Dumbbells vs barbells

[Deja Q]

Which is better for overall arm muscle improvement?

I've been using dumbbells (11lb and 25lb, soon to get 35lb) but have been looking at barbells.

I also periodically lift objects at work as well...

But all this is slow going and I've got to get myself back in good shape.

Thanks for any advice!

[meegbear]

1. While I don't know which would be better ...

what you should do is use both. When I do my arms, I alternate between them. For instance:

Barbell EZ Curl
Alternating Dumbbell Curl
Barbell Curl
Single Arm Concentration Curls
Hammer Curls
21s

The main thing to remember is that if you want to build muscle and gain strength, you should "shock the system" and the best way to do that is to try to do different exercises when you're working a body part. This will help minimize your chances of plateauing.

[MemphisTiger]

2. I was actually reading an article about this in Muscle & Fitness...

it reference a journal article in a scholarly journal that found that dumbells utilize more muscle stimulation than barbells thereby making dumbells better. The exercise studied was the DB vs. barbell overhead presses for shoulders.

I've found it's better to keep changing them up. For example I do incline dumbell presses and flat barbell presses or just change them up. DB's utilize more stabilizer muscles than barbell for chest and shoulder movement.

Nothing wrong with lifting objects, just be careful because most can be awkwardly weighted and hard to grab onto.


I hope this helps.