There is always a lot of controversy surrounding additional sports equipment. Some people advocate the benefits of the barbell, some accuse it of causing injury and choose dumbbells, while others are fans of exercise machines.
In fact, no one is right. First of all, you need to choose sports equipment based on your goals. It is also necessary to take into account the progress in the production of simulators, which have changed greatly over the past 50 years.
What should you prefer for your home – barbells or dumbbells?
For training at home, it is definitely better to have collapsible dumbbells. However, “better” does not indicate the effectiveness of training with this sports equipment. The fact is that the forestay allows you to perform heavy, energy-intensive exercises with the largest possible weights. But dumbbells, however, work more as an addition to it.
In the gym, the workout looks like this: For example, consider training the pectoral muscles. First, the muscles receive maximum load during the bench press exercise with a barbell, and for maximum load of the muscle group, the second exercise, unless of course the program includes a second exercise with a barbell, should be a dumbbell press. The load with dumbbells is performed as an additional exercise that “finishes off” the muscles. After it, you feel a better pump and the range of movements is somewhat different, and the muscles that stabilize the dumbbells in the desired position are activated.
So, those who do not have the opportunity to use a barbell due to the lack of extra space for both training and storage should opt for dumbbells. It is also worth noting that there are not so many exercises with a barbell to work out muscles.
It is easier to create an aesthetic body with well-developed muscles with dumbbells, because they allow you to perform not only presses and rows, but also flyes, as well as more accurately vary the working weights.
Dumbbells are easy to store and do not require a rack to place them, as is the case with a barbell.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that the presence of a barbell with a bench for bench press and racks for squats will provide unlimited opportunities for development, but dumbbells will sooner or later stall development, because their weight is much less than a barbell can have.
By the way, it will be difficult to do squats with heavy dumbbells, because the load when holding sports equipment, in addition to the spine, falls on the hands and deltoid ligaments. In squats with a barbell, the sports equipment rests on the trapezius muscle, which relieves the load on the ligaments of the upper limbs.
Types of vultures
Both amateur and professional bars are produced in a similar design. These are straight and specially curved rods of various lengths, which depend on the purpose of each individual representative, which in turn allows you to significantly diversify exercises with free weights. The seating area for the discs is different for both types of bars, but the basic design is the same for all. Let's look at them in order.
I - trap neck; II, III and IV - straight bars; V-W-neck; VI - oval neck; VII - Hatfield vulture
Straight neck. The most popular and widespread type. Designed to perform a huge number of exercises for almost all muscle groups. It is found in halls of any level, from budget to prestigious.
EZ bar. Pronounced “easy-vulture”, from the English “easy” - easy. With its slightly curved design, it takes pressure off your wrists, making it more comfortable. Suitable for biceps and triceps exercises, but not only. In clubs it is found as often as the straight bar.
W-neck. It is usually called "W-shape". An advanced version of the EZ bar, as it has more characteristic bend angles, which makes the training process even more comfortable. Suitable for the same exercises, not as common as the previous one.
Z-bar. Pronounced "Z-vulture". Another modification of the basic EZ-neck model. It features both a parallel grip and an angled grip. Suitable for biceps and triceps exercises, but not limited to them. It doesn't happen often in clubs either.
Oval neck. That's what it's called, although it can often have the shape of a square. Designed to perform biceps curls and triceps extensions. Practically unsuitable for other exercises. It is quite rare in clubs.
T-neck. A special design that allows you to attach a straight bar with one end to the floor. Designed exclusively for performing back rows. It is extremely rare, since there are special trainers for this exercise (see the section “Trainers for the back muscles”).
Trap neck. A four or hexagonal shape that the user must be inside. Designed primarily for performing shrugs, but other exercises can also be performed. It is extremely rare in clubs.
Hatfield neck. A design designed exclusively for squats. The bar sits behind the neck, but the parallel handles allow it to be held in front. It is not intended for any other exercises, and is extremely rare not only in gyms, but also in nature.
I and II - straight bars; III- Z-neck; IV- EZ-neck; V-oval neck; VI - dumbbell bar
What to choose for biceps curls – barbell or dumbbells?
Ideally, for a full workout, you need to have both a barbell and dumbbells. If you choose equipment for home, then dumbbells will allow you to better work out the muscles of your arms, for example, with the help of dumbbells you can do the “hammer” exercise, which develops the brachialis, and also perform lifts and fix your elbow.
You can't do this with just a barbell. But the barbell also provides some useful nuances. For example, when performing biceps curls with a barbell, you can emphasize the load on the internal or external muscle group by placing the grip on the bar. So, if you take it wide, the internal beam will work, which gives maximum volume to the shoulder, and by performing the exercise with a narrow position of the arms, you can achieve the best shape. Of course, you should alternate between both exercise options.
How do free weights differ from different manufacturers?
Free weights from foreign manufacturers have unusual colors for discs, weights and dumbbells. The domestic manufacturer not only concentrates on design, but also tries to produce products that last for centuries.
For example, Iron King produces free weights made using different technologies:
- bright bumpers;
- discs made of pressed rubber crumb;
- solid cast iron discs for men's rocking chairs;
- almost eternal rubber-coated cast-iron discs with and without grips.
In the production of our free weights, only domestic rubber is used, which is non-toxic and has no pungent odor.
Foreign manufacturers use steel as a weighting agent in discs and dumbbells. There is sand in dumbbells and weights. Russian manufacturers most often use cast iron, hence the difference in price. Cast iron is cheaper to produce, so the buyer saves money without losing the quality of the product. Sandbags, vests and weighted cuffs are filled with sand “stuffing”.
The free weights market is a segment where a high price does not always guarantee high quality. Therefore, there is no point in chasing imported goods. All materials and technologies used for production are available to us. There are several Russian factories that have been working professionally with famous athletes for a long time. Our discs and weights have long been setting records at world-class competitions.
What to choose for bench press
To develop the pectoral muscles, there is nothing better than a barbell and the ability to increase working weight! Yes, dumbbells allow you to “deeply” and concentratedly work the pecs, perform flyes and pullovers, but their weight range is negligible. Therefore, in the end, progress will be stopped due to the inability to use more weight of shells.
What to choose for squats
Just like the bench press, there is nothing better than the barbell squat exercise for developing leg muscles. Moreover, if you can continue training with dumbbells to develop your pecs for some time, then, while developing your legs, the resource of the dumbbell row weights will end very quickly, and the training will go into a mode in which you need to increase repetitions and approaches in order to load the muscles. This is not good for gaining weight. But for women, dumbbells are ideal for training at home!
What's best for lunges?
If squats are best done with a barbell, then lunges or the farmer's walk are definitely worth doing with dumbbells! When performing with dumbbells, the load on the core muscles is reduced, because when moving with a barbell, the athlete has to engage the stabilizing muscles as much as possible. But lunges with dumbbells can be performed with emphasis on all areas of the quadriceps. You can also perform Bulgarian lunges with dumbbells, which involve working on one leg.
What is better for broaching
It’s easier and more convenient to do stretching with a barbell, but if you consider the Olympic bar, then a significant drawback appears - this is an impressive minimum weight, which in training small muscles, such as deltoids, will not allow you to comfortably perform the movement. Pain or discomfort will lead to poor technique or even injury! The pull-up is an exercise that should be performed with dumbbells whenever possible.
What is better for seated bench press?
As already mentioned, for small muscles it is best to work with equipment that can use minimal weight. In this case, these are dumbbells. Moreover, when training the deltoid muscles with dumbbells, an athlete can use a lot of exercises, for example, lateral raises and bending over the back of the deltoids, which is a very effective exercise for developing voluminous and sculpted shoulders. If we talk about women’s training or beginner athletes, the seated press should definitely be performed with dumbbells.
Vulture locks
In order for working with free weights to be safe, in the context of considering barbells, it is worth talking separately about locks, since the division of barbells into two large categories - amateur and professional - imposes corresponding requirements for them as well.
In the case of amateur bars, first of all it is worth mentioning that the hinged area can be either threaded or smooth. In the first case, a so-called screw-on “Vader Nut” or another nut suitable for a given thread is used. In the second case, so-called spring “tongs”, or a clamp with a screw-on wing. In both the first and second cases, the diameter of the lock hole should correspond to the diameter of the hinged area of the neck, which is quite logical. The manufacturing material often makes the weight of such locks so insignificant that sometimes the weight of the bar is indicated taking into account the weight of the locks.
I - Vader nut; II - bushing lock; III - petal lock; IV - spring lock; V-clip lock; VI - combination lock
With Olympic bars everything is a little more complicated. Even despite the unified diameter, length of the glasses and the absence of threads on them, here the variety of designs of locks that fix free weight is represented by a wider range. Both in design and method of fastening, and in weight. These include the classic “tongs” for fitness clubs in various modifications, where a larger number of coils of spring allows you to fix the weight more firmly, and clips, bushings, leaf locks, and combination locks with a rotating core and more. All this variety is made to fit one diameter, partially or completely from metal, which in turn, taking into account the complexity of the design, affects the weight of the lock, which ranges from 100 grams to 2.5 kg.
What is better for bent over rows?
Bent-over rows can be performed equally well with dumbbells or a barbell. As they say, it's a matter of habit. But if you consider all kinds of back exercises, for example, bent over rows with one arm, then dumbbells are still somewhat more functional than barbells. On the other hand, the barbell can be used as a “T” bar, resting one side of the bar against the wall, and lifting the other side using a belt and an improvised crossbar.
Deciding on the mass
The optimal weight of a dumbbell depends on gender, age and physical fitness. For women, the starting weight starts from 1-2 kg; equipment of the same weight is recommended for men who have not previously been involved in sports. Gradually increase the weight of the projectile to 10-15 kg and higher.
Let's talk separately about choosing dumbbells for a child. Weight training exercises with heavy equipment are allowed only from 12-14 years of age, but this does not mean that dumbbells cannot be picked up earlier. It is possible and even necessary if the weight of the projectile does not exceed 1-2 kg. For a junior school student, the specified weight will be enough for several years without purchasing additional disks. By the way, this is why you can safely take cast shells for children.
