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.

Your chest muscles swell the same amount after a hard workout whether you use a machine, barbell, or dumbbells—so the muscle-building stress is about the same.

When trained men do different types of chest presses—using a machine, barbell, or dumbbells—their chest muscles and shoulder strength bounce back at about the same rate after a tough workout, no matter how stable the equipment is.

Even though guys lifted less weight per rep with dumbbells, they did more reps to make up for it, so the total weight lifted ended up being about the same for everyone.

If you're a young guy who's new to lifting, it doesn't matter whether you do bench press first or triceps press first—your strength gains will be the same as long as you lift heavy (80% of your max) and push each set until you can't do another rep.

After doing barbell chest presses, guys felt less ready to train again—even two days later—than after using dumbbells or a machine, meaning they needed an extra day to feel recovered.