Re:
If you choose to use isolation movements because you've maxed out on compound movements and can't make progress until your complementary muscles catch up, then you would go barbell first, then dumbbells. The barbell allows for greater maximal weight. I prefer the curl bar, because of the angle, WHEN I did them. The dumbbells always seemed like a chick exercise because they (women) are too fearful of "getting big", "looking like a man," or doing big exercises.
If you do dips, bench, and the other major powerlifting exercises, you SHOULD be fine. My old coach had me on a power-bodybuilding routine, because that was the only way to keep newbies interested AND have them build a core body mass sufficient to lift heavy poundages. However, our primer exercises in the morning (5am) were abs, reverse hamstring lifts, good mornings, and then lifts with the bar. After about 20 minutes of that, we jumped into the main lifts, being squats, deads, benches, pullups, etc. If we were sluggish in one area, THEN we jumped to supplementary work to improve the area that was lagging. To the powerlifter, as you know but some don't, abs, hams, back are the "core", they provide power to all else. The arms, calves, shoulders, lats, etc, get bigger as a result of the OTHER, more "massive" parts grow. The bigger parts, for the neophytes MUST grow BEFORE biceps grow. It would be impossible to have big arms without a big back, and impossible to have big arms without a big chest AND big back. The arms and calves ASSIST the major muscles, they don't CONTROL.
But back on topic, I stick with lifting heavy and burning out on those, IF i needed to, I might go to burning the tri's, but there's no need. Focus on increasing weekly, WITHOUT going so bad that you can't get back into the gym and reach new levels.
A-Unit
