Building a home gym is both time-consuming and space-consuming.
Using only dumbbells is one way to keep costs down and space open. But, are dumbbells enough to build muscle?
Yes, dumbbells are more than enough to build muscle. Ideally you would also be using barbells and cables to maximize strength and hypertrophy. But, dumbbells have been proven both scientifically and anecdotally to be one of the best ways to build muscle and strength. In fact, one could make an argument for dumbbells being the best method to achieve muscle and strength gains.
But, I don’t expect you to just take my word for it. So, here are four fact-based reasons as to why dumbbells are enough.
How Effective are Dumbbells?
First, let’s dig into the research a bit regarding the effectiveness of dumbbells.
A study conducted in 2017 by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared electromyographic (EMG) activity in several muscle groups between the smith machine, barbell, and dumbbell bench press.
The researchers found the dumbbell bench press elicited significantly greater muscle activation in the pectoralis major. Interestingly, the dumbbell bench press produced significantly greater biceps activation, but also significantly less triceps activation than the smith machine or barbell bench press. (1)
Given the primary target of the bench press is to build the pecs, this is a huge point in favor of the effectiveness of dumbbells.
Another study, from 2011 in the Journal of Sports Sciences similarly compared EMG activity and 1rm (one rep maximum) strength between the barbell, dumbbell, and smith machine bench press. In this study, no significant difference was found in EMG activity for the pectoralis major or anterior deltoids. And, like the other study I referenced, the dumbbell bench press elicited higher biceps and lower triceps activation. (2)
So, we have one study which found higher muscle activation for the dumbbell bench press in the main target muscle group of the exercise (pecs). And one study which showed no difference.
Granted, this is just one exercise, but it’s a big one. And it shows dumbbells are (more than) enough in terms of their ability to activate major muscle groups.
Are Curl Bars Better than Dumbbells!?
It’s actually closer than you’d think. Check out this in-depth article where I compare the pros and cons of curl bars and dumbbells to help you optimize your training.
4 Reasons Why Dumbbells are Enough to Get You Jacked
#1 – There are TONS of Different Exercises you can do with a Dumbbell
Anything you can do with a barbell you can do with a dumbbell… to some extent.
Of course, there are certain exercises which are easier to do with a barbell, such as:
- Back squats
- Deadlifts
- Good mornings (no dumbbell variation available)
But, you can still do dumbbell squats and deadlifts. It will just be more awkward, especially as the weights get heavier.
And, for many exercises, the dumbbell variation works just as well (or even better). Exercises such as:
- Rows
- Curls
- Triceps extensions
- Lateral raises (no barbell variation available)
Taking curls as an example, there are only so many ways you can do a barbell curl. But, with dumbbells you can change your grip. And this can completely change the focus of the exercise. In addition to standard curls, you have hammer curls, pinwheel curls, concentration curls, Zottman curls, etc.
This allows you to work muscles which may be neglected by barbell training only. Which brings me to my next point…
#2 – Dumbbells Address Muscular Imbalances
Muscular imbalances happen when you have one side compensating for the other. They can also happen when antagonistic (opposing) muscle groups are too out of proportion in terms of size and strength. An example would be having strong and overdeveloped pecs, but underdeveloped lats.
Imbalances can lead not only to bad aesthetics, but also to injury if they go unaddressed.
Several studies have linked muscular imbalances with a higher rate of injury. One study found higher injury rates for athletes who had knee flexor or hip extensor strength and flexibility imbalances of 15% or greater compared to the opposite side. (3)
Another study analyzed professional football players who had hamstring injuries. The researchers discovered the injured hamstrings were all weaker than the (non-injured) hamstring in the opposing leg. (4)
It’s all too easy to create imbalances with barbells. Have you ever cranked out a hard set of barbell bench or shoulder press and noticed on the last rep the bar was tilted? This indicates one muscle group is stronger than the other.
Dumbbells address this issue because they force your body to work unilaterally.
So, your weak side can’t rely on your strong side to compensate. It has to push through the lift itself.
#3 – Dumbbells are More Ergonomically Friendly
Let’s revisit the bench press.
Using a barbell, your grip can either be overhand (pronated) or underhand (supinated). And that’s it. So, it’s pretty limited in terms of grip options.
You can of course train yourself to keep your elbows tucked in, but it’s hard to master.
However, with dumbbells, you can do fully pronated, semi-pronated, or neutral grip. You could even do supinated, although it would be quite awkward (as it is with the barbell version). The ability to change grips like this allows your body to move in a more natural plane of motion.
Just shifting your grip for the bench press to halfway between neutral and pronated brings the elbows in to your body. This takes unnecessary stress off of your shoulders, and likely reduces your chance of injury.
Because dumbbells are smaller than barbells, you can usually use them in a way which makes more anatomical sense. Whereas with barbells you are anatomically limited by the size of the bar itself.
Need a high quality pair of dumbbells for your home gym? Here are the top three adjustable dumbbells I recommend:
#4 – Dumbbells Provide a Superior Range of Motion
The range of motion is the length of the path traveled for any given exercise. But, why does range of motion matter?
The longer the range of motion, the more overall musculature gets hit by the exercise.
For example, stopping short of parallel on squats will mean you can lift more weight than if you were to go to parallel (or below). But, the reason you can lift more weight here is because you aren’t going through the full range of motion. And you’re hitting less overall musculature than you would otherwise.
For many exercises, dumbbells provide a superior range of motion, especially compared to barbells. This is because most barbell exercises limit (to some extent) the range of motion.
Take the barbell bench press. The lowest point in the barbell bench press is when the bar touches your chest. You just can’t go any lower.
But, with dumbbells you can let your arms sink a little bit lower, getting a deeper stretch and hitting more muscle.
Even on the concentric (lifting) portion of the dumbbell bench you can get a greater range of motion than with a barbell. The arms are free to travel in a more natural (and longer) path by moving inward as opposed to in a straight line up and down.
FAQ
Q: Are dumbbells better than barbells?
A: Dumbbells are not necessarily better. But, they do have unique advantages, some of which were explored in this article. On the other hand, barbells have some advantages of their own, such as:
- Ability to lift heavier weight
- Certain exercises are easier to perform and make progress with (squat, deadlift, etc.)
- Barbell exercises tend to have greater carryover than dumbbells to other exercises
Although you can get by just fine with either barbells or dumbbells, I highly recommend combining both into your weight training routine.
Q: Is a bench and dumbbells enough?
A: Absolutely! It’s not ideal, but it’s enough to make serious progress. A bench gives you so many more exercises to work with. And you can do big exercises which require a lot of stability and yield big gains. Such as the dumbbell bench press or dumbbell row.
If you’re looking for a high quality, low-cost weight bench, check out my article 6 KILLER Weight Benches for Small Spaces
Q: Is it okay to use dumbbells everyday?
A: No. Using dumbbells everyday would be way too taxing on your body. You need to give your body time to rest and recover. I recommend training 3-5 days per week, depending on your schedule and preferences.
For more on rest days and other important training principles, read my article 6 CRITICAL Traits of Effective Weight Training Programs
References
- Farias, Déborah de Araújo1,2; Willardson, Jeffrey M.3; Paz, Gabriel A.1; Bezerra, Ewertton de S.2,4; Miranda, Humberto1 Maximal Strength Performance and Muscle Activation for the Bench Press and Triceps Extension Exercises Adopting Dumbbell, Barbell, and Machine Modalities Over Multiple Sets, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: July 2017 – Volume 31 – Issue 7 – p 1879-1887 doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001651
- Atle H. Saeterbakken, Roland van den Tillaar & Marius S. Fimland (2011) A comparison of muscle activity and 1-RM strength of three chest-press exercises with different stability requirements, Journal of Sports Sciences, 29:5, 533-538, DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2010.543916
- Knapik JJ, Bauman CL, Jones BH, Harris JM, Vaughan L. Preseason strength and flexibility imbalances associated with athletic injuries in female collegiate athletes. Am J Sports Med. 1991 Jan-Feb;19(1):76-81. doi: 10.1177/036354659101900113. PMID: 2008935.
- Orchard J, Marsden J, Lord S, Garlick D. Preseason hamstring muscle weakness associated with hamstring muscle injury in Australian footballers. Am J Sports Med. 1997 Jan-Feb;25(1):81-5. doi: 10.1177/036354659702500116. PMID: 9006698.
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