Bench: Barbell vs. Dumbbell

[Luke]

Just to reiterate what a lot of other posters are saying: there is nothing at all lame about using barbells. I've been lifting for over 10 years and generally prefer DBs to straight bar for most exercises.

One thing you will find though is that as you move up in weight, especially on bench presses, the weights themselves will become difficult to manage. By that I mean, getting 100s over to your bench and then getting that first one up can be very tough. You'll want to use a spotter for that as you can drain a lot of hand/forearm energy just getting the 1st one up, not to mention risk injury. Also putting the weights down delicately can be a little tricky without some help.

Don't let that discourage you and don't be afraid to ask for a spot. Just explain how you'd like the spotter to help you. You'll find that people often tend to workout on bit of a schedule so you'll start to find the same people there and you'll eventually have "gym buddies" who know exactly how to spot you.