How does DB bench strength translate over to BB bench strength?

[Kerpal]

Is there some kind of rule of thumb you can use to estimate what your barbell bench should be based on your dumbbell bench? I've literally only barbell benched twice in my life. Always stuck with dumbbells because I work out alone and never have a spotter. But I'm thinking about doing a bench Smolov Jr. and I'm not sure it would work too well with dumbbells.

 

[Mad Manic]

DB Bench is about 85-90 % of BB Bench.

MM

 

[MrS]

For me, it doesn't (translate).

 

[EFFORT]

depends on the person, some people carry over some don't

 

[Quiksilver]

I used to DB Bench exclusively, until I got a spotter. I found strength didn't translate over as I'd hoped. Sure I was stronger, but as Mad Manic says, not by much. I only was able to add like 10-15lbs coming from DB to BB.

I've gotten much better results from BB though, no question about it. I don't use a spotter anymore, so what I do is bring a bench into the squat rack, and place the safeties at exactly chest height, and the rack pins at the right height to bench with. It works just as well as a spotter, social aspect aside.

 

[Kerpal]

I've gotten much better results from BB though, no question about it. I don't use a spotter anymore, so what I do is bring a bench into the squat rack, and place the safeties at exactly chest height, and the rack pins at the right height to bench with. It works just as well as a spotter, social aspect aside.

That's a really good idea, I never thought of that. But, when you bench with a barbell, isn't the bar supposed to touch your chest? How do you do that if the pins are higher than your chest?

 

[Quiksilver]

I was lazy when I wrote that post, what I really meant was that when you lie down on the bench, set the bars at chest height. When you get into proper bench form(back arched, chest out), your chest is higher than the safeties, but if something bad were to happen, you wouldn't be crushed.

That or set it just below chest height, and if something goes wrong, push the bar onto your abdomen which is naturally skinnier than your chest(and less fragile).

Experiment man, next time your in the gym, get one of those free benches, carry it into a power rack, and find a way that works for you.

 

[Kerpal]

Are you doing powerlifter-style benching?

 

[Nip/Tuck]

DB Bench is about 85-90 % of BB Bench.

MM

Bullsh*t I can bench around 190, but I can't even do 80. It's more like 60-80%. DB is way harder to than BB, since both arms don't move congruently.

 

[Fuglydude]

I think it depends totally on the person. When I go heavy I can usually get 8 reps with 85 lb dumbells or around 6 with 90's. The most I've ever done is 5 with 95 lb dumbells. However, I can't bench 180 or 190 lbs for 5 or 6 reps. I have really bad rotator cuffs, and my nervous system doesn't really know the movement of bench that well, atleast not with the wider grip that's common.

A few years ago I did a single with 255 with a shoulder-width grip on barbell bench, again this was because I was training exclusively for a 1RM with this sort of grip. IMO Strength, in the lower rep ranges, is very neurological in nature. Gotta train your nervous to lift heavy.

 

[Charm]

I think it depends totally on the person. When I go heavy I can usually get 8 reps with 85 lb dumbells or around 6 with 90's. The most I've ever done is 5 with 95 lb dumbells. However, I can't bench 180 or 190 lbs for 5 or 6 reps. I have really bad rotator cuffs, and my nervous system doesn't really know the movement of bench that well, atleast not with the wider grip that's common.

A few years ago I did a single with 255 with a shoulder-width grip on barbell bench, again this was because I was training exclusively for a 1RM with this sort of grip. IMO Strength, in the lower rep ranges, is very neurological in nature. Gotta train your nervous to lift heavy.

I pretty much agree with this. I had the same issue with squats. I could actually bench press more than I could squat even though my legs are large from leg presses and lunges because my CNS was not used to the squatting technique and form. Now i'm getting up there!

 

[Mad Manic]

Bullsh*t I can bench around 190, but I can't even do 80. It's more like 60-80%. DB is way harder to than BB, since both arms don't move congruently.

That's because your stabiliser muscles are bad, not because the transition isn't usually around 85 %. If you did some DB Benching for a while and got your stabiliser muscles up to par, I'd bet it would be at least 80 %.

MM

 

[Quiksilver]

What's a stabiliser muscle?

 

[Kerpal]

Arched back is powerlifter-style benching, right? I noticed in videos that they arch their backs and bring their feet in under the bench. In Starting Strength, Rippetoe says never to bridge your back, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing as arching. What are the benefits and drawbacks of powerlifter-style benching vs. "regular" style benching?

 

[mrRuckus]

Arch all you want but keep your butt on the bench and your feet flat on the floor. Bridging is just lifting your ass up in the process of arching. The feet under the bench thing encourages you to arch too much.

There's a picture in starting strength where it shows an arm going under a bencher's lower back.

 

[Kerpal]

Thanks, I just re-read the whole chapter. I never really paid a lot of attention to that part of the book since I always did dumbbell bench press. I'm going to practice it tonight at the gym.

 

[Kerpal]

Oops, forgot today is Thursday, not Friday, so I'm actually going to practice this tomorrow. But I wanted to ask, when you arch, are you not supposed to bring your feet more underneath the bench?

I can already tell that pulling my shoulders back into the bench is going to feel really weird, I've never done that before.

 

[simon]

I spread my feet as far as possible to give me a wider base to push from for leg drive.