Barbell vs. Dumbell bench problem?

[TooPowerful4u]

Im trying to figure out whats goin on with my body. I wanted to post this up and find out if there is a spacific reason this is happening.

Im off cycle right now, so my strength isnt great. Problem is, my barbell bench either incline or flat is nowhere near where it should be compared to my dumbell bench. I do 225 incline for 10 reps, or i can do 110lb dumbells for 10 incline. Same thing with flat, 245x10 barbell, 115x10 flat. Shouldnt the gap be a lot bigger? Why is it i might be stronger with dumbells than with barbell presses? My thoughts were weak chest, and triceps are taking over most of the movement with dumbells so i press more.

[TooPowerful4u]

Also, once the problem is identified, how would i go about fixing it?

[cookmic5]

One way to test your chest strength would be to compare your strength doing flys. These isolate the chest more without the chance of tricep help. If you are doing noticably less weight with flys than you think you should, then the chest is the problem, and I would recommend using flys in your routine so that you don't use the tri's as much. I can't, however say exactly what you "should" be doing on fly's as I'm not using 110 db's on flat, but I would imagine it should be around or over 55. Just a guess there, anyone with more personal experience working in your weight range should be able to give more insight.

Also, check your hand width on the barbell, are you sure your using a wide enough grip? If your grip is too close then your actually using more triceps on that movement than with the db's. A general rule on width of grip is shoulder width plus 4-6 inches on each side.

Hope this helps

cm5

[TooPowerful4u]

My barbell grip is 2 thumb lengths from the line. Im pretty strong on fly's 70lb dumbells for strict 8 reps, and cable crossovers with 90lbs per side for a strict 8-10.

[Nekrawulf]

It is a known fact that you are stronger using individual weights... i.e. dumbells as compared to compined weight...

You will seem stronger with the dumbells because your cns focuses more on the individual stabilizers for each limb/ load and not trying to syncronize 2 sets pushing on the same load.

This is perfectly normal and dont let it disuade you.

[rubberduckyo]

Originally posted by Nekrawulf
It is a known fact that you are stronger using individual weights... i.e. dumbells as compared to compined weight...

You will seem stronger with the dumbells because your cns focuses more on the individual stabilizers for each limb/ load and not trying to syncronize 2 sets pushing on the same load.

This is perfectly normal and dont let it disuade you.

Another twist would be if your left is weeker than your right. I stick to barbell for just this reason. I make an effort to equalize them.

[Stonecold54]

Originally posted by Nekrawulf
It is a known fact that you are stronger using individual weights... i.e. dumbells as compared to compined weight...

You will seem stronger with the dumbells because your cns focuses more on the individual stabilizers for each limb/ load and not trying to syncronize 2 sets pushing on the same load.

This is perfectly normal and dont let it disuade you.

that is not an absolute-the better answer is that SOME people are stronger with dumbells than barbells in comparitve movements, I am not one of those people. however I do not think you can compare movements. if you are expecting the weights to be the same and you want to be using the same muscles. why would you do both movements? the fact is they are two complete different movements and therefore cannot be compared. take them for what they are.

[G-S]

Originally posted by Nekrawulf
It is a known fact that you are stronger using individual weights... i.e. dumbells as compared to compined weight...

You will seem stronger with the dumbells because your cns focuses more on the individual stabilizers for each limb/ load and not trying to syncronize 2 sets pushing on the same load.

This is perfectly normal and dont let it disuade you.

I disagree.

The normality of the issue is that the majority of people are stronger when using barbells, not dumbells. Reason is that there are little to no stabilizing muscles involved, and balancing the weight is not an issue.

With dumbelss, not only are you using many more muscles to balance and stabilize the weight, if you have a weaker side (which everyone does) then your mind focus's on getting the weaker side dumbell up to keep pace with the stronger side.

[jipped genes]

sounds like you are using your tris when doing db press.if i dont keep good form i end up with a tricep pump while doing db press. and i dont isolate the pecs as well. also you can cheat in your anterior delts easier on db press than barbench because your form isnt set by the space your hands are apart on the bar. go with a lighter weight on db press and work on your form i'll bet if you really isolate your pecs and reduce the use of your other muscles you will find that the lighter weight works your chest better than the heavier weight. its just a guess but worth a try.