How much total weight you lift matters more for muscle damage than whether you use a barbell or dumbbells—even if one feels harder or heavier per rep.
Scientific Claim
The magnitude of muscle damage and recovery in resistance-trained men performing chest press exercises is more strongly influenced by training volume than by exercise stability or load per repetition.
Original Statement
“Although the load lifted by the dumbbell group was lower, the total amount of weight lifted did not differ between groups... it appears that training volume has an important influence on exercise-induced muscle damage independent of instability and load requirements.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The study design controlled volume and measured outcomes, allowing the authors to draw a mechanistic conclusion. The claim is supported by data and explicitly stated in the discussion.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (0)
Contradicting (1)
Chest Press Exercises With Different Stability Requirements Result in Similar Muscle Damage Recovery in Resistance-Trained Men
The study compared different ways to do chest presses but used the same number of reps and weight for everyone, so it couldn’t tell us if doing more reps or heavier weights causes more muscle damage — only that the type of bench didn’t matter much.