Free but not so free barbell bench press
Why is barbell bench press free but not so free? Because it is not a fixed instrument, it needs to be decentralized to control the balance, but both hands are fixed on a barbell and one arm must change accordingly. So it is free, but it is not free enough to some extent.
When barbell bench press, the arm is in the supination state, which will add some unstable factors to the wrist joint and shoulder joint, especially the shoulder joint. However, the pectoral muscle has the function of arm supination, so the arm is in the supination state, which can make the pectoral muscle contract more tightly. So this is a double-edged sword, but personally, in the face of security, the increase in contraction is just a passing sight. In order to improve the risk caused by supination instability, rotator cuff muscles need to be strengthened. It is necessary to have a strong rotator cuff muscle group as a stable muscle group, and on the whole, the strength (relative to the chest and the weight used) and control ability of the whole back play an important role in bench press.
Internal rotation of the arm not only increases the unstable factors, but also reduces the range of motion of the shoulder joint to a certain extent, so people with insufficient shoulder joint movement should use barbell bench press with caution, especially those with heavy weight. Then, in the bench press posture, the lack of shoulder joint mobility directly limits the range of motion of the barbell. In this case, it is difficult to fully expand and contract the pectoral muscles to get corresponding stimulation. On the contrary, the stress on the triceps brachii and deltoid muscle will be greater, so many people can't find the feeling of chest muscle when doing barbell bench press, which is one reason; In addition, if the flexibility of the shoulder joint is insufficient or the control of the back is insufficient (the round shoulder is more obvious), the range will be forcibly increased, and the shoulder will feel sore, so that the bench press cannot continue.
Absolute free dumbbell bench press
Compared with barbell bench press, dumbbell bench press becomes absolutely free. Each hand holds a heavy object, and the deformation of one arm will not directly affect the other.
When dumbbell bench press, you can choose the rotation position of the arm. If the stability coefficient and range of motion are limited, the rotation position of the arm will be more comfortable than the internal rotation position, and the range of motion of the dumbbell will also increase. When the arm rotation position is in the neutral position, the dumbbell will be "eight-shaped". In addition, in any case, the movement range of dumbbells will always be larger than that of barbells, which also means that dumbbell bench press can make the chest muscles stretch better and have a better sense of stimulation.
However, this does not mean that dumbbell bench press has little effect on stabilizing muscles. Since it is an "absolutely free" movement, theoretically, the function of stabilizing muscles will be even greater, which is gradually increased according to your weight gain. Dumbbell bench press only partially solves some shortcomings of barbell bench press, but the ability to maintain its overall stability still needs to be possessed.
How to choose?
So, since barbells are said to be so "useless", should we abandon barbells? Of course not. The "absolute freedom" of dumbbell bench press determines that it can't lift much weight (relative to barbell bench press), so dumbbell bench press can't replace barbell bench press in developing the absolute strength of target muscles. Therefore, when it comes to the weight of bench press under impact, barbell bench press is generally used instead of dumbbell bench press. In addition, bodybuilders who are skilled in using chest muscles will feel that the strength of the chest will be better than that of dumbbells when barbell bench press, which is also an advantage of barbell bench press as a local fixed action, and how to embody it will be written in detail later.
As long as there are no special circumstances, we can't give up any of them, so that we can get better development in volume, shape and feeling. If the range of barbell bench press is limited or the shoulder is sore, you can temporarily use dumbbell bench press, slowly improve and then turn barbell bench press.
If conditions permit, it is entirely advisable to include two bench presses in a plan. Generally, the dumbbell is used to bench press with a relatively fixed barbell, or the maximum weight is impacted or controlled smoothly, and then the dumbbell bench press is done, and the weight that can be controlled stably is selected as an auxiliary training; Or it can be used alternately as two schemes, and the frequency of alternation depends on the individual situation. (The above two methods are for reference only)
Only when you try can you know whether it is suitable or not. A bodybuilder who can flexibly use plans and movements according to his own situation is a smart bodybuilder.
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