I’d be curious to know what ya’ll thought about todays tip. Dumbells a better choice for “Most” exercises? Hmmmm…
Today’s tip comes from Charles Poliquin
Dumbbells Beat Barbells
One problem with machines is the fixed pattern of movement. For that same reason, I think dumbbells are a better choice for most exercises than barbells, particularly if you’re dealing with an athletic population. I went to the Soviet Union in 1982. It was astonishing how little variation of equipment they had. They had a lot of barbells and a lot of dumbbells, but there was nothing very sophisticated. It’s what you do with the equipment that matters!
Easy, with a barbell you’re got two support points on the load, and those two points stablize each other to a point (but not nearly as much as machines do). With dumbells, there only one support point, so your wrists, arms and shoulders must do all the stablization. For that reason, working out with a pair of dumbells will be more benefical than a barbell of the same weight.
[quote]T-Nick wrote:
I’d be curious to know what ya’ll thought about todays tip. Dumbells a better choice for “Most” exercises? Hmmmm…
Today’s tip comes from Charles Poliquin
Dumbbells Beat Barbells
One problem with machines is the fixed pattern of movement. For that same reason, I think dumbbells are a better choice for most exercises than barbells, particularly if you’re dealing with an athletic population. I went to the Soviet Union in 1982. It was astonishing how little variation of equipment they had. They had a lot of barbells and a lot of dumbbells, but there was nothing very sophisticated. It’s what you do with the equipment that matters! [/quote]
I definitely agree that DB’s are better than BB’s if imbalances are present. Trouble with them is that in a lot of gyms DB’s go up 2kg at a time, as oppossed to much smaller increments on a bar.
I use both, rotating them in and out of my program
[quote]elliotnewman1 wrote:
I definitely agree that DB’s are better than BB’s if imbalances are present. Trouble with them is that in a lot of gyms DB’s go up 2kg at a time, as oppossed to much smaller increments on a bar.
I use both, rotating them in and out of my program
[/quote]
Ask your gym to get some Platemates or something similar. They are basically magnetic weights that fit onto the dumbbell (1.25 or 2.5 pounds).
Dumbbells are a tool in the arsenal like every other thing to reach your goals. They’re great for working muscular imbalances to bring up your numbers in the heavy lifts. I’m surprised at this cool tip claiming them to be “better” than barbells, even if we’re strictly talking about athletes. The only situation I could agree on them being better would be an athlete coming off an injury (ie shoulder).
[quote]dancar wrote:
Easy, with a barbell you’re got two support points on the load, and those two points stablize each other to a point (but not nearly as much as machines do). With dumbells, there only one support point, so your wrists, arms and shoulders must do all the stablization. For that reason, working out with a pair of dumbells will be more benefical than a barbell of the same weight.[/quote]
If that’s the case, then why not lift with dumbbells that have rolling handles.
More INstability does not always equal superior workout.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
jtrinsey wrote:
Duh… 'cause dumbell squats are the greatest exercise ever!
Oh no!!! Now you’re gonna have to take a day off work so you can construct one of those modern marvel posts again.[/quote]
Glad I’m in college and don’t have to worry about those damn jobs for another two years… or even longer if I can find somebody to pay for my grad school.