Dumbbells have now become an integral part of workout routines. Thinking of any routine without using dumbbells can be foolish, as they are the most versatile equipment that can be used to train the whole body evenly.
If we peek at history, traces of dumbbell use can be seen in ancient Greece, and it can be termed one of the oldest workout equipment to be used. But, how did this simple equipment gain so much popularity?
The popularity of dumbbells can be their portability or versatile nature for doing multiple exercises. In some exercises like one-arm swing, dumbbells can be used as a replacement for the kettlebell.
To start the workout routine or add a workout routine to daily life, a beginner can easily start with dumbbell exercises. Dumbbells exercises offer a lot of benefits to their users, whether beginner or experienced.
Hence, we have pointed out some of the advantages of doing dumbbell exercises during workouts. But before that, let’s check out the types of dumbbells used to perform these exercises.
Types of dumbbells:
Dumbbells are equipment that can be used at gyms or any place for workouts. This equipment can be described as two equal weights attached to a handle in between. But these dumbbells are available in different types that are mentioned below:
Fixed Weight Dumbbells
These dumbbells are created in the shape of dumbbells that have unchangeable weight. These dumbbells are made up of cast iron, and for comfort, they are sometimes coated with rubber or neoprene or plastic shells. These dumbbells are available in several weights.
Adjustable Dumbbells
As the name suggests, these dumbbell’s weight can be adjusted as per the need by adding or removing iron plates. These dumbbells have a metal bar with an engraved central portion for better grip. The weight plates are added to the two ends of this metal bar and locked using a clip or collar.
There are two types of adjustable dumbbells
Plate-loaded Dumbbells
These adjustable dumbbells are adjusted manually by removing weight plates of different weights. These dumbbells come with different locking systems.
- Spring-lock type
- Spring Collar Clips type
- Compression Ring Collar type
- Compression Ring Collar type
“Selectorized” Dumbbells
These dumbbells can be adjusted just by turning a dial or moving the selector pin. This does not require any manual adjustment, and these are the advanced form of adjustable dumbbells. The adjustment of plates follows different mechanisms for a quick change.
Other Dumbbells
Thomas Inch Dumbbell
This dumbbell is also termed “172” due to its weight, i.e., 172 pounds. Moreover, this dumbbell has a handle of 2.38 inches.
Millennium Dumbbell
This dumbbell also has a 2.38 inches handle, but the weight of this dumbbell is 228 pounds or 103 kg.
Circus Dumbbells
These dumbbells got this name, as they were used in traveling circus acts in the past.
Benefits of dumbbell exercise
By now, we have learned about the various types of dumbbells available that are used by weightlifters, professional bodybuilders, or even beginners for doing multiple dumbbell exercises.
Everyone is always focused on building a muscular physique using dumbbells, but no one discusses these dumbbells’ advantages.
Body Benefits
Doing dumbbell exercises leaves a positive impact on our body, and some of these benefits are listed below:
Improves Balance
As a beginner, all parts of our body are not equally strong. This unequal strength of the body leads to an imbalance while lifting weights.
But this body imbalance can also be overcome by doing some dumbbell exercises. As we know, to perform dumbbell exercises, we need to stand with proper balance.
So, initially, we try hard to keep the body balanced, which becomes natural as we keep doing the dumbbell exercises.
Moreover, with dumbbell exercises, we gain plenty of muscles and burn calories and fat, which helps us to achieve control over our bodies.
This is why dumbbell exercises are considered the best form of exercise to get body control to avoid falls and injuries.
Build Muscular Physique
The most important reason to use dumbbells during a workout is to gain muscle mass in the body. Building muscles gets easier with dumbbells as it offers multiple exercises to focus all over the body.
To gain more muscle, it is required to burn more calories. This means a person will have to lift more weight or heavy dumbbells to gain muscle quickly.
For beginners, to keep the muscle-building process going, it is essential to keep increasing the weight each week.
But it is essential to have a proper workout routine, which should be followed consistently to gain weight.
Cardio Health
To keep cardiovascular health good, it is essential to do regular workouts. Moreover, daily workout also helps in keeping blood pressure normal and sugar and cholesterol levels low.
Dumbbell exercises are known for keeping cardio health good, as while exercise raises the heart rate to improve heart health. But a beginner needs to pace up things slowly.
During the initial period, a beginner should do dumbbell exercises using smaller weights for 30 minutes to improve heart health.
As the person raises the rate of lifting dumbbells, the heart rate moves into the aerobic zone. This improves the blood pumping capacity of the heart and keeps the heart healthy.
Unilateral Training
Do you know, with dumbbells, it is not essential to focus all parts at a time? Yes, a person can focus on any particular body part to gain muscles and make that part stronger.
With dumbbells, a person can do several exercises of their comfort for any particular part.
The benefit of this unilateral training is that the person can use all their physical strength in one place that helps them to lift more weight than usual.
This is the reason why dumbbell exercises are considered the best exercises to grow muscles quickly.
Variation In Exercises
We have talked a lot about varieties in dumbbell exercises, but what variation do dumbbells offer in real? We have a lot of machines and barbells to train different parts of the body.
Each machine is specific for a certain part of our body. Moreover, as they place a load on a specific part, they are allowed for single motion or one specific movement pattern.
Similarly, barbells are also designed for single-motion movement. But dumbbells can be used and moved in various ways and patterns due to their size and weight.
This means having a pair of dumbbells gives us flexibility in its use and target any part of the body.
Weight Loss
Dumbbell exercises are considered the easiest and effective way to cut down body fat. By doing regular sessions of dumbbell exercises consistently, a person will burn the calories easily.
There are several aerobic exercises with dumbbells that are the best for burning calories and keeping the heart healthy.
But, with burning calories, a person starts building muscles and cutting down the fat. This process in the body leads to bodyweight loss, makes the body stronger, and boosts it with stamina.
Bone Density
Why is keeping bone density high important? Keeping the bone density high helps us stand with full strength and reduces the chances of fracture.
Hence, weight training or dumbbell exercises increase bone density immensely and also improves bone health.
This can be done using any weight dumbbell that matches our capacity, and several dumbbell exercises help us boost bone density.
Workout Benefits
It is always essential to see the workout we do effectively for our body and easy to perform. Dumbbell exercises offer some workout benefits that are listed below:
Increased Stabilization and Muscle Activation
While doing exercise, the muscles must be getting activated to get perfect results. If we compare a common exercise, i.e., bench press, done using barbells, machine, and dumbbells for chest, triceps, and biceps, the results were similar in the case of biceps and triceps.
But the biceps were more activated during dumbbells, as the dumbbells need more stabilization than other equipment. This stabilization helps activate the muscle fibers, and this is why dumbbells are good for building muscles.
Can Be Done at Home or Alone
Dumbbell exercises do not require much supervision as compared to other exercises with machines. These exercises can be done easily at home, but the only condition is that they should be done with proper knowledge.
Moreover, dumbbell exercises do not require much space, as we can perform multiple exercises in one place only. Just make sure you have multiple pairs of dumbbells available at home.
Better Safety
If we compare exercises done using machines or barbells and dumbbells, then dumbbell exercises are safer than the other two. In the case of dumbbells, you get the chance for correction.
For example, during a bench press or heavy squat with barbells, there will be no option for correction if any mistake happens. At the same time, this is not the case with dumbbells, as you can drop them to keep yourself safe.
Intensify The Exercises
As dumbbells come in various sizes and weights, once you get comfortable with one pair of dumbbells, you can easily intensify the training. A solo trainer in dumbbell exercises can easily set up a higher intensity workout process.
Increased Range of Motion
One of the secrets of muscle building or strength building is to increase the range of motion while doing workouts. There are so many variations possible in the range of motion with dumbbells in hand.
Dumbbells help add a new dimension of load to your movements just by increasing the range of motion.
More Freedom of Movement
What does freedom of movement mean? In a workout, freedom of movement means doing a workout freely without any workout pattern.
This freedom is available with dumbbell exercises in which altering the movement pattern for free body movement is acceptable.
With dumbbells, a person can adjust their movement to complete the workout pain-free. But this is not the case with barbells or machines, in which there is a fixed movement pattern, which needs to be followed strictly.
Awareness About Damage Prevention
People may get injuries with the use of dumbbells, and this mostly happens with beginners, who cannot hold the dumbbells comfortably and lose their balance. Sometimes freedom of movement also leads to certain injuries in people.
But these injuries are caused to the lack of awareness, as the dumbbells have no role to play here. So, it’s essential to be aware of dumbbells and avoid these situations.
Other Benefits
The benefits of dumbbells and their exercises have no end. These are the most valuable pieces of equipment a person can pick for doing the workout.
Cost-Effective
We know the equipment that we see in a gym costs very high, and affording them is impossible for a normal person. So, to replace all this equipment, dumbbells are available in any exercise shop.
Dumbbells are comparatively cost very lower than other equipment, and it is ideal for keeping them at home for workouts.
The cost of dumbbells is decided based on their weight. This means, the higher the weight of the dumbbell, the higher will be the price.
Versatile And Effective
Throughout the topic, we discussed how effective the use of dumbbells could be. They help to build muscles, boost strength and stamina, and also helps in other metabolic activities.
The dumbbells can be used to perform a whole-body workout at a time. Each workout with a dumbbell has a primary target area and other secondary target areas. This means, with one dumbbell exercise type, a person has many areas of the body.
Conclusion:
All these benefits state that dumbbell exercises are highly effective for individuals who do them consistently. The benefits are too versatile, as the equipment is.
It is always beneficial to consult any trainer or read the instructions properly before performing any exercise to get the best results out of it.
The key to getting success through dumbbell exercises is doing them properly and with full precautions.
