Dumbbells vs Barbells

Often I’m asked of my training preference of machines, dumbbells or barbells. And it’s not really a matter of preference of equipment for a workout, as much as is the goal of the workout and the condition of the person exercising that will predicate my leaning to machines, dumbbells or barbells. I almost always start with machines (if they are available) when training a new client because of the safety of the machine and ease of adjusting weight and body position without taking much of the client’s time transitioning between exercises. Machines allow isolation of muscle groups to aid in determining the strength of a particular region of the body. However, once I have a good understanding of the client’s goals and abilities it’s on to the free weights for a larger portion of the workout.

I use dumbbells to allow for compensation the lack of balanced strength for a new client. Dumbbells will allow each arm to rely on its individual ability and adjust for inefficiencies in strength of the person training. Dumbbells take up very little space and are easy for the client to abandon at their side should an injury or a mishap occurs. Using a barbell will allow one stronger arm to aid the weaker arm because the weight is being lifted as one unit… joined by the bar. This joint effort by both arms (or legs) engages synergistic muscles allowing your body’s musculature to act together rather than isolate muscles. This action allows users of barbells to lift more because more of the body is involved when a barbell is used. When lifting heavier weights, I tend to stick with the barbells because of the stability of the bar. I find the best method to answering the questions on which resistance training equipment is preferable is to combine all of them to insure a well-rounded effort of all body parts in different training environments.

#weightlifting #resistancetraining #barbell #dumbbell #exercise