Friday, March 31, 2006

Push Press This

Can someone please explain to me why it is so much freaking harder to do push presses with dumbells than with a bar? I am thinking that it has to do with keeping them in line, obviously, but does that really account for HOW MUCH harder they are? Or are dumbells secretly heavier, and this is a weightlifting secret no one has let me in on yet? (Or does no one know what I am talking about, and I was just having a bad morning?)

Anyone else still sore from Wednesday?
-gw

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wah wah. Is that a siren I hear? Is that the WAHMBULANCE coming to pick you up?

However, agreed on the dumbbells. I try to get them over my head but they fly to the side, and then I really have to use my shoulders. Therein lies the problem.

-Kertizzle

Anonymous said...

Wah wah. Is that a siren I hear? Is that the WAHMBULANCE coming to pick you up?

However, agreed on the dumbbells. I try to get them over my head but they fly to the side, and then I really have to use my shoulders. Therein lies the problem.

-Kertizzle

Kimarie said...

It's been my experience that the DB push press is more difficult because there is no room for 'faking' the active-shoulder overhead position and consequential travel path of the object.

With a barbell you can get away with a little bit more 'faking of the funk', even without the shoulder-girdle flexibility required for the movement.

Upon observing my clients, the ones with the strongest overhead positions (lockout) have minimal trouble with DBs. The ones that are still working on that perfect overhead position suffer the most and have less-than-optimal travel paths for any implement.

Overhead lunges, and waiter's walks are excellent for really finding that overhead position.

Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

No. the "Bozman" is wrong. Dumbells are just heavier. You have to take the total amount that you want to lift and divide it by two, to get the weight of the dumbells that you should use. I was body-building for years before I figured that out.

Good luck.