Best Dumbbells

08 January 2021

Have you ever thought about introducing dumbbells to your workout? Or maybe you use them already in the gym or at home. Today we are going to talk about the benefits of adding weights to your workout, the best dumbbells in the market, and which ones will work best for you. 

Why use dumbbells?

Dumbbells are great to add variety and fun to your workout, as well as helping to build strength and muscle tone. You can use them in a variety of different workouts whether it’s to work on an individual muscle at one time like a bicep curl or adding them to functional movements like a lunge with a bicep curl. You could also use them to add more of a challenge to Yoga or Pilates. They are just so versatile.

Top 5 benefits of using dumbbells:

1. They can provide two types of overload that lead to muscle growth mechanic and metabolic. For example, if you want to build muscle, then using heavy dumbbells can help build muscle by generating muscle overload. While a moderate weight dumbbell combined with high repetition can produce metabolic overload which will help to burn more calories and tone up.
2. Improve your inter and intramuscular coordination, which will give you the ability to work a number of muscles at once and improve joint motion stability.
3. You can workout in all planes of motion – Not like the machines you see in the gym which move in one plane continuously. With dumbbells you can move in all planes and use different movement patterns. 
4. Improve muscle imbalances in your body – With dumbbells you have to use both sides equally to lift the them and you may notice one side is weaker than the other which is very normal. Whilst if you use a barbell you could be using your dominant side more without even knowing.
5. Can make your workout more fun, add variety and get your brain working – Who doesn’t want to have a more fun and effective workout that keeps your brain occupied at the same time?! Use dumbbells in a functional training workout and you will never look back.

What are the best dumbbells?

If you have already searched for what dumbbells you should get, you will have discovered there are so many to choose from, so which ones are the best?

Dumbbells for beginners

If you are a complete beginner, then I would suggest buying fixed/studio dumbbells. You can buy them in sets so you can start off light to make sure you are performing the exercise in good form and then build up as your muscles get more strength. If you are wanting to tone up, start with 1.5 kg- 2kg and build up to 3kg-4kg. It seems like a huge range but depending on which exercise you are performing you can use the lighter or heavier weight. For example, performing a shoulder press you would need a lighter weight, but if you were performing a bicep curl you will be able to lift heavier. It’s nice to have the different range so have somewhere to go, but if you prefer you can also buy these kinds of dumbbells individually. 

Dumbbells for women

You may associate dumbbells with body builders and men, but dumbbells are just as popular with women. Most women don’t want to bulk muscle which is fine and to be honest you would have to lift super heavy weights and watch your micronutrients to do so, as there is a whole process that takes a lot of time and effort to bulk up your muscles. So, don’t think you as a woman can’t lift heavier weights, because you can and don’t need to worry about building too much muscle. I personally think the best dumbbells in the market are the fixed/studio dumbbells, you can buy them in sets, so you always have somewhere to go and keep building strength. They mostly come covered with a neoprene material which is very comfortable to hold and let’s face it most women don’t want calluses on their hands from gripping a metal weight. You can buy weightlifting gloves as well for extra comfort. I Particularly like these weights because I like to do Functional Training with them and they are easier to control and grip onto, plus they are made not to roll around. They are also more suitable to add to your Pilates or Yoga routine.

Adjustable Dumbbells

These dumbbells are great if you want a wide range of weights to lift and they save a lot of space at home as you can just adjust the weight by adding or taking a plate away. They range from very light to ultra-heavy and it’s all in one dumbbell. These adjustable dumbbells come with such a big range of weights that is make more sense to go for these kinds of dumbbells if you want to lift more of a range and are serious about weightlifting they are more expensive to buy, but they will save you a lot of money in the long run.

In conclusion I hope I have shown you that dumbbells are very effective and a great piece of equipment to use at home or in the gym, no matter what your goals are. Dumbbells are for everyone.