Is the Bench Press really the rock-star of Chest exercises for more muscle and strength? How good is it, and how does it really compare to the Dumbbell Flyes? A quick look at popular opinion reveals two main schools of thought:

• The Bench Press is better because it’s a compound exercise that allows you to rack up significantly higher loads than you would with the Dumbbell Fly.
• The Dumbbell Fly is better because it isolates movement to horizontal adduction, which is the action done by the Pecs and involves a greater deal of stabilization by other muscles around the Shoulder.

Well, I did a little digging and came across a research study by a renowned Exercise Physiologists, Tom Erik Solstad and colleagues, which compared the two exercises in terms of how good they are at loading the Pectoralis Major (the prominent chest muscle) and other muscles around the Shoulder and arm.

Here are the key points:

• Based on EMG readings on muscle activity, there is greater activation of the Pec Major muscles, front portion of the Deltoids and Triceps during the Barbell Bench Press. The only muscles that are activated to a greater extent during the Flyes are the Biceps. In fact, the researchers observed that the BBP is 16% better at activating the Pec Major. If we are to break it down, the descending part of the BBP holds most of the advantage over the DF as the results showed that the former is 42%,21%, and 23% in the upper, middle and lower phases of the movement.

• Another observation is more obvious, the study identified the BBP as better a better exercise at lifting heavier loads than the Dumbbell Fly.

What does this mean?

Both exercises can be part of your Chest routine, but emphasis should be placed on the Barbell Bench Press due to its higher efficiency in recruiting the Pec Major Muscles. Perhaps beginning with the Bench Press in your workout routine isn’t a bad idea after all.