they're both great, but so are dips and incline press.

D-bells are superior as you are forced to use stabilizer muscles to stabilize the d-bells and your hands are not fixed in one location. As well, you can bring the d-bells together at the top of the movement (bring the arms across the body) which is the actual intended function of the pectorals, and that is to bring the arms across the body.


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According to EMG studies, dumbbells are better.

D-bells are superior as you are forced to use stabilizer muscles to stabilize the d-bells and your hands are not fixed in one location. As well, you can bring the d-bells together at the top of the movement (bring the arms across the body) which is the actual intended function of the pectorals, and that is to bring the arms across the body.


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Yes sir.

I'd never go back to BB benching unless I was forced to after switching to DB.

D-bells are superior as you are forced to use stabilizer muscles to stabilize the d-bells and your hands are not fixed in one location. As well, you can bring the d-bells together at the top of the movement (bring the arms across the body) which is the actual intended function of the pectorals, and that is to bring the arms across the body.


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The replies don't surprise me. I'm always disapointed when I use BB, as I don't get the feeling that I have stimulated the pecs as they should be, but more so the triceps and front delts. DB's even at less weight, have more of an impact, for me anyway,...

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B-bells absolutely KILL the fronts of my shoulders like mad. They take the brunt of the force, and most of the reason is because I have long arms being 6'1". The longer your arms, the harder it is to make the b-bell press work for you as well as someone w/shorter arms.

D-bells are just more "free" and you never travel in the exact same plane on every rep. Over time this is key to development. What also "stinks" about the b-bell is that the arms can never come together at the top of the movement, and those who lift very heavy usually suffer a pec-delt tie in injury of some sort because the sheer force is placed directly on that area, and not on the pecs themselves. I partially tore my pec from reppin' 315 for 10, and I was on my second set and it felt easy, but that pec-delt tie in area doesn't gain strength like the pecs do, so when you begin to get up there in weight, it becomes an injury prone area. With d-bells, you are able to start to bring them together in the middle of the movement, thus "hiding" or shielding that vulnerable area and placing the force on the pecs as in intended by those who are working chest.
Once I felt that tear and rushed to the doctor, I've never set foot under the b-bell press again and I won't.

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According to EMG studies, dumbbells are better.

Not a whole lot better thou. I'll assume we both would agree that using both is probably your best plan. :)

I personally feel d-bells are indeed a ton better for development.

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I personally feel d-bells are indeed a ton better for development.

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I do mostly DB work now myself because my shoulders handle them better. I was just commenting on the EMS studies which some people dispute, which i assume your aware of. :)

DB work is overlooked too often i believe by newbies and i was guility of it myself. Like you said it has a number of advantages over BB work.

Agreed, I hear ya! :)

Thanks,
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After switching to dumbbells for a couple of months I shattered my barbell plateau. I now only use the barbell maybe once every two months to test my max.

B-bells absolutely KILL the fronts of my shoulders like mad. They take the brunt of the force, and most of the reason is because I have long arms being 6'1". The longer your arms, the harder it is to make the b-bell press work for you as well as someone w/shorter arms.

D-bells are just more "free" and you never travel in the exact same plane on every rep. Over time this is key to development. What also "stinks" about the b-bell is that the arms can never come together at the top of the movement, and those who lift very heavy usually suffer a pec-delt tie in injury of some sort because the sheer force is placed directly on that area, and not on the pecs themselves. I partially tore my pec from reppin' 315 for 10, and I was on my second set and it felt easy, but that pec-delt tie in area doesn't gain strength like the pecs do, so when you begin to get up there in weight, it becomes an injury prone area. With d-bells, you are able to start to bring them together in the middle of the movement, thus "hiding" or shielding that vulnerable area and placing the force on the pecs as in intended by those who are working chest.
Once I felt that tear and rushed to the doctor, I've never set foot under the b-bell press again and I won't.

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Thanks for this post!!!!
Im also tall (5'10) and I also have shoulder problems (esp. BB incline) and I do like dumbell press soooo much more!
Its a different feel I get with dumbells, it just feels more intense...

Excellent! Im glad to see that its actually a good choice!!!!

No probs, glad it helped you. :)

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I prefer to spend about 2/3rd's of my time on DB and 1/3rd on BB. I just started doing cable x-over's to pre-exhaust for BB though. I keep my elbows in on both. I tend to hit a plateu if I use just one or the other.

There are alot of exercises that are much better than both db and bb press. At least if you want to give the pecs as much direct work as possible.

Of course powerlifters and people that don´t believe in isolated exercises might want to do bb/db press anyway.:D

There are alot of exercises that are much better than both db and bb press. At least if you want to give the pecs as much direct work as possible.

Of course powerlifters and people that don´t believe in isolated exercises might want to do bb/db press anyway.:D

For muscle mass BB/DB bench work is far superior. However, isolation excercises are effective for correcting symmetry and preventing other muscles from overpowering the pecs while bench pressing and thus not getting the full stimulus.

Both should be used for aesthetic purposes.

I do almost entirely barbell work. I did go over to dumbells for a period of months, but when I came back to bench my total lift had dropped.

The reason is that I like to lift with a closer grip involving triceps and lats more than the shoulders. Doing a classic bodybuilder style benchpress with the elbows out at 90 degrees plays hell on almost anyone's shoulders. However, I am also an aspiring powerlifter so my observations are also based on how much weight I can move.

While doing DBs, my lats and triceps weren't used as much and my chest stayed about the same (I have always had a relatively decent chest). I prefer the barbell because it's one of the big three, but I still cycle in dumbells from time to time.

I do almost entirely barbell work. I did go over to dumbells for a period of months, but when I came back to bench my total lift had dropped.

The reason is that I like to lift with a closer grip involving triceps and lats more than the shoulders. Doing a classic bodybuilder style benchpress with the elbows out at 90 degrees plays hell on almost anyone's shoulders. However, I am also an aspiring powerlifter so my observations are also based on how much weight I can move.

While doing DBs, my lats and triceps weren't used as much and my chest stayed about the same (I have always had a relatively decent chest). I prefer the barbell because it's one of the big three, but I still cycle in dumbells from time to time.

I am physically unable to bench with a bar. I must use dumbells. However my main chest movement is weighted dips. Now, since I am also unable to do close grip bench presses, I use dumbells. Keep the elbows in tight with a pronated grip, ( palms facing) work up to some good weight, and your tricep strength, not to mention tricep size....will improve dramatically.

For muscle mass BB/DB bench work is far superior. However, isolation excercises are effective for correcting symmetry and preventing other muscles from overpowering the pecs while bench pressing and thus not getting the full stimulus.

Both should be used for aesthetic purposes.

It depends on the individual. In my case I mostley get triceps and shoulder training when doing BB/DB press. So for me other exercises are better if I want bigger pecs... It´s because the body will always try to use the strongest muscles when doing a lift. And when triceps are much stronger compared to pecs it will only get worse if I try to work harder... It´s also related to other individual things such as arm-lenght. It´s always important to find the right exercises for the right individual.

It depends on the individual. In my case I mostley get triceps and shoulder training when doing BB/DB press. So for me other exercises are better if I want bigger pecs... It´s because the body will always try to use the strongest muscles when doing a lift. And when triceps are much stronger compared to pecs it will only get worse if I try to work harder... It´s also related to other individual things such as arm-lenght. It´s always important to find the right exercises for the right individual.


You still need ample strength in the core lifts, bench press in this case, to build a good chest. You basically repeated what i said and its correct but i think your taking it too far into thinking that the tris and delts can take ALL of the load. That's were pre-exhastion techniques come in.

There's no way to reach your potential WITHOUT bench pressing and even dips.

Heavier weight means more grow. I doubt anyone will be doing flys with 300lbs.

Anyways, i train for strength and fun first and foremost, no doubt i want to look good. :)

I just want to say thanks for the information in this thread.

I've been BB benching as part of my routine for the past couple of months and have made essentially no, or very little, progress and it's very, very frustrating. I still have a bit of a bum shoulder from a torn lateral deltoid in June and I find the BB press only tends to make it a bit sore whereas it does nothing for my pecs.

I love this place.

After injuring a rotator cuff doing BB bench, I don't do it any longer. DB's or nothing, and I make sure to roll back onto my shoulders more to isolate the chest and take my shoulders out of play as much as possible.

You still need ample strength in the core lifts, bench press in this case, to build a good chest. You basically repeated what i said and its correct but i think your taking it too far into thinking that the tris and delts can take ALL of the load. That's were pre-exhastion techniques come in.

There's no way to reach your potential WITHOUT bench pressing and even dips.

Heavier weight means more grow. I doubt anyone will be doing flys with 300lbs.

Anyways, i train for strength and fun first and foremost, no doubt i want to look good. :)

It depends on genetics. BB-press will not be a good exercise for building pecs for some people. But BB-press can be a good exercise anyway. It´s a general strength exercise that trains the upper body. So I´m not saying it´s bad...

However, with my genetics BB-press will never be enough. I must do more if I want a better ,bigger and stronger chest.
In general I think it´s good to do some isolated exercises to help and improve lagging underdeveloped muscles and musclegroups. And it´s very different for different individuals. Some can build a nice body and only do deadlift, squat and BB-press. Some will never look good if they do that and must do alot of isolated exercises to get a good body that is balanced with the right proportions.

I´m training for strength but I also look in the mirror and try to figure out what needs to be done.:)