Go to any gym, and I guaran-effing-tee you the dumbbell section will be one of, if not the, most crowded areas. (Something to bear in mind given January will soon be upon us, and with it the hordes of people loudly proclaiming this year will be different… before disappearing after two weeks, only to re-emerge the following January).
Anyway, dumbbells are so popular for the following reasons:
- Dumbbell variations of basic movements like squats and presses take less effort to perform than their barbell cousins;
- It’s easier to vary the lifts – ideal for people who get bored easily;
- They’re ideal for “hardcore” stuff like drop sets, partials, and forced reps so you can mimic your favourite juiced-up influencer; And,
- You can spend hours isolating your extensor digitorum, peroneus brevis, etc. with obscure exercises to ensure your training is “functional”.
Harsh?
Maybe. But even the most casual observation of the dumbbell section at your local gym will reveal that most people in there aren’t getting results. Even those who train consistently look the same year in; year out. (Yes, I’m aware the dumbbell section is also the preferred haunt of PED abusers but they don’t count because they get their results by injecting themselves with large quantities of goodness knows what).
Why is this?
Dumbbells are, bluntly, an inefficient and ineffective tool when compared with the alternatives.
Want to build raw strength?
Grab a barbell, and go to town.
Want to build muscle?
Bodyweight work and machines are your friends.
Honestly, dumbbells are just a halfway house. Sure, if you don’t have access to machines then you’ve no other options. Likewise, if you’re told to use them by a medical boffin to rehab an injury or whatever then you’re duty-bound to follow their advice.
But other than that, I don’t see the point.
Listen: I’m a busy guy. Training is part of my life, sure, but it is not my life.
Ergo, I want to use the tools that get me the results I want in the least amount of time – both in terms of how long it takes me to reach the goal, and the duration of the workouts I use to get there.
Believe it or not, what I’ve just described is the real “secret” to building and maintaining a powerful physique. As once you’re a grown-up with a job, family, and whatnot, you simply can’t afford to rely on complicated, time-consuming programmes because life throws you curveballs. And when it does, you will fall off the wagon and lose everything you’ve hitherto worked so hard to gain.
On a tangentially related note, January’s issue of The Phil Tyreman Letter reveals how to plan an entire year’s worth of training – so you’ll be in a much better place by the end of 2024 than you are right now.
More importantly, if you apply the teachings, you’ll be in a much better place by the end of 2025 than you are at the end of 2024.
And so on.
A subscription is £3.29 per day, and you get access to me via email for support and advice, plus other bonuses and goodies.
Info here:
www.philtyreman.co.uk/information
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman