Dumbbells don't get enough "attention" and are far less popular than their barbell counterparts. But dumbbell training has many advantages over barbell training. We often go to the gym and find that some people spend more time using dumbbells than barbells, which is the beauty of dumbbells, so let me introduce you to their benefits!
Training with dumbbells can lead to great strength and muscle goals. We would even go so far as to say that in order to fully build strength and muscle, dumbbells must play a part in your training. Let's take a look at seven advantages of dumbbell training over the all-round barbell.
1. Detect and eliminate strength imbalances
One of the reasons we love using dumbbells is the issue of strength balance, and most fitness enthusiasts have more or less trouble with imbalances left and right. It is becoming more and more obvious in the long run. It is advisable to use dumbbells as early as possible and to use them more often instead of barbells, and you will slowly notice an improvement in the strength imbalance. This is because forcing the limbs to work unilaterally. If one side is significantly weaker than the other, it will be obvious. Dumbbells do not make it possible for the other side to compensate for the movement, which makes them an effective tool for improving muscle imbalances.
2. Enhances stability and muscle activity
A study compared the electromyographic activity of the chest, triceps and biceps when performing the barbell bench press, the Smith machine bench press and the dumbbell bench press. The dumbbell bench press and the barbell bench press were similar in terms of chest and triceps activity. Biceps activity was significantly higher in the dumbbell group than in the control group.
Dumbbells require greater stability. Therefore, it is rare to see a world-class bench presser with slender arms. Better stability is a requirement for dumbbells, which in turn activates more muscle fibres. Dumbbells are a functional workout, not one that simply ends with a sweat.
3. Increased range of motion
Another reason why we like dumbbells is the range of motion, where a barbell can't do the range, dumbbells come to mind first! One of the most effective ways to overload your muscles in order to build strength or muscle is to increase the range of motion. And while dumbbells have so much range of motion for rowing and bench pressing, there are variations that barbells can't do! By extending the range of motion, dumbbells can add a new dimension of overload to strength training.
4. Better safety (especially when training alone)
Those with fitness experience will feel that dumbbells are safer than barbells. When training alone with barbells for squats or bench presses, the inability to complete a particular movement means that the whole body is at risk. This is not the case when training with dumbbells, just put them down.
5. More options for strengthening exercises
The flexibility of using dumbbells is more evident with rest pauses, mechanical advantage decreases and traditional decreases, which are easier to complete with dumbbells and more in line with single person training. Rack running techniques are limited to dumbbell training. Effective high intensity techniques are difficult to achieve with only barbells, but dumbbells can do the job.
6. More freedom of movement
When bench pressing with a barbell, your arms and shoulders are in a fixed position and move within a fixed range of motion. In contrast, the dumbbell bench press allows for a slight change in movement pattern, allowing the shoulders to move freely.
The bench press barbell has a fixed range of motion; because of the fixed position, it is impossible to perform the movement if you happen to be in a place of pain. To better target the target muscle, or to reduce pain. The dumbbell bench press allows you to rotate your shoulders externally or internally, or lower the dumbbell or elevate your body.
7. Raise awareness of injury prevention
A large percentage of gym accidents occur near the barbell rack. This is usually due to a lack of concentration. Dumbbells don't cause accidents, but human carelessness does. In the long run, greater freedom in a more natural range of motion will only result in fewer injuries. In addition, by detecting and eliminating muscle imbalances, the likelihood of injury is greatly reduced.
Finally, I would like to remind fitness enthusiasts that life is about movement and any movement has the potential for injury. As long as you know how to protect yourself and reduce the chances of injury, you can enjoy the satisfaction and joy that fitness brings. Fitness is fun exercise and only fitness enthusiasts can appreciate that both dumbbells and barbells have their advantages and are used wisely to have better results.
