Q: I can never decide whether to use dumbbells or a barbell for my bench presses. My training partner even argues about bent-over rows. He likes dumbbells and I like a barbell. How do we know which are the best mass-building exercises?
A: Well, when it comes to any type of bench press, dumbbells allow a fuller range of motion, less shoulder stress and a more natural movement…
HOWEVER, with a barbell, you can statically drive inward with your hands on the bar to get a unique pec contraction throughout the set. Plus, you don’t have to worry about unilateral balance—controlling the weight in each hand—as you do with dumbbells.
So, for chest, what are the best mass-building exercises? The answer is—drum roll please—the ones YOU feel the best in your pecs. Period. Argument over.
That goes for any exercise. Use the one that you feel best in the target muscle you’re trying to build. That goes for bench presses, pulldowns, rows or whatever…
Some trainees like chest-supported dumbbell rows because the dumbbells can come together at the bottom for more midback (trap) stretch. Other like their hands locked in one position on a bar so they can squeeze the midback harder at the top.
If you still can’t decide, alternate. Use dumbbells at one workout and a barbell at the next…
Now, if you have a hard time feeling either exercise, you should try Pre-Ex 3X—pre-ex supersets or modified pre-ex. The “modified” version is no supersets, you just do 3X or 4X sequences on both exercises. With either pre-ex method you do a contracted-position exercise first…
For example, cable crossovers before bench presses, bent-arm bent-over laterals before rows, etc. If you can superset the two exercises, you get more DENSITY OVERLOAD—more work in less time—but some gyms are crowded. In that case, use the modified version…
You could use Pre-Ex at one workout and then the big exercise first at your next workout. We think you’ll find that…
Isolating first can trigger a major MASS BURST.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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