Barbells and dumbells?

L

lorihart

Cathlete
Hi Ladies,
I have been working out for about 5 yrs now.When I first started with cathe(Body Max) I put 20lbs on my barbell.It was one of those older sets with the plastic weights filled with cement..do you know what I am talking about? I don't know how close they actually are to being the weight it claims but thats neither here nor there.
I have since then bought new weights.But I still have this 20lb plastic thing sitting there.
I have incresed my weight considerable since then....on everything else except for biceps! I still grab my old barbell for bicep curls! I have increased my weight with dumbells for biceps.I use 20lbs and 15lbs at times but for some weird reason I CAN'T increase my barbell weight for biceps.
I now own a nice long barbell and I can manage to do bicep curls if I put 10lbs on it, and I don't think my barbell weighs that much.
Does anyone else have this problem? I just find it strange that I can lift 30lbs in dumbells but only 20lbs on a barbell.Could it be my form is better when lifting with a barbell?
Anyway,I have just been thinking about this a bit lately b/c I am doing July's rotation.Mon called for BM and I had to use the same barbell I used in 1998!
Lori:)
 
Lori I know there is a reason why people use different weights for dumbell work as opposed to barbell work, and I know it has something to do with angles and levers and things like that, but for the life of me I can't think of it today! My brain is fried - LOL! I'm sure someone on here will know the answer to this!

I can use 15# dumbells for some bicep work, but when her sets are long, I have to use 12's. When I use a barbell for biceps (which I don't very often), I can't go higher than 25# total. Even that feels like too much at times! My legs are still much stronger, as I'm up to 40#'s total with a barbell for squats, plie squats, and shorter sets of lunges. I guess everyone is different, and I know my lower body is much stronger than my upper body. This isn't unusual for women though. Hang in there!! As long as you're making forward gains, you're doing it, girl!! :D

Carol
:)
 
Thanks for the answer.Even if you didn't know it entirely , it still made sense.
I have went higher with everything except bicep curls and my barbell.To think that at one point I use to use that same barbell for squats.I usually use 40-50lbs when I am squating.Lately it as been 45lbs and I think I could go alot heavier with plie squats if I could get more over my head.I hate static lunges so I won't even go there.
Anyway,Thanks again!:)
Lori
 
Carol-
I don't think it means your legs are stronger just because you use a heavier weight than for biceps. When you put the barbell on your shoulders, it is supported by your entire body weight. The poor little biceps should never be asked to compete with that; they are just two little muscles! Your body would look pretty distorted if your biceps were that developed!
 
I think I am the opposite, I can go heavier with a barbell than with dumbbells on bicep curls. I just did PS Back, Biceps and abs yesterday and upped my bicep weight to 40 pounds, I could do only 7-8 out of 10 reps but I thought that was good considering I had upped it from 35 pounds to 40. Some of my problem is my dumbbells for higher weights are the ones you make yourself with the shorter bar that weighs 2.5 pounds itself so they are ackward for me to maneveur (spelling may be off too). I prefer a barbell for curls.

Try increasing in smaller increments also and see where that get you.:) Just a suggestion.

As for the discussion on squats, I can now muster 55 pounds over my head on a good day and still get it back over when I am done. I usually go for 50 because that is more manageable.:p
 
Hi Lori, when we do barbell curls our wrists are in a fixed position, which makes lifting a heavy weight harder. In PS, I use a 30-lb. barbell for curls. I can finish the first set but am only able to do 8 reps on the second set. But if I use dumbbells I can finish both sets and can even go for another if I have to. Because my wrists are so fixed when doing barbell curls, my range of motion is limited and I fatigue faster than when doing dumbbell curls using the same weight. I hope I'm making sense... Our biceps are small muscles, as Nancy already mentioned, and the fact that you're using up to 20-lbs. for bicep curls tells me that those biceps of yours are to die for.:7 I'm still working my way there.

Pinky
 
Me too, Annette. I use more weight on the barbell than when I use the dumbbells. I think that might be true for all exercises, but I know it's true for biceps.
 
Okay ladies, I have a stupid question for you ... I was doing PLB this morning and when Cathe says she is doing 35 or 40 on her barbell, is that per side? I have been doing the workout with dumbells and doing 40 pounds, but 20 per side.

Thanks for answering such a novice question.
 
>Okay ladies, I have a stupid question for you ... I was doing
>PLB this morning and when Cathe says she is doing 35 or 40 on
>her barbell, is that per side? I have been doing the workout
>with dumbells and doing 40 pounds, but 20 per side.
>
It is the total weight of the bar and the plates (ie: if you are using a Troy lite set, the bar weighs 5#, so to get 35#, you have to put 15# on each side).
 
>Whew! Thanks. I was getting worried I was going to have to
>lift +75 pounds. You just saved my knees!:7

Please remember that what weight Cathe uses (or anyone else for that matter) should NOT determine what weight is right for you. Form is a billion times more imporant than the exact amount of weight you use. Find a weight that challenges YOU, and increase weight as you get stronger. It's no good trying to be macho/macha (though we all slip into that at times!) and injuring yourself by using iffy form just to lift a certain amount of weight.

Whatever weight you can lift for the number of reps required so that the last two reps are a bit tough, and you couldn't do one more with good form, is the perfect weight for you, whether that's 25 pounds or 80 pounds. Cathe only indicates the weight she uses as a guildeline (when you've done her workouts for a while, you kind of get the feel of what weight you will use in relationship to her, again, it may be lighter or heavier).

I remember that Cathe once posted that she didn't say what weight she was using in one of the series (is it PS?) because she didn't want people to feel that they HAD to use the same weight. At the request of many people, who wanted to use her weight recommendations as a general guideline, as above, she included a mention of her weights in future workouts.
 
Hi Lori-

I can lift heavier with a barbell doing bicep curls than dumbbells also. I have a strange barbell set. It is a 17 pound bar and Ivanko weights came with it. So, when I have a 10 pound plate on each side I am doing 37 pounds. I can curl 37 pounds with a barbell In PS. I am up to about 67 pounds for squats in some of Cathe's videos. I can't believe I worked up that high. It feels soo great. I think the bigger the muscle the more improvement you will see. I have been at the same bicep weight for a very long time.

Have a great day!!

Beverly
 
Kathryn-
Thank you for that very intelligent commentary. In my opinion, your point cannot be overemphasized, or too often made.
 
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