With training and chest day, there always remains the question of what to do exactly to develop your chest. There are dumbbell bench presses, barbell bench presses and for some even multi-grip and duffalo bar bench presses to choose from. But how to decide on what is best for you and especially when to use the dumbbell bench press.
Some people argue for the dumbbell or flat bench press depending on their background and their goal set. I personally think that is where the debate starts, your training history and your goals. The main points that the dumbbell bench press has going for itself are:
If you compare it to the flat barbell bench press its disadvantages are:
And here it t is wise to take a step back and look at your own experience, strength levels and goals. There are two main goal sets when you are lifting weights:
All in all, there is a good bit of advice out there that suggests that the dumbbell bench press is superior for chest development in terms of size rather than strength. Adjustable dumbbells are also a good way of safing space at home, when you can not have a rack and barbell setup. The barbell bench press is supposed to be better for strength athletes, especially powerlifters. This one dimension to consider besides training experience. Here I would personally say that the barbell bench press is more suited to beginner's as it takes out the thinking around balancing weights. Once you progress to a 60-80kg bench press and your primary goal is chest development I think you can start trying out dumbbell variations. For very experienced bench pressers the dumbbell bench press can be a good option to push through plateaus with the barbell bench press, as your progress is stalling and you need to change up the routine a bit.