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Can I get strong with just a pair of Dumbbells?
Can I get strong with just a pair of Dumbbells?
I received a message recently through social media asking me a really interesting question which I’ll paraphrase here. The question was, did I think that you can build total body strength with just a pair of kettlebells or a pair of dumbbells, and if you had to choose which would you pick?
I answered, relatively concisely in the DM because typing on my phone is a bit harder than it is on the computer. Such a great question though is worthy of sitting down and giving some detailed thought too and I thought that would be an enjoyable idea for an article. So here it is....
The Kettlebell
The Kettlebell
Recently I have been including a lot of kettlebell work in my training. I’m not training for a specific event currently, just to stay strong for life and as such I don’t need to focus on a specific barbell lift, I can just train for the fun and challenge of it. So why use kettlebells? I like them because of the offset weight, which means they can be used to pull and swing explosively. With a little practice they can be excellent for pressing with that offset weight naturally pulling the arm back, so it tends to aid form....
The secret to health and strength
The secret to health and strength
If you pick up or read any health or fitness related magazine these days, you’ll stumble across a lot of headlines for articles that will start with phrases like “six weeks to….” or “the best exercise you’re not doing”. Something snappy and catchy to get you to look inside.
Just one thing
Just one thing
What is the best exercise? If you had to do pick just one, what would you do? Lots of people will quote the squat as king and just as many would say the deadlift. Both are undoubtedly big movements that call a lot of different musculatures into play. Me though, I’m inclined to agree with the American weightlifter and bodybuilder John Grimek....
Strength – The key to longevity.
When people think of training for longevity they tend to think mostly about cardiovascular heath. I want to highlight something that is as important and that is strength.
In a meta-analysis that looked at 38 studies involving nearly two million participants[1] there was shown to be an inverse relationship between strength and all cause mortality irrespective of age or gender.
Do what you have to do before you do what you want to do
“Do what you have to do before you do what you want to do”
The above quote is attributed to Bob Hoffman. Hoffman was the founder of the York Barbell company, and during his tenure built the company through the depression era, through the second world war into the company it is today. He was a fascinating character who pretty much funded the US Weightlifting team single handed during the 30’s through to 60s when they enjoyed a great deal of success.
Abbreviated training
The term abbreviated training in the context of strength training has been a while for some time. Made popular again in the past 30 years by writers such as Stuart McRobert, Brooks D Kubik, and Bob Whelan but dating back to early iron game pioneers such as Mark Berry and JC Hise, the concept is relatively simple.
The fallacy of variety
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
The above quote is attributed to Aristotle, who was not renowned for his lifting, but I think it sums up nicely what I consider an important part of strength and muscular development.
Gym Safety and Etiquette.
If you look on social media, whether it be Instagram, Tik Tok or Youtube you can see “Gym fails”. Lots of footage out there of what some people might term “fuck around and find out”. If you want a long training career though, and I would hope you all do, here are some suggestions on not only how to train but how to do so safely.
First Meet Primer
Wanting to compete or attending your first couple of meets? Then this article is for you, as a referee I get to witness some fantastic lifting and the elation of the athlete who has done well, I also see the heart break when an athlete falls foul of a technicality due to inexperience. I could just tell you all to read the rules and be done with it however some errors come up regularly so I’m going to try to put together my thoughts, as a lifter and a referee, to try to guide a novice or relative novice through the first few steps to competition.
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