Dumbells or barbells?

[vitor]

I use dumbells for majority of my lifts, with the exception of the obvious, Squats, and barbell curls. . Now would me alternating barbells one week and dumbells the next create a better body or in the end will be the same?

I dunno input appreciated.

 

[Vander_V]

I use dumbells for majority of my lifts, with the exception of the obvious, Squats, and barbell curls. . Now would me alternating barbells one week and dumbells the next create a better body or in the end will be the same?

I dunno input appreciated.

Changing it up will definetly speed up muscle growth , keep shocking your system always ,, never be to comfortable with your workouts and think everyday what is it i hate doing on back day lets say , if its deads then do them same goes for everything else ,,, what you hate is what you need.

 

[USMuscle9403]

I believe that one can shock their muscles well enough with just good old fashioned progressive resistance the majority fo the time. Variety of lifts is great, but I believe that one should make sure they're progressing each and every workout in one way or another. If not, the body has no reason to change. Eventually you'll come to a sticking point though where it may be a good idea to switch some things around a bit, but I believe that the basics should always stay the same. Those things are...1. heavy, intense, SAFE lifting with the great majority of your lifts being big compound movements, 2. Sufficient rest at night and on off days, 3. Sufficient nutrition, 4. Progressive overload. Barring genetic freakishness, there's no way a bodybuilder will continue to grow without all four of those intact. I don't see the need to change your workout EVERY time you go in the gym since it's very hard to keep track of progress that way.

I believe that BBs and DBs are great ways to vary one's routine but that's when you've stalled on one or the other.

For those that really do something different each time you go in the gym and have the results to back it up, hey more power to you You obviously found what works for you.

 

[Dave_19]

what you hate is what you need.

this is a truth many lifters dont want to accept, well put

 

[bigbaldbulldog]

all i can say is my chest development increased 100% when i switched to d-bells...they both have their place where i think they work better..but mixing it up is good to do IMO...

 

[SFINX]

Changing it up will definetly speed up muscle growth , keep shocking your system always ,, never be to comfortable with your workouts and think everyday what is it i hate doing on back day lets say , if its deads then do them same goes for everything else ,,, what you hate is what you need.

Very true,but changing it up is just for varition, but if you going to build a better body this way thats another question and i dont believe in it.
If dumbells give you better results than barbells,then why use barbells?

 

[gooey]

in one word

both!!!
gooey

 

[tarbaby2000]

I really dont think its a good idea to question which is better, because both dumbells and barbells are great. I think that anytime your body becomes accustomed to a lift, whether it be with barbell or dumbell, your gains will slow. A dumbell might provide superior gains for a while, and then results will taper off and at that time a barbell might provide superior gains. I think anyone sells themselves short if they dont do both.

 

[Nemesis79]

Changing it up will definetly speed up muscle growth , keep shocking your system always ,, never be to comfortable with your workouts and think everyday what is it i hate doing on back day lets say , if its deads then do them same goes for everything else ,,, what you hate is what you need.

I hate bent over barbell rows...so i gotta start doing those..your right V..i love deadlifts

 

[BIGKIWI]

yep variety deffinately helps the only problem with db at my gym at the moment is their heaviest db is light.

 

[SFINX]

I really dont think its a good idea to question which is better, because both dumbells and barbells are great. I think that anytime your body becomes accustomed to a lift, whether it be with barbell or dumbell, your gains will slow. A dumbell might provide superior gains for a while, and then results will taper off and at that time a barbell might provide superior gains. I think anyone sells themselves short if they dont do both.

Please explain how it is possible that your muscles becomes accustomed to a lift if you train the muscle very hard to muscular failure?
Did Dorian Yates changed his routine? The answer is no and then look at his bod! Enough said.

 

[Starkraven]

Please explain how it is possible that your muscles becomes accustomed to a lift if you train the muscle very hard to muscular failure?
Did Dorian Yates changed his routine? The answer is no and then look at his bod! Enough said.

neither of you are correct. you can bench with 225 til failure very hard every workout and not get anywhere. the muscles dont become accustomed to a lift but to the WEIGHT. the key is progressive overload like stated. if u did 235 the week after til failure, THEN you will grow provided rest/nutrition are in order. then next time you can try 235 for more reps or 240 and continue. by the time u get to 400 u should be looking much much bigger. its a battle with the bar to get big. u wont just be strong out of nowhere..unless u add gear but then you are selling yourself short when you could have gotten there naturally. just speaking from experience.

 

[Armageddon]

Please explain how it is possible that your muscles becomes accustomed to a lift if you train the muscle very hard to muscular failure?
Did Dorian Yates changed his routine? The answer is no and then look at his bod! Enough said.

Do you believe that statement? Do you really tink that Dorian never changed his workouts. Where would your proof for this statement come from? Did you train with Dorian? Adaptation, is one thing that our bodies do very well. You will adapt to anything over a long enough period of time.

"its a battle with the bar to get big. u wont just be strong out of nowhere..unless u add gear but then you are selling yourself short when you could have gotten there naturally. just speaking from experience"

Your wrong or let me say this I disagree with your opinion. Why would you say that someone is selling themselves short by using gear. That seems alittle judgemental and even condescending. You may feel that your selling yourself short by using gear, but many of us here don't share those beliefs.

 

[Starkraven]

Do you believe that statement? Do you really tink that Dorian never changed his workouts. Where would your proof for this statement come from? Did you train with Dorian? Adaptation, is one thing that our bodies do very well. You will adapt to anything over a long enough period of time.

"its a battle with the bar to get big. u wont just be strong out of nowhere..unless u add gear but then you are selling yourself short when you could have gotten there naturally. just speaking from experience"

Your wrong or let me say this I disagree with your opinion. Why would you say that someone is selling themselves short by using gear. That seems alittle judgemental and even condescending. You may feel that your selling yourself short by using gear, but many of us here don't share those beliefs.

i was not talking about using gear in general. i was talking about using gear because they stagnated on strength gains (BY NOT ADDING WEIGHT TO THE BAR). i understand if u use gear when you stagnate, yeah, after you added weight to the bar for years and tried hard to break the plateau but most people who juice do it for the easy way out..

 

[Armageddon]

Gotcha, I guess I didn't understand it the first time through.

 

[SFINX]

neither of you are correct. you can bench with 225 til failure very hard every workout and not get anywhere. the muscles dont become accustomed to a lift but to the WEIGHT. the key is progressive overload like stated. if u did 235 the week after til failure, THEN you will grow provided rest/nutrition are in order. then next time you can try 235 for more reps or 240 and continue. by the time u get to 400 u should be looking much much bigger. its a battle with the bar to get big. u wont just be strong out of nowhere..unless u add gear but then you are selling yourself short when you could have gotten there naturally. just speaking from experience.

Ofcourse progressive overload is the basic of bodybuilding and strenght training and this was also the only "training or weider principle" that Dorian Yates used.

 

[dallasmsl]

DUMBELLS ALL THE WAY!

Anything you can do with dumbbells, do it!

Also, if you can concentrate on one side at a time (versus doing both left/right or even alternating) do it. You'll be concentrating on and developing better muscles with your mind concentrating on it then doing alternating or doing them both at the same time.

For example, doing concentration curls instead of alternating. Or doing Side laterals one side at a time...and then try burning them out that way!