Fitness Equipment – The Benefits of Dumbbells

February 26, 2009 by  
Filed under Fitness and Exercise Equipment

When deciding on what type of fitness equipment to use, it is important to consider the cost, space, and type of physical fitness that you are after. Although there are a lot of fitness equipment available, such as weight machines, that offer a lot of benefits; dumbbells or free weights are a good choice for working out, most of all to add to your home exercise fitness equipment. Plus, they come with an amount of advantages over other fitness machines, as well.

When you buy fitness equipment, consider that free weights come in different shapes, sizes and materials for you to choose from. There are dumbbells that come in the form of a short bar with weights on each end, while some have discs that can be changed, as per your weight preference. Then there are those that are merely one-piece molded plastic free weights.

The integrated styles of free weights are usually those that cost the least, yet are very sturdy and equally safe to use for physical fitness. However, it is very likely that you will want to get a couple of dumbbells with different weights, in which case adjustable dumbbells are the prime choice. With adjustable free weights, you can choose how much weight you want to workout with at various times, although it may take some time and other tools to do the swap.

Unlike other fitness equipment, dumbbells give you an astounding range of motion to work with. By moving the free weights around any way you want, you can personally modify your physical fitness workout, as needed. Curls, wrist work, deltoid development… all that is possible with a simple set of dumbbells – something other fitness equipment will not allow.

However, dumbbells aren’t just all about the benefits; they, too, have their cons. Although every fitness machine requires the utmost caution, dumbbells are riskier to use, as they may slip out of your hands and cause an accident. Some people have gotten bruises from hitting themselves in the chest by curling a dumbbell too fast. Some people have hit themselves on the foot by dropping a dumbbell on it. And although buying dumbbells made from one-piece molded plastic may seem like an easy way to avoid such slip-ups, do bear in mind that twenty pounds dropped on your feet will hurt, no matter what material your fitness equipment is made of.

On the upside, dumbbells are much smaller than even the smallest fitness machine that you can think of, giving you the best opportunity to save space in home exercise fitness equipment. While other fitness machines may take up as much as multiple stations, free weights can easily be tucked in under the bed or in the closet.

Free weights are also very flexible pieces of fitness equipment. A lot of dumbbells have detachable weights that can be attached to a barbell, giving you more value for your money. Simply remove them and attach them onto a bar and you could get an entirely different kind of a physical fitness workout.

If you are a beginner at physical fitness, however, other fitness machines may be a better choice for you because they offer a different kind of flexibility. Other fitness machines may allow you to tailor your workout according to specific muscle groups that you want toned. This may be a little difficult to do with free weights.

For those on a certain budget, it would be best for you to start with a simple set of free weights. The cheapest kinds are non-interchangeable plastic models; even an entire set with weights that range up to fifty pounds will only come up to a few hundred dollars, which is usually the lowest cost of other fitness machines you can find.

In conclusion, free weights provide the greatest possible range of motion for various types of physical fitness workouts compared to other fitness equipment. So if you are seeking to get the most flexible workouts possible out of your money, free weights are definitely the way to go.