The Advantages of Barbells and Dumbbells

You may be tempted to try the latest machine-based strength-training equipment, but you can get a workout that is as good, if not better, by using tried-and-true barbells and dumbbells. These classic tools of strength training provide advantages you just can't get from a machine that puts you in a fixed plane of motion. People of almost any fitness level can benefit from including free weights in a regular routine.

  1. Stabilizing Muscles

    • Machines can be good for beginners because they put you along a fixed path so you learn proper form. However, this fixed path also offers support so you may not incorporate as many stabilizing muscles as you do when using free weights such as barbells and dumbbells. Using free weights teaches your muscles to work together as a unit and can produce more effective strength and power gains.

    Functional Movement Patterns

    • In real life, you have to move weight through space without support. Carrying groceries, pushing the trash can or lifting a child requires coordination of multiple muscles. Athletic activities also require you to move through space freely to hit a tennis ball, tackle an opponent or kick a soccer ball. Training with barbells and dumbbells enables you to mimic these real-life movements and learn to become more coordinated and powerful when performing them. Free weights work with the way your body is shaped and designed -- you may be too big or small for certain machines and thus never feel comfortable when using them.

    Versatility

    • You can incorporate barbells and dumbbells into a home gym at a relatively low financial and space cost. Free weights can be stored more readily and transported with greater ease than hulking machines. With one set of dumbbells and a barbell, you can get a total-body workout by training the chest with presses, the back with rows, the legs and glutes with behind the back squats, the shoulders with raises and the arms with curls and kickbacks.

    Results

    • Using free weights provides greater gains in strength and balance when compared to strength training with fixed machines or opting to not strength train at all. A study published in the January 2008 issue of the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" found that after 16 weeks of training, participants who used free weights showed a 58 percent greater improvement in strength and a 196 percent greater improvement in balance when compared to participants who used machines. The participants using the fixed-weight equipment also reported an increase in pain levels when compared to free weight users. You'll also burn more calories over time by using free weights, because grand moves, such as deadlifts and clean and presses, use more muscles and require more energy.