What about single-arm dumbbell presses? 
No idea on that one.
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When you press 2 dumbbells you use less total weigh than you can do with a barbell. Each arm gets less than half.
When you press 1 dumbbell you can use your whole body and non-working arm to get stable, so you can use more weight. More than 50% of what you could do with a barbell. Each arm can get more than half of your barbell weight. Big overload!
So 1 arm pressing is good.
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At first I wasn’t sure if you were serious. But yeah, that makes sense.
Same idea with how they did the bent press and side press; brace the opposite arm and you can lift more that way.
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I really miss waiting for the old muscle magazine’s to hit the shelves… Flex, Muscle Mag, Muscle Media, Ironman
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If you rotate the dumbbells slightly you can get the extra rom… or a neutral grip
I love single arm dumbbell overhead pressing… can hit 85 or 90 on a good day
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Muscle Mag was my favorite by far, and I had a subscription until they folded.
Dan John has expressed this very sentiment in his most recent book, among a few other places.
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I may have gotten it from Dan John once upon a time. Maybe as a young guy he maxed out the press on the Universal machine and had to go 1 arm at a time to keep progressing?
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Sarcasm shows up poorly on the web, unfortunately. Not only is MH pretty mediocre, and often unhelpful for lifting, but every issue is essentially the same. Six pack abs! Cooking with Quinoa! The B-list Celebrity Routine! Mundane advice!
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A look at the Dumbbell Bench Press in light of bro-science in the 1970’s. (where I lived, at least.)
During the decade of the 1970’s it was agreed preference that any reps over 10 reps no longer provided muscle growth. Consequently, I never did an 11th rep on any exercise (calves and abs were exceptions.)
The Bench Press was King during that decade. By mid decade all non serious lifters seemed to always ask anyone who looked like they lifted weights, “How much can you bench?” At least twice a week most all stronger lifters had what can best be described as a “Bench Press Party.” Usually 3 or 4 people lifted together.
The largest dumbbells in any gym that I had access to going only had dumbbells up to 100lbs. I used the 90lb dumbbells for 3 sets of 8 reps of lying dumbbell flies. And consider that I am not doing an 11th rep, what benefit do you believe I placed in doing dumbbell bench presses. I just wasn’t wasting my time doing dumbbell bench presses with a weight that I could easily do 10 reps.
The only guys that did dumbbell bench presses were those who couldn’t “party” with the big boys.
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Oh yes, definitely considering the nuance! I’ve personally used the “more sets, less exercises” approach in the past as well by simply adding an extra set to my main chest exercise each workout instead of adding another movement and keeping the same number of sets. Did it give my chest a bit more attention? Oh yes, and I was really happy with it. I’ve seen positive results from both methods, IF the stimulus and intensity are on point.
So after typing the first this…yeah basically that ^ then, you said it much better than I just did XD Finding whatever works is always worth finding out!
Definitely agree, thanks for pointing that out!
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Front squats or zercher squats >> back squats and
Snatch deadlifts or sumo deadlifts >> conventional deadlifts for pretty much everyone for every goal with the exception of competitive powerlifters looking to squat or pull the max weight period.
I haven’t done a back squat or normal pull in maybe 9 years and haven’t really thought twice about it.
Bonus:
Explosive lifts like power cleans or snatch high pulls plus box jumps and broad jumps have given me more calf growth in the last few years then any amount of direct calf training during my bodybuilding focused years. And double plus, my calves don’t even get sore from explosive work whereas DC style sets use to make me want to cry and be sore for at least a few days all for no growth.
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Well first off, I hate you because you might be right. And in this thread no one can be proven wrong.
I don’t know your height, but as a taller guy, narrow stance and conventional deads seem to work better. Sumo feels like an accessory lift.
Zerchers, I like the idea, but the loading limit on your elbows also makes it feel like an accessory. They do have those front squat/whatever harnesses that might work.
Front squats are like a toxic ex I keep trying to get back together with. Maybe because of my long arms I have to use the cross grip or lifting straps instead on the overhand grip.
Maybe we need to utilize different bars for different people.
I’m 5’11" but have the femurs of someone 6’5". So front loading has been a god send. It also means conventional deads are just super awkward as well. It’s basically impossible to set up with my knees out of the way AND my shoulders over the bar to start the pull. When I pull my knees to my “chest” they really come up to my neck lol. With snatch pull, I’m able to widen everything out, get my knees back and sink my hips low enough to get my shoulders over the bar, then kind of hybrid squat/hinge the weight up.
For front squats, it was well worth the pain and time getting myself the mobility to be able to comfortably hold a clean grip. I physically can’t do cross grip. Like I can’t even control 135 lb without losing balance and dropping the bar.
This is great info. I did a literal ATG bodyweight squat right now and my knees didn’t even reach my armpits.
I hate you. On a serious note, I wonder if it biases me with how preachy I get about trainings legs at least 2x a week. I’ve always had to add double the muscle for any growth on my legs to actually show relative to the rest of my body.
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