I've had an evolution of thought over the years about using heavy dumbbells for pressing movements, both chest and shoulder. The shoulder training clip I just posted on my new YouTube page brought it to mind so I thought I would share it.
Though dumbbell movements are an excellent compound choice of exercise and they fit squarely within the Max-OT principles I feel there is a diminishing return using them, particularly when you develop a level of strength forcing you to wrestle with the big boy dumbbells at the end of the wrack in order to get enough resistance. At that point I think you are better off sticking with barbell movements.
There is a lot of wasted energy before you even start the set as you can see from the clip. This is true even if you have a partner handing you one of the dumbbells. It's even worse if you are trying it on your own.
Not only do you waste energy getting in and out of the exercise, you also potentially place yourself at a higher risk of injury in my opinion because you can end up in some compromising positions that are placing undue stress on your body.
My advice is load up the bar and focus all your energy on moving the weight from point A to point B.
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Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great advice. How do you feel about the Arnold press for shoulders? I really enjoy doing them-- one of the reasons being that I’ll go a bit lighter than the standard shoulder press so I don’t have expend quite as much energy prior to the beginning of the set. I’m curious if you do Arnold presses and if you do, how does the weight you use compare to the big boy dumbbells I see you using in the video?
I do not do Arnold presses because of the wasted motion. I don't feel there is an advantage there. I would rather do a straight forward military press that moves the weight from point A to point B.
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ReplyDeleteI personally don't see the advantage to pronating wrists during a shoulder movment. I feel straight pressing is more effective for achieving overload.
ReplyDeleteI see more merrit in supination during DB curls to increase brachioradialis and biceps brachii involvement but still prefer bar curls as the primary movement and I allocate most sets to bar curls.
Don't get me wrong, DB presses are a good exercise I just think you have to weigh out the lost energy getting in and out of position. If you have a partner to assist that certainly helps.
Don't forget, the angle of the bench doesn't determine recruitment, the amount of overload used, does.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget, the angle of the bench isn't responsible for maximizing muscle recruitment - the amount of overload, is.
ReplyDeleteOne solution to this problem of dumbbells is to do them from some kind of rig off a power rack. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO_8HrOUBTA
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=448oSYi7jN8
-I've since got one made and works great. Set them up so they are just hanging there and you grab them and off you go with your reps. My rig is a cable cradle like in the first Youtube clip and some other cables joined by spring hooks.