The Benefits of Using Dumbbells to Get In Shape…

Whether you want to annihilate body fat or slap on some serious muscle mass dumbbells are one of the most effective tools to use when it comes to sculpting your body shape!

The Benefits of Using Dumbbells…

#1 Train Every Muscle In The Body

Whether you want to isolate your legs and zap them of fat, or whether you want to specifically focus on building a bigger pair of shirt bursting arms… dumbbells allow you to hit every muscle in the body and from multiple angles.

#2 Don’t Require Much Storage Space

If you are one of those people who prefer to work out at home, you can quite easily pick up a pair of dumbbells and store them in a cupboard. Unless you have the luxury of having enough space to build your own gym – this can be a great option.

I’m a big fan of adjustable dumbbells (see picture below) because they are easy to store at home and you get more bang for your buck i.e. more weights, less storage. Adjustable dumbbells can start at 5kg and go all the way up to 32.5kg! You’re basically getting the equivalent of a full rack of dumbbells, but condensed into one small space…

#3 Improved Coordination

Dumbbell exercises can lead to improved levels of muscular coordination and activation both inter – and intramuscular. ‘Intermuscular‘ coordination is the ability of lots of different muscles to be able to work together. ‘Intramuscular’ coordination is the amount of muscle motor units and their attached muscle fibers that are activated within a specific muscle.

#4 Increased Range of Motion

There is a limited range of motion when you use barbells and machines. One of the most effective ways of building muscle and enhancing your body shape is to increase your active range of motion. This can be achieved more easily with dumbbells as opposed to barbells and machines where range of motion is more limited. 

#5 Safety

When you perform a bench press or squat with a barbell, if you hit a sticking point i.e. when you get stuck at the bottom of the bench press movement… you are stuck and cant get up (without the  help of a spotter), you therefore run the risk or injury (nearly decapitating yourself in the process!). With dumbbells however, if you reach total failure you can easily drop them to the side of your body and on to the floor (just watch out you don’t drop them on someone’s toes!)

Words Of Wisdom…

For those of you with less than 2 years of training experience i’d strongly encourage you to hire a personal trainer, even if it’s only for a couple of sessions. One of my biggest regrets was not hiring a coach sooner. A good personal trainer will teach you how to execute the movements correctly and design you a customised workout program.

You will have to invest money but it will help you lay a solid foundation and prevent headaches in the future when you either hit a plateau or end up injuring yourself because you didn’t learn the correct techniques in the first place!

Combine Machines & Barbells with your Dumbbell Training…

In my opinion it’s best to combine dumbbells, machines and barbells all together in order to get the best results. All of them have their own unique benefits and can help you to burn fat and sculpt your body shape. Combining all 3 (machines, barbells and dumbbells) will also keep your workouts varied and interesting.

Thanks for reading,

Nick