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@@nicholasingratta423 yup, leave no stone unturned. I like barbells but there are lots of ways to train. The book, for example, is only about 30% barbell movements.
You should’ve also mentioned the fact that the barbells give you the most potential for overload which is extremely useful for lighter smaller people especially when it comes to increasing bone density.
It’s hard to imagine replacing barbells for lower body stuff completely, but for upper body it’s super easy to change everything into dumbbell pressing, and it’s beneficial to do it for strength and to make sure you’re keeping your strength symmetrical. The movement patterns definitely feel better with dumbbells.
Split squats , bulgarian split squats , reverse split squats , various single legged rdl analogs , goblet squats with stupid volume There are options out there
@@FitFatFit yeah but it's still not like presses where you can directly copy the movements with dumbbells. you have to do more single leg work but those are all good options
@@FitFatFit I agree with this. It may not be for everyone but split squats kill me consistently more than doing like RPE 7 of barbell squats. Though I will barbell squat just to work with strength for higher weight and effort.
I have been watching Eugene's videos for a while now. His content is generally pretty good. While the title of his video was a bit aggressive, this seems to be the way he trains. He doesn't use the barbells that much outside of hinge movements. I really think it all comes down to preference. Personally, I like a mix
Imo unless there’s some condition you have preventing you from doing everything I think you should to reach your full potential. It’s normalized to only do barbell/dumbbell movements and machines but I’d make the argument for those ppl as well, don’t skip weighted calisthenics
I think a better title for Eugene’s video would have been “Why I stopped using barbells, and why should consider it” But admittedly we all know how the TH-cam game is, and that’s not as clicky/watchy I watched the original video and I at least personally feel like “you should consider” switching out barbell movements was the message I received.
Not a powerlifter but training with a barbell is just fun for me. The basics plus some pullups, dips and accessories is my program and I think it finds a balance between having fun adding weight to the bar on the compounds and staying "aesthetic". It depends on what motivates you to get to the gym - personally I couldn't get fired up to drive to the gym and walk directly to the cable fly machine.
Yeah lifting has gotta be enjoyable to a degree. I love doing things like HSPUs,weighted pull ups & dips along with weights like incline press,rows, Ohp etc. If I was forced to just do boring machines every time I lifted I wouldn’t stay consistent at all.
Fair arguments from Eugene and you. One important benefit of having a barbell is limited space/equipment and especially if you're building a home gym. Not everyone can afford to build a commercial gym, especially under the pandemic we're in.
One relevant aspect of this that may be useful for other old guys like me: I was getting increasing shoulder pain during (and after) doing any kind of barbell presses. After a lot of trial and error, I happened to try dumbbells - and found that my problem cleared up so I could resume training with full intensity. Maybe having that independent freedom of movement (with the ability to move the hand positions from pronated to neutral, or better control of hand distance and elbow tuck, etc.) over the arc of the movement is the reason, although I can't be sure. But for me, the detailed reasons are academic as I'm good to go now.
I here you!... I've been lifting well over 40 years. Agreed, pain= stop doing it. I personally incorporate a mix of barbells and dumbells. I've found that an important thing for us older guys is #1 don't go crazy heavy (8 or more reps), #2 warm up thoroughly. I probably spend 25% of my workout time warming up the joints I'm going to train around.#3 strict form...Sloppy=injury.
I absolutely love how non-dogmatic both of you were. There's multiple ways to get this fitness thing done, and ultimately it boils down to preference and comfort. I can't dumbbell press to save my life because of my shoulder, but it doesn't affect my barbell bench as much, for example. There's room for nuance for both. Excellently done bro 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
GVS was about to go into hyperspace at 5:03 One thing worth noting is that most of their, (Eugene Teo and other professionals) size was not built with these training methods. Muscle maintenance is much easier than muscle building. Sure, You can build muscle with isolation machine movements, dumbbells, and never touch a barbell, but is it optimal? And is it an option for you? At the end of the day, REJECT MODERNITY, EMBRACE TRADITION.
It's an option to use/don't use barbells, yes. But why would it be more optimal to build muscle by sticking to barbells? I find no reason why someone wouldn't get the same/better results by sticking to a dumbell option instead of a barbell.
@@lukaposeidon8490 I personally find arguments of DB vs BB to be kind of pointless because using both is better. In the same manner, barbells + machines is significantly greater than the sum of its parts. Why stop yourself from using a time-tested, reliable tool if there is no reason to do so and theres more to be gained if it is there than otherwise? I advocate and utilize barbells, dumbbells, machines, and calisthenics. You can call it a cop out and say “of course if you use everything it will be better than using one thing” but then you have to acknowledge that if you take something out you are accepting a worse version of training.
@@StandStrength Completely agree. I think the whole BB vs DB argument is important because of how overrated the barbell can be. It's seen as the main thing and if you don't include it you are missing out. Sure, might be. But just as you might be missing out if you didn't include some of the other things. I personally have a lot of barbell movements in my training and find that they work great for me. However if BB benching didn't hit my chest as much as DB's do, I would have better results switching it for the DB variation. My main point is that you shouldn't 'avoid' barbells just like you shouldn't avoid dumbells, machines or bodyweight exercises. However if other variations work better for you, I see no reason why you'd miss out if you didn't include barbells at all.
This is the first thing I thought looking at the guy. He looks built for and by Oly lifting or powerlifting, maybe both. The Eleiko setup says serious barbell user.
So it seems most of us are partially agreeing with him. Like I only use a barbell for 2 exercises, which is Romanian deadlifts and bent-over rows. Most lifters will agree theres nothing like doing Romanian deadlifts with a barbell. I love using the hex bar for exercises, but people shouldn't use them for RDLs because the weight doesn't stay in front of you the whole time which is better for targeting hamstrings. Also Geoff to give you a heads up, in America at least, most crappy hotel/condo gyms only go up to 60 lb dumbbells. Then you got more advanced commercial gyms going up to 120 lbs. Then you got the hardcore gyms like the one John Meadows always went to with 150 lb dumbbells. Very rarely you will also find gyms going up to 180 lbs or even 200 lbs. 0:14 And deadlifting 335 lbs seems a bit low to be using straps.
@@cx2900 it is but it's not that unusual to be able to do that without straps. only excuse i could give is if you all ready blasted your grip with chin ups or something else
I think that the issue isn't that beginners should do more barbell exercises, but that they should do more compounds in general, be those calisthenics, barbell, dumbell or cable movements. Most newbies screw around with machine isolations way too much. I also agree that the barbell for legs is king, specially from a convenience standpoint. Great video bro
Agreed! Everyone keeps trying to reinvent working out. Our bodies are designed to take heavy loads well when done safely and correctly (i.e. solid setup and techniques.)
Being 6'3 with long arms I avoided the bench for my first few years making various excuses and just did dumbbells and cables. Eventually swallowed my pride and started light on the bench and touched my chest and learned the arch and technique from the elitefts channel. I'm now closing in on 405 bench and wish I'd have started sooner. Similarly barbell curls slightly agitated my wrists early on, but they got stronger and I can now strictly curl 135 for 10 without any joint issues. Point being I think a beginner or someone who avoids the barbell should give it a fair shake and try the movement consistently for some time with a lighter load and focus on technique. Put up with a little pain, but back off if it becomes excessive.
I've been consistently lifting for the past 30 years (I'm 67). As a result, my shoulders are pretty messed up. I cannot do any barbell pressing movements, like bench or overhead, using a PRONATED grip without pain. The solution for me has been a Swiss multi-grip bar using a neutral grip. Also, a kneeling chest press or an overhead shoulder press using a landmine attachment is pain-free for me as well. I have gained size since switching to neutral grip pressing movements.
I am a bit in your situation. I have, for example, switched from flat bench bench press to incline bench press, which helps. And neutral grips on many exercises, where applicable, as you suggest. .
@@sentaveliki425 At my age I am happy to maintain what I have. The gains from switching to more shoulder friendly forms of exercise using specialty bar was just a pleasant surprise, not a goal of mine. Strength training and health/longevity are not mutually exclusive. Strength training is important for seniors if they want to stay out of a nursing home.
I have been lifting consistently for about 22 years (I am a lifetime natty however, I can still make a bit of progress if I focus on a particular goal)... I sometimes wish I could go back in time and give my 20 year old self some of the knowledge I have now... there is so much I would do differently! 😁
Hey Geoffrey! I have not been following your channel for very long but I love the content you put out. I found you through the channel Natural Hypertrophy. Unfortunately, his channel has been deleted today and he needs as much help as he can get for the sake of his channel's future. Please help him to whatever degree you can!
I agree with the ‘locked in’ sentiment The constriction of motion you get from a barbell can actually reduce the chance of a massive injury. You can only deviate so far with a barbell. with dumbbells, and if your ego takes over, you can easily move in very compromising ways and put massive amounts of torque on your joints. IE, pressing with dumbbells and your hands drifting too far away from your chest or drifting too distal or proximal to the cranium. The further you get from your shoulder, outward or up/Down in relation to your spine, the more torque.
Also, the underrated logistical issues of moving heavy dumbells in and out of position can be harmful, especially because people don't usually take much care in heaving the barbells off the floor (say if doing incline DB press and getting the dumbells on/off the floor). The size/shape/total weight of barbells pretty much make it impossible to improperly move it around.
I'm seeing more gains from ditching the barbell and using machines and volume training. I'm mostly geared towards running and I'm also 40 so all that joint wear and tear is gone.
Really quality advice brother. 👍 There’s so much nuance to this topic, & like you said, it depends on many individual factors. While I personally like & do some barbell exercises, I also incorporate dumbbells, cables, & even some machines as appropriate, as they can all complement each other well. 10:13 I think your shorts are about to rip apart bro 😂
I totally understand people swapping out barbell exercises for alternatives. They are usually very technical and get complicated when heavy. Add in poor leverages or proportions and it can end up not seeming worth it. They do give you the most bang for your buck and provide one hell of a workout though!
If you mean literally, then bodyweight exercises give you infinitely more bang for your buck. If you mean time efficiency, sure, but to many people longevity is much more important than quick gains
As a dude that lives out in the woods on several acres, I've only got my 7ft 55lb Olympic barbell and 312lbs of plates, so I have to work around the lack of dumbbells (I should get those 2" collar loadable dumbbell handles) or any machines. I get a lot done, but I do wish I had some machines and dumbbells. I also need to buy a few more 45lb plates because I am getting really bored of high rep sets of deadlifts 😄
I’m with Eugene on this one. Barbell benching messes up my elbows and shoulders almost immediately, while dumbbell benching feels amazing and is completely pain free, even with higher volume. I kind of like barbell ohp though
Elbow & shoulder issues from barbell benching generally comes from elbows flaired out too much and not tucked in more, if something is causing you issues for sure isn't a good idea to keep doing it but learning to do it in a different or "better" way which could help the issue is beneficial, i don't agree with neglecting barbell work but better to rotate Barbell, dumbbell, different grips, different inplaments, different styles
@@robbo8074 the issue is more detailed than that. If there are deficits in mobility in supination/pronation of the forearm/wrist, combined with limitations in shoulder IR, the upper and lower arm will never be able to align as easily as with dumbbells or cables. Also, the main function of the pectorals is adduction of the humerus, and you cannot achieve that as much with a barbell.
@@chriswilliams8189 on the contrary, the majority of large individuals lack shoulder internal rotation and mobility at the forearm. Also note, these issues take years to manifest. The issue could take thousands of reps over years to cause inflammation at the elbow joint. If we're looking at something like a skullcrusher, the majority of lifters stop doing that exercise intuitively, or at least with a barbell after many years of training. The reason they experience elbow pain is because of the reasons I mentioned but also because of the inability to truly use the long head (long head tricep favors the scapular plane and shoulder external rotation). Consider for a moment that perhaps we are taught a traditional way of doing things that is biomechanically inefficient and suboptimal.
@@chriswilliams8189 typical dogmatic lifter. the other commenter is absolutely right, shoulder rotation is a problem for many people who lift for years.
He summed up why I avoid machines... every upper body machine I ever tried made my left shouldr hurt. I can move stupid weights with free weights with no issues during or after lifting but machines always fuck me up
The guy says the bench press makes your elbows flared out, but here (5:11) you can clearly see that the more you narrow your grip, the more tucked in they are. You can actually adjust it for you like that.
Do barbell for one reason : compare myself to my friends and to the world! No one care how much i can lat pull down. Comparing is fun and my motivation to train.
@@xCarbonBlack Being competitive isn't "trying to please others". It's completely fine to want to be better than everyone else at something; that's the basis (and the entire point) behind *all* competition and sport.
Also time constraints. Big compounds with barbells are good because they save time. I spend so much time in the gym already. I can’t sub out compounds for isolation work cause I’d never go home
I never do barbell benchpress only dumbbell. It just bothers my shoulders and is really hard to feel my chest with it. However, when it comes to OHP, I prefer barbell. I think people need to realize that you can build muscle doing "variations" of the big 4 and still build muscle as long as you follow the basic rules of sleep, overload and diet. PS: you have never put out a bad video in my opinion, do you have plans on maybe getting an home gym like Alphadestiny? would be really cool to see you in there with some nice shots and cool lights lmao
here's a quote from the study you've mentioned: "Our data also do not support the hypothesis that exercise variations are determinant to muscle mass accretion, as the groups that varied exercises had similar gains in muscle CSA than the ones that just used a single exercise (i.e. squat). Thus, the findings of the present study indicate that as long as the training load is sufficient to activate the protein synthesis machinery, muscle hypertrophy should occur independently of the changes in exercise throughout the training period." i should mention though that the hypertrophy was more proportional/homogenous in the exercise variation group.
@@GVS it does make sense tho. given that at least one muscle head doesn't even grow at all in exercises such as squats so when you reach your supposed anabolic capacity of volume per session it would be advisable to spread some love to the heads that don't grow through squats with the help of a different exercise (knee extension for example).
Respectfully speaking here, every person I have trained with the Rippetoe low bar squat has grown their quads quite a bit. I think if you get your squat strong with an efficient form, hip drive, your quads will grow. I also have bad squat leverages, but the Rip squat got my squat strong (275x5 to 425x5) and my quads have really grown! I don't think you need to focus on knees forward to grow the quads.
More great content! This year I decided to do the bulk of upper body with dumbbells to help correct left-to-right imbalances because they are much more noticeable with DBs. But I still plan to add in some BB movements at least in part because I enjoy those too.
Keep in mind that doing dumbbells for presses doesn’t necessarily fix imbalances, it’s very easy to tilt your body to the side to help your weak arm out, potentially making it even worse than a barbell. Just mind your form
actually barbells are great for imbalances since you can use correct form to fix the imbalance. just go down in weight and do perfect reps and then work your way back up, you'll have fixed the issue by the time you get back to your working weights
@@oblivionpro69 definitely minding the form and stopping when the weaker side breaks down. But this is a good reminder to also take video at times to make sure I'm really minding the form.
@@yoeyyoey8937 not completely avoiding the BB versions, just focusing more on the DB version of certain lifts. But I do need to focus more when doing the BB lifts since I don't easily notice the imbalance until I watch myself on video afterwards. That's where the DB version seem to work better for me because I'm more sensitive to it then as it's happening in real-time.
Bro you replied to my comment I am really happy I just recently started watching your videos last month and I have enjoyed it keep entertaining and enlightening us
I like the nuance in both these videos. Because yes, personally I experienced this while doing calisthenics. I started getting some serious joint issues, especially in my elbows. Got serious golfer's and tennis elbow. But all it literally took to solve was switching to dumbbells and gymnastics rings for all my compound exercises. I felt the difference in the first training session. Significantly less discomfort. But I also understand that that's just me and doesn't mean it'll be the case for the next person. I also think the fact that I'm 6 ft 11 doing calisthenics and started when I was obese a few years ago had an impact on my joints for sure.
Honestly I agree. I use barbells because they’re fun and i love adding plates to the bar. Keeps me coming back to the gym. But are they “suboptimal” for building mass, sure
well he is correct in that you dont NEED barbell movements,personally theres some stuff like chest press i just dont bother using a barbell for bc it frankly just feels like it hurts vs helps.
I 100% agree with eugene. I have always tried to enjoy barbell stuff because people just kept preaching that it's a must, but I personally just enjoy dumbbells and other exercises way more, mostly because of the freedom in movement and adjustment. I don't care so much about pure strength or the amount of weight that i lift. I just wanna have fun and not fuck up my joints while I have it
Commented something similar in Teo's video, but I know I have a bit of an unconventional set of circumstances regarding certain compound lifts. Swapped out barbell for DBs for my main horizontal and vertical pulls / pushes out of preference on more freedom of motion/ saw better results. I also found a out I have hernia from birth, so heavy training kinda went out the window in a lot of ways. My main squat is Bulgarian split squats with DBs, main hip hinge is hip thrusts for sets of 6-8. Even my alternative hinge of RDLs I prefer with DBs as they are high rep sets and I enjoy a more neutral grip / more depth (as a shorter guy). I could easily never train with a barbell for the rest of my days
Completely agree about the DB rdl's. They feel much better and I find I can go deeper with them. However it's very unstable in my case. Maybe because of the specific Dumbells I use. Another thing is that without straps, it's very hard to hold on to dumbells. Might be because of the stability issue but a barbell is much easier to hold for longer periods of time.
@@whwhywhywhywhywhywhy who said anything about an old herniated disk? This is a congenital hernia, a literal birth defect. Herniated disc and hernias are not the same thing.
I personally wouldn't and don't neglect anything, rotation is key, every time you do a certain exercise but do it slightly different each time, barbell, dumbbell, grip, bands, chains, angles ect you create a different stimulus
This might be a good video under which to ask what you think about the argument that one will achieve significantly fewer gains working out with exercise bands rather than free weights/machines.
Most people argue that Bench Press is the reason why barbells are amazing but I would argue that only deadlifts and OHP are the only exercises that you can't replicate with dumbbells and get the same benefits. I would say the bench press is the worst barbell exercise. Since doing ring pushups and ring work, I've realise that the contraction on the bench during the bench press is awful. no adduction (moving arm across your body?) and straight vertical motion. Ring pushups have exploded my chest more than benching has. However, I do like to bench every now and then to test my absolute strength
Calisthenics and heavy sandbags works best for me. Squats and lunges with a heavy sandbag over the shoulder has helped me immensely when it comes to moving heavy awkward objects in daily basis
Barbells for sure stack the size on better but it was effecting me for my work. The hardest thing in my work is when you have to carry huge heavy awkward objects up the stairs and being strong at back squats and deadlifts didn't carry over to that compared to heavy sandbag work
i like to think of it as "U Should do Barbell movements , unless it's not suitable for u in any reason" not the other way around that "u shouldn't do barbell movements , unless u it's suitable for u" .. Cause if it's suitable for u as in (not giving u pain or discomfort , hitting the right muscle , good for your bone structure , etc) ..then u would rate them higher above Dumbbells , machines , cables , bodyweight .. but that's as the Main movement to focus on , and ofc u can add some variations whether it's Variations of Barbell or something else ... like having Bench press as main movement .. and Close grip Bench as a variation .. and maybe some assistance or isolations on top ..
10:18 this was me before doing high bar style. I never felt quads doing squats, and since I was doing deadlifts on the same day (thank you stronglifts /s) all I could feel was my lower back getting more and more fatigued. I started doing heel elevated high bar copying your style, and instantly I felt my quads.
I had to stop all barbells at about 45. Barbells caused pain, I had to switch to dumbbells and cables. I do use machines for lower body and some upper body machines but not to many.
It all comes down to preferences. My current goals are progressive on the Big 3 and I'm having blast doing it. I still do bodybuilding type exercise but don't enjoy doing it so much. But it has to be done 😎
I myself have been using dumbbells since I started lifting for all my upper body exercises but for lower body I couldn't see myself using anything else besides barbells, especially squats. Barbell squat is the king of all exercises and I refuse to be told otherwise lol
Hey I actually used to put my feet on the bar in the smith machine. Found leg pressing the smith machine felt better than most leg press machines. The resistance profile on some of the leg press machines I’ve used is wonky
The title was definitely the reason I clicked on the video but otherwise, he makes sense to me. Doesn't matter whether it is dumbbell, kettle bell, barbell, so long as you can comfortably push yourself on the exercise.
7:15 I'd say the opposite. Most people are probably better off ignoring barbells in favor of dumbbells. The lighter weights allow for safer experience and DBs also fixing imbalances. Most people are not professional athletes, and they will probably be able to meet their needs with DBs, Sandbags, and Cables.
i would say the opposite myself, barbells inherently prevent imbalances and consistently drive adaptation in a simple and effective way, given you are taking it seriously
Friction on the cables is one thing. But thanks to the ancient Greeks we have a pretty good understanding that the more pulleys there are, and the larger that those pulleys are, the more efficiently you can move the same amount of weight. So when comparing cable machines, you have to factor in the number and size of the pulleys, how far the cable is going from the way to your hand, the friction of the cable against the pulleys, and the friction caused by the stack of weight against whatever is holding it in place.
I think another important thing that everyone is forgetting, you can set up a home gym with a couple dumbbells for super cheap and very little space. You don't need to buy fixed weights or complex mechanical dumbbells that influencers are peddling. Buy yourself a professional classic dumbbell set, the ones with spin locks, but make sure they're rated for heavy weight. Then just shop used stores for ten pound weights. My dumbbells are weighted to 200lbs and I have enough ten pound weights to hit 90 right now. This is a lot less painful on my preexisting injuries, takes less space in my house, and I'm still making great gains.
it depends, for squats barbell is def better than trying to hold 2 dumbbells in ur hands. for back and rear deltoid exercises, dumbbells and cables give better results and follows ur natural biomechanics more closely. so I get why Eugene created a barbell program, each exercise must be well thought out to get the most out of it
Hi Geoff. Don’t know if you’ll read this, but you said in the vid that you struggle with squats because off long femurs. You should look up Zac Talender (he also made o good response vid to this too)as he has great vids on working on the squat pattern / movement. He’s pretty tall and when he started he said he always had issues with squats hitting depth. Zac focuses on Olympic lifting, but might be worth having a look. Up to you of course be he has good info. Anyway, enjoy your content. Keep it up 👍🏻
Greg and Derek to me were the first guys to get me to understand anything about steroids or PED’s. I still have not used them. My body dysmorphia came from looking at dudes who take steroids who don’t talk about taking steroids and saythey got that big from eating constantly not only does your stomach hurt from eating that much it’s hard to have that much money to eat that much and most people do not need to eat more food the majority of Americans are overweight the majority of people need help losing weight the majority of people are not athletes who need to stack on more muscle.
i like barbells. simple to progress with fun to learn new cues lots of information about barbell training athletic movements (ie cleans) fast and efficient to load/unload tried and tested home gym friendly if done with decent form pretty safe looks cool will keep using barbells :) The only big drawback imo is the unilateral work which sucks when done with barbells
he said that the fixed hand positions are bad on the upperbody, shoulders, etc... and that the feet/hips can move freely in lowerbody movements.... then talked about deadlifts.... the hands, shoulders, upperbody etc are still fixed for that.. also, what difference does that make when the weight is on one's back/spine.... the upperbody is still in a fixed position... and is still working to maintain the weight, even isometrically if nothing else.....
Because one of the the functions of the pec is moving the arm toward the body, while doing a bench press because your locked in you can't and miss out on one of the functions of the pec. This topic was mentioned in the video dude, did you watch it?
I thought he was going mention the muscle in balance you can get from barbell movement for me my left pec is bigger then my right and my left front delt is smaller then my right
I’m about to quit BB exercises because the gym I go to is hella packed right now and planet fitness is down the street and less busy 😭. Not sure what to do
The problem I think I’m having here is logically if one is to say that a barbell put you in a locked plane of motion. Wouldn’t you have to say the exact same thing about a pull up bar? Or dip bar? Or is the push-ups off the floor? I mean correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t one of the main parts of strength being able to manipulate your body against a fixed planes object or manipulating that fixed planned object with your body?
It’s an individual thing. I took his advice on leg training. The hack squat is a better exercise for me than a barbell squat with my long legs. For a while I would try to get progressive better at it and didn’t see what the fuss was about, with nagging pains. St. Teo showed me the light. I still think squats are good if you’re built for them and are an objectively good exercise.
@@yoeyyoey8937 most are yes. I can do a barbell squat no problem to good depth with oly shoes. If I were to rank it in my own personal hierarchy of quad movements I still think a good hack squat machine is better at growing my quads though. It gets rid of a lot of the mobility hindrances to get more ROM and can be loaded nicely. I feel I can go harder on hack squats as well. If I push on barbell squats my low back pain flares up again, it's been an issue in the past.
@@jeffbunnell9961 that's true if only looking at the proportion of work being done to the quads. i do squats for general strength and i enjoy the posterior chain (glute lol) hypertrophy since i got hank hill booty lol. does your back hurt during dead lifts?
@@yoeyyoey8937 haven't done conventional deadlifts in a while tbh. a while ago I tweaked my back pretty bad doing RDLs, couldn't really bend over. But for some reason I was still able to do back extensions and hip thrusts, seated leg curls, so I've been sticking with those for a while. I'm going to bring the RDL back in since my back is doing much better, maybe using a trap bar for it idk.
@@jeffbunnell9961 it's good that you're still working the posterior chain with all that! probably helps with back pain and protection. with RDL's the only thing i can speculate is that your form is off and/or you're doing too much volume (DL is generally super easy to overtrain across the board). if you get back into it, maybe try doing conventional deads first to really nail down the bar path, technique and back strength, then switch to RDL's if that is your preferred variation--keeping volume and weight low until you adapt to it. getting your conventional dead up will raise your RDL's anyways. personal anecdote: sometimes i tweak my back while racking or moving around plates, but i can still deadlift heavy with no pain in the same session. in fact the DL set seems to "correct" the issue, usually. back pain is weird and not always consistent in its root cause. another thing to watch out for in general is "bracing" (valsalva maneuver); even during RDL's, properly taking in and holding a big breath stabilizes the torso and activates the core musculature, which protects your back by keeping it in alignment with minimal aberrant movement.
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Seems you do both machines and free weights and dumbbells in videos ,as do I but great video good to hear other perspectives.
How do you useč your strength and power in real life situations?
@@nicholasingratta423 yup, leave no stone unturned. I like barbells but there are lots of ways to train. The book, for example, is only about 30% barbell movements.
@@TooTRUEtoBeG00D youtube videos by day, fighting crime at night.
Thank you for the well considered and thoughtful response! Much appreciated
So you aren't a Rippetoe fan?
Hi uncle eugene
respect for open mindedness!
You should’ve also mentioned the fact that the barbells give you the most potential for overload which is extremely useful for lighter smaller people especially when it comes to increasing bone density.
Why are you so smug?
It’s hard to imagine replacing barbells for lower body stuff completely, but for upper body it’s super easy to change everything into dumbbell pressing, and it’s beneficial to do it for strength and to make sure you’re keeping your strength symmetrical. The movement patterns definitely feel better with dumbbells.
Split squats , bulgarian split squats , reverse split squats , various single legged rdl analogs , goblet squats with stupid volume
There are options out there
@@FitFatFit yeah but it's still not like presses where you can directly copy the movements with dumbbells. you have to do more single leg work but those are all good options
@@FitFatFit I agree with this. It may not be for everyone but split squats kill me consistently more than doing like RPE 7 of barbell squats. Though I will barbell squat just to work with strength for higher weight and effort.
I have been watching Eugene's videos for a while now. His content is generally pretty good. While the title of his video was a bit aggressive, this seems to be the way he trains. He doesn't use the barbells that much outside of hinge movements. I really think it all comes down to preference. Personally, I like a mix
Imo unless there’s some condition you have preventing you from doing everything I think you should to reach your full potential. It’s normalized to only do barbell/dumbbell movements and machines but I’d make the argument for those ppl as well, don’t skip weighted calisthenics
He should probably change the damn title then
@@andrewevans6826 you still clicked
@Elvar citation needed
I think a better title for Eugene’s video would have been
“Why I stopped using barbells, and why should consider it”
But admittedly we all know how the TH-cam game is, and that’s not as clicky/watchy
I watched the original video and I at least personally feel like “you should consider” switching out barbell movements was the message I received.
yea, people started shitting on him specifically because of the title
Not a powerlifter but training with a barbell is just fun for me. The basics plus some pullups, dips and accessories is my program and I think it finds a balance between having fun adding weight to the bar on the compounds and staying "aesthetic". It depends on what motivates you to get to the gym - personally I couldn't get fired up to drive to the gym and walk directly to the cable fly machine.
I agree entirely!
Yeah lifting has gotta be enjoyable to a degree. I love doing things like HSPUs,weighted pull ups & dips along with weights like incline press,rows, Ohp etc. If I was forced to just do boring machines every time I lifted I wouldn’t stay consistent at all.
I’m so proud of you , bro. I remember subscribing to you when you had under 1k subs. Keep grinding. 💪🏽
Fair arguments from Eugene and you. One important benefit of having a barbell is limited space/equipment and especially if you're building a home gym. Not everyone can afford to build a commercial gym, especially under the pandemic we're in.
I don't even have space for a barbell man, so I'll stick to my KBs.
I have an old Jane Fonda workout VHS.
One relevant aspect of this that may be useful for other old guys like me: I was getting increasing shoulder pain during (and after) doing any kind of barbell presses. After a lot of trial and error, I happened to try dumbbells - and found that my problem cleared up so I could resume training with full intensity. Maybe having that independent freedom of movement (with the ability to move the hand positions from pronated to neutral, or better control of hand distance and elbow tuck, etc.) over the arc of the movement is the reason, although I can't be sure. But for me, the detailed reasons are academic as I'm good to go now.
It's easier to engage your back with dumbells too. Most people with shoulder pain don't engage their backs while pressing.
It may have been overuse if you weren't rotating variations before pain kicked in
Same here
I here you!... I've been lifting well over 40 years. Agreed, pain= stop doing it. I personally incorporate a mix of barbells and dumbells. I've found that an important thing for us older guys is #1 don't go crazy heavy (8 or more reps), #2 warm up thoroughly. I probably spend 25% of my workout time warming up the joints I'm going to train around.#3 strict form...Sloppy=injury.
Try out weighted push ups
I absolutely love how non-dogmatic both of you were. There's multiple ways to get this fitness thing done, and ultimately it boils down to preference and comfort. I can't dumbbell press to save my life because of my shoulder, but it doesn't affect my barbell bench as much, for example. There's room for nuance for both. Excellently done bro 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
Actually laughed out loud in the office when Greg's voice hit my headphones! 🤣
The “Greg Says Hello” deserves a 👍🏼
GVS was about to go into hyperspace at 5:03
One thing worth noting is that most of their, (Eugene Teo and other professionals) size was not built with these training methods. Muscle maintenance is much easier than muscle building.
Sure, You can build muscle with isolation machine movements, dumbbells, and never touch a barbell, but is it optimal? And is it an option for you?
At the end of the day, REJECT MODERNITY, EMBRACE TRADITION.
It's an option to use/don't use barbells, yes. But why would it be more optimal to build muscle by sticking to barbells? I find no reason why someone wouldn't get the same/better results by sticking to a dumbell option instead of a barbell.
@@lukaposeidon8490 I personally find arguments of DB vs BB to be kind of pointless because using both is better.
In the same manner, barbells + machines is significantly greater than the sum of its parts.
Why stop yourself from using a time-tested, reliable tool if there is no reason to do so and theres more to be gained if it is there than otherwise?
I advocate and utilize barbells, dumbbells, machines, and calisthenics. You can call it a cop out and say “of course if you use everything it will be better than using one thing” but then you have to acknowledge that if you take something out you are accepting a worse version of training.
@@StandStrength Completely agree. I think the whole BB vs DB argument is important because of how overrated the barbell can be. It's seen as the main thing and if you don't include it you are missing out. Sure, might be. But just as you might be missing out if you didn't include some of the other things. I personally have a lot of barbell movements in my training and find that they work great for me. However if BB benching didn't hit my chest as much as DB's do, I would have better results switching it for the DB variation. My main point is that you shouldn't 'avoid' barbells just like you shouldn't avoid dumbells, machines or bodyweight exercises. However if other variations work better for you, I see no reason why you'd miss out if you didn't include barbells at all.
Completely agree with you.
This is the first thing I thought looking at the guy. He looks built for and by Oly lifting or powerlifting, maybe both. The Eleiko setup says serious barbell user.
So it seems most of us are partially agreeing with him. Like I only use a barbell for 2 exercises, which is Romanian deadlifts and bent-over rows.
Most lifters will agree theres nothing like doing Romanian deadlifts with a barbell. I love using the hex bar for exercises, but people shouldn't use them for RDLs because the weight doesn't stay in front of you the whole time which is better for targeting hamstrings.
Also Geoff to give you a heads up, in America at least, most crappy hotel/condo gyms only go up to 60 lb dumbbells. Then you got more advanced commercial gyms going up to 120 lbs. Then you got the hardcore gyms like the one John Meadows always went to with 150 lb dumbbells. Very rarely you will also find gyms going up to 180 lbs or even 200 lbs.
0:14 And deadlifting 335 lbs seems a bit low to be using straps.
IDK from experience but 335 snatch grip dl is probably a lot harder on the grip than conventional
@@cx2900 Ok I rarely do barbell deadlifts, I couldn't tell if he was doing traditional ones
@@cx2900 it is but it's not that unusual to be able to do that without straps. only excuse i could give is if you all ready blasted your grip with chin ups or something else
I think that the issue isn't that beginners should do more barbell exercises, but that they should do more compounds in general, be those calisthenics, barbell, dumbell or cable movements. Most newbies screw around with machine isolations way too much. I also agree that the barbell for legs is king, specially from a convenience standpoint. Great video bro
Agreed! Everyone keeps trying to reinvent working out. Our bodies are designed to take heavy loads well when done safely and correctly (i.e. solid setup and techniques.)
Being 6'3 with long arms I avoided the bench for my first few years making various excuses and just did dumbbells and cables. Eventually swallowed my pride and started light on the bench and touched my chest and learned the arch and technique from the elitefts channel. I'm now closing in on 405 bench and wish I'd have started sooner. Similarly barbell curls slightly agitated my wrists early on, but they got stronger and I can now strictly curl 135 for 10 without any joint issues. Point being I think a beginner or someone who avoids the barbell should give it a fair shake and try the movement consistently for some time with a lighter load and focus on technique. Put up with a little pain, but back off if it becomes excessive.
@@jonathand9682 hard to have correct setup when you're forced to follow an arbitrary line like with a barbell
I've been consistently lifting for the past 30 years (I'm 67). As a result, my shoulders are pretty messed up. I cannot do any barbell pressing movements, like bench or overhead, using a PRONATED grip without pain. The solution for me has been a Swiss multi-grip bar using a neutral grip. Also, a kneeling chest press or an overhead shoulder press using a landmine attachment is pain-free for me as well. I have gained size since switching to neutral grip pressing movements.
I am a bit in your situation. I have, for example, switched from flat bench bench press to incline bench press, which helps. And neutral grips on many exercises, where applicable, as you suggest.
.
Damn 67 and still looking to gain size and strength? If i were you i would focus completely only on health and longevity
@@sentaveliki425 At my age I am happy to maintain what I have. The gains from switching to more shoulder friendly forms of exercise using specialty bar was just a pleasant surprise, not a goal of mine. Strength training and health/longevity are not mutually exclusive. Strength training is important for seniors if they want to stay out of a nursing home.
I have been lifting consistently for about 22 years (I am a lifetime natty however, I can still make a bit of progress if I focus on a particular goal)... I sometimes wish I could go back in time and give my 20 year old self some of the knowledge I have now... there is so much I would do differently! 😁
mh, sounds like you fucked up your shoulders then
The best thing I find about your channel, is its so real, and your lockdown strategy for lifting is similar to mine🤙🏻
Also Eugene definitely chose the title for MORE views. His channel is excellent tho🙌🏻
Therapist: "Greg Schofield doesn't exist, he can't hurt you. "
Greg Schofield: 0:07
I love that little bit of Greg roast at the beginning of the video.
Hey Geoffrey! I have not been following your channel for very long but I love the content you put out. I found you through the channel Natural Hypertrophy. Unfortunately, his channel has been deleted today and he needs as much help as he can get for the sake of his channel's future. Please help him to whatever degree you can!
On it, doing the best I can trying to reach out to TH-cam to get it fixed.
@@GVS Thank you so much, you're doing gods work
@@GVS I only just noticed, you did it Geoffrey!! NH is back! I hope you know how much your help is worth to us, much love!
I agree with the ‘locked in’ sentiment The constriction of motion you get from a barbell can actually reduce the chance of a massive injury. You can only deviate so far with a barbell. with dumbbells, and if your ego takes over, you can easily move in very compromising ways and put massive amounts of torque on your joints. IE, pressing with dumbbells and your hands drifting too far away from your chest or drifting too distal or proximal to the cranium. The further you get from your shoulder, outward or up/Down in relation to your spine, the more torque.
Also, the underrated logistical issues of moving heavy dumbells in and out of position can be harmful, especially because people don't usually take much care in heaving the barbells off the floor (say if doing incline DB press and getting the dumbells on/off the floor). The size/shape/total weight of barbells pretty much make it impossible to improperly move it around.
Oh yeah, Setting up a heavy DB lift is an excellent way to snap your shit up
I Friggin love your channel bro 😂 not just for the relatable fitness journey, but also for the Greg doucette memes 😂
I'm seeing more gains from ditching the barbell and using machines and volume training. I'm mostly geared towards running and I'm also 40 so all that joint wear and tear is gone.
Really quality advice brother. 👍 There’s so much nuance to this topic, & like you said, it depends on many individual factors. While I personally like & do some barbell exercises, I also incorporate dumbbells, cables, & even some machines as appropriate, as they can all complement each other well.
10:13 I think your shorts are about to rip apart bro 😂
Facts. Idk why some people think it has to be one or the other to an extreme😂
I totally understand people swapping out barbell exercises for alternatives. They are usually very technical and get complicated when heavy. Add in poor leverages or proportions and it can end up not seeming worth it. They do give you the most bang for your buck and provide one hell of a workout though!
If you mean literally, then bodyweight exercises give you infinitely more bang for your buck. If you mean time efficiency, sure, but to many people longevity is much more important than quick gains
As a dude that lives out in the woods on several acres, I've only got my 7ft 55lb Olympic barbell and 312lbs of plates, so I have to work around the lack of dumbbells (I should get those 2" collar loadable dumbbell handles) or any machines. I get a lot done, but I do wish I had some machines and dumbbells. I also need to buy a few more 45lb plates because I am getting really bored of high rep sets of deadlifts 😄
You can always try suitcase deadlifts.
I’m with Eugene on this one. Barbell benching messes up my elbows and shoulders almost immediately, while dumbbell benching feels amazing and is completely pain free, even with higher volume. I kind of like barbell ohp though
This is not a judgment response. Find a coach who can watch your technique. It makes a difference! Don't give up on barbells yet!
Elbow & shoulder issues from barbell benching generally comes from elbows flaired out too much and not tucked in more, if something is causing you issues for sure isn't a good idea to keep doing it but learning to do it in a different or "better" way which could help the issue is beneficial, i don't agree with neglecting barbell work but better to rotate Barbell, dumbbell, different grips, different inplaments, different styles
@@robbo8074 the issue is more detailed than that. If there are deficits in mobility in supination/pronation of the forearm/wrist, combined with limitations in shoulder IR, the upper and lower arm will never be able to align as easily as with dumbbells or cables. Also, the main function of the pectorals is adduction of the humerus, and you cannot achieve that as much with a barbell.
@@chriswilliams8189 on the contrary, the majority of large individuals lack shoulder internal rotation and mobility at the forearm. Also note, these issues take years to manifest. The issue could take thousands of reps over years to cause inflammation at the elbow joint. If we're looking at something like a skullcrusher, the majority of lifters stop doing that exercise intuitively, or at least with a barbell after many years of training. The reason they experience elbow pain is because of the reasons I mentioned but also because of the inability to truly use the long head (long head tricep favors the scapular plane and shoulder external rotation).
Consider for a moment that perhaps we are taught a traditional way of doing things that is biomechanically inefficient and suboptimal.
@@chriswilliams8189 typical dogmatic lifter. the other commenter is absolutely right, shoulder rotation is a problem for many people who lift for years.
He summed up why I avoid machines... every upper body machine I ever tried made my left shouldr hurt. I can move stupid weights with free weights with no issues during or after lifting but machines always fuck me up
holy shit, this Greg's voice at the start took me off guard, good one))
The guy says the bench press makes your elbows flared out, but here (5:11) you can clearly see that the more you narrow your grip, the more tucked in they are. You can actually adjust it for you like that.
NH's Channel got terminated
Do barbell for one reason : compare myself to my friends and to the world! No one care how much i can lat pull down. Comparing is fun and my motivation to train.
You're trying to please others and trying to get attention and validation. That's a wrong path to take
Compare dumbell lifts, weighted calisthenics, I mean I love barbells for strength but this is a bad point
@@xCarbonBlack not really, i am very much pleasing myself.
@@xCarbonBlack Excellent point. Here's a counter-argument -
Competition drives progress. Also it's fun.
@@xCarbonBlack Being competitive isn't "trying to please others". It's completely fine to want to be better than everyone else at something; that's the basis (and the entire point) behind *all* competition and sport.
Also time constraints. Big compounds with barbells are good because they save time. I spend so much time in the gym already. I can’t sub out compounds for isolation work cause I’d never go home
Hey have you heard about NH getting permanently banned on youtube?
Yes, I'm on it, doing the best I can trying to reach out to TH-cam to get it fixed.
Natural Hypertrophy’s channel got deleted..
On it, doing the best I can trying to reach out to TH-cam to get it fixed.
I never do barbell benchpress only dumbbell. It just bothers my shoulders and is really hard to feel my chest with it. However, when it comes to OHP, I prefer barbell. I think people need to realize that you can build muscle doing "variations" of the big 4 and still build muscle as long as you follow the basic rules of sleep, overload and diet.
PS: you have never put out a bad video in my opinion, do you have plans on maybe getting an home gym like Alphadestiny? would be really cool to see you in there with some nice shots and cool lights lmao
Geoff lives in China - home gym isn't really an oprtion. The walk to and from the gym is worth going outside for.
here's a quote from the study you've mentioned:
"Our data also do not support the hypothesis that
exercise variations are determinant to muscle mass accretion, as the groups that varied
exercises had similar gains in muscle CSA than the ones that just used a single exercise
(i.e. squat). Thus, the findings of the present study indicate that as long as the training
load is sufficient to activate the protein synthesis machinery, muscle hypertrophy should
occur independently of the changes in exercise throughout the training period."
i should mention though that the hypertrophy was more proportional/homogenous in the exercise variation group.
Hmmm maybe I was thinking of a different one, I heard it on an Iron culture podcast and they mentioned several studies in that part.
@@GVS it does make sense tho.
given that at least one muscle head doesn't even grow at all in exercises such as squats
so when you reach your supposed anabolic capacity of volume per session it would be advisable to spread some love to the heads that don't grow through squats with the help of a different exercise (knee extension for example).
@@JewStudios yes, the rectus doesn't get hit from squats
That shirt snap was god tier editing GVS!
Respectfully speaking here, every person I have trained with the Rippetoe low bar squat has grown their quads quite a bit. I think if you get your squat strong with an efficient form, hip drive, your quads will grow. I also have bad squat leverages, but the Rip squat got my squat strong (275x5 to 425x5) and my quads have really grown! I don't think you need to focus on knees forward to grow the quads.
That Chinese man checking out your ass while you do RDL's is just pure violation. Dude just straight up stared with no shame.
More great content!
This year I decided to do the bulk of upper body with dumbbells to help correct left-to-right imbalances because they are much more noticeable with DBs. But I still plan to add in some BB movements at least in part because I enjoy those too.
Keep in mind that doing dumbbells for presses doesn’t necessarily fix imbalances, it’s very easy to tilt your body to the side to help your weak arm out, potentially making it even worse than a barbell. Just mind your form
actually barbells are great for imbalances since you can use correct form to fix the imbalance. just go down in weight and do perfect reps and then work your way back up, you'll have fixed the issue by the time you get back to your working weights
@@oblivionpro69 definitely minding the form and stopping when the weaker side breaks down. But this is a good reminder to also take video at times to make sure I'm really minding the form.
@@yoeyyoey8937 not completely avoiding the BB versions, just focusing more on the DB version of certain lifts. But I do need to focus more when doing the BB lifts since I don't easily notice the imbalance until I watch myself on video afterwards. That's where the DB version seem to work better for me because I'm more sensitive to it then as it's happening in real-time.
That coach Greg impression was awesome
Just dubbed! Although I am proud of it only taking one try to do!
Bro you replied to my comment I am really happy
I just recently started watching your videos last month and I have enjoyed it
keep entertaining and enlightening us
I like the nuance in both these videos. Because yes, personally I experienced this while doing calisthenics. I started getting some serious joint issues, especially in my elbows. Got serious golfer's and tennis elbow. But all it literally took to solve was switching to dumbbells and gymnastics rings for all my compound exercises. I felt the difference in the first training session. Significantly less discomfort. But I also understand that that's just me and doesn't mean it'll be the case for the next person. I also think the fact that I'm 6 ft 11 doing calisthenics and started when I was obese a few years ago had an impact on my joints for sure.
Wow you are nearly 7ft. Planes must be hell.
TH-cam has removed Natrual hyoertrophy. Spread the news.
Lies
@@blackpurple9163 it was 2 years ago
Honestly I agree. I use barbells because they’re fun and i love adding plates to the bar. Keeps me coming back to the gym. But are they “suboptimal” for building mass, sure
Thanks, I just watched this yesterday and been waiting for someone to react to this :D
Same here ,lol.
Getting dumbbells into proper position hurt my shoulders more than barbells!
Yooooo the Coach Douche part actually has me rolling on the flooooorrr weakkkk😂😂😂
well he is correct in that you dont NEED barbell movements,personally theres some stuff like chest press i just dont bother using a barbell for bc it frankly just feels like it hurts vs helps.
Oh I was waiting for this.
I 100% agree with eugene. I have always tried to enjoy barbell stuff because people just kept preaching that it's a must, but I personally just enjoy dumbbells and other exercises way more, mostly because of the freedom in movement and adjustment. I don't care so much about pure strength or the amount of weight that i lift. I just wanna have fun and not fuck up my joints while I have it
I was scared when I saw his title but the video was overall interesting and you completed it very well
Commented something similar in Teo's video, but I know I have a bit of an unconventional set of circumstances regarding certain compound lifts. Swapped out barbell for DBs for my main horizontal and vertical pulls / pushes out of preference on more freedom of motion/ saw better results. I also found a out I have hernia from birth, so heavy training kinda went out the window in a lot of ways. My main squat is Bulgarian split squats with DBs, main hip hinge is hip thrusts for sets of 6-8. Even my alternative hinge of RDLs I prefer with DBs as they are high rep sets and I enjoy a more neutral grip / more depth (as a shorter guy).
I could easily never train with a barbell for the rest of my days
Completely agree about the DB rdl's. They feel much better and I find I can go deeper with them. However it's very unstable in my case. Maybe because of the specific Dumbells I use. Another thing is that without straps, it's very hard to hold on to dumbells. Might be because of the stability issue but a barbell is much easier to hold for longer periods of time.
An old herniated disc in no way prevents you from lifting heavy objects
@@whwhywhywhywhywhywhy who said anything about an old herniated disk? This is a congenital hernia, a literal birth defect. Herniated disc and hernias are not the same thing.
how do you do a vertical pull with dumbbells? or a barbell for that matter. pullovers?
@@cx2900 yep pullovers, but to clarify I personally use machines and cables for those
Greg lives rent free in ya Neurons my guy
Who?
@@GVS Doucette, who you was mocking in the beginning lol
@@boombabyize sounds familiar but not sure
@@GVS 😂 Touché, it’s all about Maingaining!
Good review, it's good to see an Australian youtuber get a little attention aswell.
I personally wouldn't and don't neglect anything, rotation is key, every time you do a certain exercise but do it slightly different each time, barbell, dumbbell, grip, bands, chains, angles ect you create a different stimulus
Glad you showed the rings and body weight exercises as a viable substitute Geoff.
you can load up way more weight on a barbell so it makes no sense to exclude them from your workouts
This might be a good video under which to ask what you think about the argument that one will achieve significantly fewer gains working out with exercise bands rather than free weights/machines.
I would like to see a video for that
Bands suck and I'll have a video explaining why at some point. Bottom barrel. Only use at last resort.
The moment i saw eugene made this video i knew geoffrey will do a response. Great video though love and learn a lot from your content
Good to have civilized fitness channels that can have a respectful debate without getting butthurt because they disagree.
Most people argue that Bench Press is the reason why barbells are amazing but I would argue that only deadlifts and OHP are the only exercises that you can't replicate with dumbbells and get the same benefits.
I would say the bench press is the worst barbell exercise. Since doing ring pushups and ring work, I've realise that the contraction on the bench during the bench press is awful. no adduction (moving arm across your body?) and straight vertical motion. Ring pushups have exploded my chest more than benching has. However, I do like to bench every now and then to test my absolute strength
Calisthenics and heavy sandbags works best for me. Squats and lunges with a heavy sandbag over the shoulder has helped me immensely when it comes to moving heavy awkward objects in daily basis
i used to do that but after i switched to barbells it's a night and day difference
Barbells for sure stack the size on better but it was effecting me for my work. The hardest thing in my work is when you have to carry huge heavy awkward objects up the stairs and being strong at back squats and deadlifts didn't carry over to that compared to heavy sandbag work
i like to think of it as "U Should do Barbell movements , unless it's not suitable for u in any reason" not the other way around that "u shouldn't do barbell movements , unless u it's suitable for u" ..
Cause if it's suitable for u as in (not giving u pain or discomfort , hitting the right muscle , good for your bone structure , etc) ..then u would rate them higher above Dumbbells , machines , cables , bodyweight ..
but that's as the Main movement to focus on , and ofc u can add some variations whether it's Variations of Barbell or something else ...
like having Bench press as main movement .. and Close grip Bench as a variation .. and maybe some assistance or isolations on top ..
10:18 this was me before doing high bar style. I never felt quads doing squats, and since I was doing deadlifts on the same day (thank you stronglifts /s) all I could feel was my lower back getting more and more fatigued.
I started doing heel elevated high bar copying your style, and instantly I felt my quads.
I had to stop all barbells at about 45. Barbells caused pain, I had to switch to dumbbells and cables. I do use machines for lower body and some upper body machines but not to many.
Love the coach impression
It all comes down to preferences. My current goals are progressive on the Big 3 and I'm having blast doing it. I still do bodybuilding type exercise but don't enjoy doing it so much. But it has to be done 😎
as long as the BBing stuff doesn't interfere with the main lifts. i would also add overhead press to protect the shoulders
@@yoeyyoey8937 yeah I do. Twice a week. First with barbell, second with dumbbells.
I don't want to live in a world without barbell exercises 😂
I myself have been using dumbbells since I started lifting for all my upper body exercises but for lower body I couldn't see myself using anything else besides barbells, especially squats.
Barbell squat is the king of all exercises and I refuse to be told otherwise lol
Only sith deal in absolutes
You mispelled deadlifts
Don’t you mean standing resistance band chains dumbell curl on a bosu ball
Hey I actually used to put my feet on the bar in the smith machine. Found leg pressing the smith machine felt better than most leg press machines. The resistance profile on some of the leg press machines I’ve used is wonky
Almost at 50k!! Btw. Talking about barbell bench press, I'm gonna try and hit a PR tomorrow hehe
You got this! 💪💪💪
The title was definitely the reason I clicked on the video but otherwise, he makes sense to me. Doesn't matter whether it is dumbbell, kettle bell, barbell, so long as you can comfortably push yourself on the exercise.
7:15 I'd say the opposite. Most people are probably better off ignoring barbells in favor of dumbbells. The lighter weights allow for safer experience and DBs also fixing imbalances. Most people are not professional athletes, and they will probably be able to meet their needs with DBs, Sandbags, and Cables.
i would say the opposite myself, barbells inherently prevent imbalances and consistently drive adaptation in a simple and effective way, given you are taking it seriously
The folks you're describing aren't likely to use sandbags either.
Greg has helped me eat MORE because he inspired me to exercise even harder and I’m stronger.
Laughed my ass off at that "WHAT'S UP GUYS" jumpscare at 3:17
@3:18 I was expecting the jibe somewhere in your video lol. I always do :P
Very wise my lord
Friction on the cables is one thing. But thanks to the ancient Greeks we have a pretty good understanding that the more pulleys there are, and the larger that those pulleys are, the more efficiently you can move the same amount of weight. So when comparing cable machines, you have to factor in the number and size of the pulleys, how far the cable is going from the way to your hand, the friction of the cable against the pulleys, and the friction caused by the stack of weight against whatever is holding it in place.
I think another important thing that everyone is forgetting, you can set up a home gym with a couple dumbbells for super cheap and very little space. You don't need to buy fixed weights or complex mechanical dumbbells that influencers are peddling. Buy yourself a professional classic dumbbell set, the ones with spin locks, but make sure they're rated for heavy weight. Then just shop used stores for ten pound weights. My dumbbells are weighted to 200lbs and I have enough ten pound weights to hit 90 right now. This is a lot less painful on my preexisting injuries, takes less space in my house, and I'm still making great gains.
thank you very much, great content
Love your coach Greg
Just a simple barbell and one can train every bodypart. Doesn't get better than that
Yoo that beginning "how friggin dare you!!!" Had me rolling 🤣
it depends, for squats barbell is def better than trying to hold 2 dumbbells in ur hands. for back and rear deltoid exercises, dumbbells and cables give better results and follows ur natural biomechanics more closely. so I get why Eugene created a barbell program, each exercise must be well thought out to get the most out of it
Hi Geoff. Don’t know if you’ll read this, but you said in the vid that you struggle with squats because off long femurs. You should look up Zac Talender (he also made o good response vid to this too)as he has great vids on working on the squat pattern / movement. He’s pretty tall and when he started he said he always had issues with squats hitting depth. Zac focuses on Olympic lifting, but might be worth having a look. Up to you of course be he has good info.
Anyway, enjoy your content. Keep it up 👍🏻
Yup have followed him for a while, for a giraffe his lifts are incredible.
Greg and Derek to me were the first guys to get me to understand anything about steroids or PED’s. I still have not used them. My body dysmorphia came from looking at dudes who take steroids who don’t talk about taking steroids and saythey got that big from eating constantly not only does your stomach hurt from eating that much it’s hard to have that much money to eat that much and most people do not need to eat more food the majority of Americans are overweight the majority of people need help losing weight the majority of people are not athletes who need to stack on more muscle.
Man your thumbnail had me rolling on the floor 😂😂😂
The moment you said "old man yelling at a trap bar" I immediately thought of Mark Rippletoe, and then the clip suddenly appeared!
8:51 😂😂 omg that's absolutely amazing!
I still enjoy barbell deadlifts and standing barbell OHP. But I really like DB's for a lot of key lifts and weighted/body weight calisthenics.
i like barbells.
simple to progress with
fun to learn new cues
lots of information about barbell training
athletic movements (ie cleans)
fast and efficient to load/unload
tried and tested
home gym friendly
if done with decent form pretty safe
looks cool
will keep using barbells :) The only big drawback imo is the unilateral work which sucks when done with barbells
Lunges arent bad
Natural Hypertrophys channel was deleted please help! him somehow
On it, doing the best I can trying to reach out to TH-cam to get it fixed.
he said that the fixed hand positions are bad on the upperbody, shoulders, etc... and that the feet/hips can move freely in lowerbody movements.... then talked about deadlifts.... the hands, shoulders, upperbody etc are still fixed for that.. also, what difference does that make when the weight is on one's back/spine.... the upperbody is still in a fixed position... and is still working to maintain the weight, even isometrically if nothing else.....
Because one of the the functions of the pec is moving the arm toward the body, while doing a bench press because your locked in you can't and miss out on one of the functions of the pec. This topic was mentioned in the video dude, did you watch it?
I am surprised at the level of honesty on the Nippard poll...on the Internet, everyone benches 300+ at sub 10% body fat.....
I thought he was going mention the muscle in balance you can get from barbell movement for me my left pec is bigger then my right and my left front delt is smaller then my right
I’m about to quit BB exercises because the gym I go to is hella packed right now and planet fitness is down the street and less busy 😭. Not sure what to do
The problem I think I’m having here is logically if one is to say that a barbell put you in a locked plane of motion. Wouldn’t you have to say the exact same thing about a pull up bar? Or dip bar? Or is the push-ups off the floor? I mean correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t one of the main parts of strength being able to manipulate your body against a fixed planes object or manipulating that fixed planned object with your body?
yes you are right, i don't know what they mean by that either, could just be fitness jargon
Yup, aint giving up my barbell movements anytime soon
It’s an individual thing. I took his advice on leg training. The hack squat is a better exercise for me than a barbell squat with my long legs. For a while I would try to get progressive better at it and didn’t see what the fuss was about, with nagging pains. St. Teo showed me the light. I still think squats are good if you’re built for them and are an objectively good exercise.
i think most people are built to back squat, it just doesn't come naturally for most people, but that's why it's a central focus of strength training.
@@yoeyyoey8937 most are yes. I can do a barbell squat no problem to good depth with oly shoes. If I were to rank it in my own personal hierarchy of quad movements I still think a good hack squat machine is better at growing my quads though. It gets rid of a lot of the mobility hindrances to get more ROM and can be loaded nicely. I feel I can go harder on hack squats as well. If I push on barbell squats my low back pain flares up again, it's been an issue in the past.
@@jeffbunnell9961 that's true if only looking at the proportion of work being done to the quads. i do squats for general strength and i enjoy the posterior chain (glute lol) hypertrophy since i got hank hill booty lol. does your back hurt during dead lifts?
@@yoeyyoey8937 haven't done conventional deadlifts in a while tbh. a while ago I tweaked my back pretty bad doing RDLs, couldn't really bend over. But for some reason I was still able to do back extensions and hip thrusts, seated leg curls, so I've been sticking with those for a while. I'm going to bring the RDL back in since my back is doing much better, maybe using a trap bar for it idk.
@@jeffbunnell9961 it's good that you're still working the posterior chain with all that! probably helps with back pain and protection. with RDL's the only thing i can speculate is that your form is off and/or you're doing too much volume (DL is generally super easy to overtrain across the board). if you get back into it, maybe try doing conventional deads first to really nail down the bar path, technique and back strength, then switch to RDL's if that is your preferred variation--keeping volume and weight low until you adapt to it. getting your conventional dead up will raise your RDL's anyways.
personal anecdote: sometimes i tweak my back while racking or moving around plates, but i can still deadlift heavy with no pain in the same session. in fact the DL set seems to "correct" the issue, usually. back pain is weird and not always consistent in its root cause.
another thing to watch out for in general is "bracing" (valsalva maneuver); even during RDL's, properly taking in and holding a big breath stabilizes the torso and activates the core musculature, which protects your back by keeping it in alignment with minimal aberrant movement.
4:33 these weighted pushups are even more restricted than a Barbell. No twist, dip, tilt, slide possible with the parrallets.