You may notice that with certain exercises, you’re much stronger/weaker using a dumbbell to execute the movement, as compared to a barbell or vice-versa.
There are good reasons for this.
You should always use whichever modality you prefer, above all else as a means of safety first.
But if you have no injury issues, are strong and want to experiment, there are advantages to each.
As a great example of how much these options can differ, we’ll reference the bench press:
Most people will be stronger on their barbell press over using dumbbells for the bench chest press. Reason is easy to understand; using dumbbells requires more stability, stabilizer muscles, to keep the shoulder joint stable as compared to its barbell counterpart. It’s almost always the case that the more stabilizers needed to execute the exercise, the more difficult the move will end up being. Hence, less weight when compared to the barbell.
The push or pull movement will obviously come into play here a great deal, in determining how/when stabilizer muscles are activated.
Generally, a pull movement such as for the lats opposing the chest, it’s often a lot easier to handle a great deal more poundage with a rowing movement using a dumbbell, over the bent-over barbell row.
Being mindful of these things will enable you to best determine when additional poundages can be experimented with, if your goal is to attempt to add more muscle to your frame as part of your overall fat loss plan.
Love, Happiness, Health and Peace………………..Tim