Pros and Cons of Barbells

[Leonana]

I enjoyed this video by Justina Ercole.

Pros and Cons of Barbells / are dumbbells or barbells better

https://youtu.be/sg8X5EhYq8Y

She also shows substitutions for barbells, using kettlebells and dumbbells.

[BunnyHop]

Interesting video, thanks for sharing!!

Despite their limitations I'm keeping both of mine mostly because they were hard to find and for some moves, an actual barbell is useful. The ones I have seem to be of good quality, and since I won't be lifting ginormous amounts of weight I won't need to shift to some other model.

[Leonana]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

Interesting video, thanks for sharing!!

Despite their limitations I'm keeping both of mine mostly because they were hard to find and for some moves, an actual barbell is useful. The ones I have seem to be of good quality, and since I won't be lifting ginormous amounts of weight I won't need to shift to some other model.

You're welcome! I like her informational videos.

[katmom]

Thanks for sharing! I watched this video and several others of Justina’s that I found informative.

[prettyinpink]

I almost never use a barbell for upper body, so I agree with her there. Dumbbells do just about everything a barbell can, with more options, and perhaps greater safety for those of us getting older.

But she doesn’t touch on the major pro of a barbell for lower body, that bilateral dumbbell or kettlebell loading is necessarily limited for the lower body. If you want to get a lot stronger in the lower body you either need a barbell with rack, lower body machines, or heavy dumbbells or kettlebells used in unilateral work. That is not what everyone wants, which is fine, but they are not equivalent.

I don’t know how heavy the dumbbells are that she has on her shoulders for the squat she demonstrates, but personally, holding up big bulky dumbbells like that with my hands and shoulders is uncomfortable and unstable for me. I can do more than twice as much weight with a barbell back squat and feel much more stable and better in my back, and still not be crazy high in weight like a cross fitter or power lifter, just a very average middle-aged woman trying to stay fit.
I do like kettlebell deadlifts, but appropriate-weight kettlebells are a very very expensive substitute for barbell with plates for anyone trying to build strength.

[rhbrand]

I'm still gonna use my Olympic barbell for bench press, deadlift and squats.

Much easier to load up 135+lbs on a barbell than try to hold onto dumbbells that big.

[Leonana]

Prettyinpink, the ones on her shoulders are adjustable, so hard to tell. Memory is fuzzy, I think she’s mentioned 45 pounds, and maybe up to 60 when using kettlebells. Her kettlebell is adjustable too. I hadn’t thought about the price, but you’re right, they are pricey!

Originally Posted by rhbrand

I'm still gonna use my Olympic barbell for bench press, deadlift and squats.

Much easier to load up 135+lbs on a barbell than try to hold onto dumbbells that big.

That is a pro for barbells. She said her opinion was based on what worked for her clients, many who are new to exercise and working from home.

Thanks both of you for posting your experiences. I always enjoy learning more.

[prettyinpink]

Originally Posted by Leonana

That is a pro for barbells. She said her opinion was based on what worked for her clients, many who are new to exercise and working from home.

Thanks both of you for posting your experiences. I always enjoy learning more.

I watched a couple more of her videos and yes, that makes sense for people new to exercise or even for experienced, depending on goals and motivation. Even most gym goers needed this advice last year when gyms closed and everyone had to adapt. I have liked her reviews of other fitness youtubers.

I realized she is young is she is also tiny, only 5’. So when she said she worked up to 100 pounds of dumbbells on the deadlift in a glute rotation, that is not a lot, but probably at least bodyweight for her. A more average or taller woman or man, though, is going to need much heavier dumbbells than that to progress. I finally got an Olympic barbell when I was contemplating buying the larger extensions on my Power Blocks or heavier kettlebells and realized just having a barbell made more sense for me; I wish I had gotten one a lot sooner.

[rhbrand]

Originally Posted by Leonana

Prettyinpink, the ones on her shoulders are adjustable, so hard to tell. Memory is fuzzy, I think she’s mentioned 45 pounds, and maybe up to 60 when using kettlebells. Her kettlebell is adjustable too. I hadn’t thought about the price, but you’re right, they are pricey!



That is a pro for barbells. She said her opinion was based on what worked for her clients, many who are new to exercise and working from home.

Thanks both of you for posting your experiences. I always enjoy learning more.

I have mild aspirations of being a powerlifter lol. My goal for 2022 is deadlifting 300lbs, squatting 250lbs and bench pressing 135lbs. I've got work to do. My deadlift is around 200lbs, squat only about 150-160lbs and my bench is down to about 100lbs.