What are the differences between barbells and dumbbells?

Barbells and dumbbells look very similar, and many people think that the only difference between the two is the bar in the middle. In fact, this is not the case. There are indeed some differences between barbells and dumbbells. Generally speaking, barbells are more suitable for helping the human body exercise and increasing muscle latitude and strength, while dumbbells are mainly used to help exercise small muscle groups in the body and help reshape muscles. If you want to exercise well, you can combine the two.

Using a barbell limits the distance your arms can be extended, so you can lift a lot of weight, and heavy weights generally mean greater stimulation to the muscles. So generally speaking, the barbell bench press uses heavy weights to increase the strength or thickness of the chest muscles.

Dumbbells are dual-axis machines and are relatively flexible. Pushing up the dumbbells requires more auxiliary muscles for stability, so it is generally difficult to lift heavier weights on the dumbbell bench press. Due to their flexibility, dumbbells allow the elbows to go deeper, the pectoral muscles to be stretched longer, and more work to be done. They can shape and stretch the pectoral muscles and increase the strength of the auxiliary muscles. Moreover, dual-axis equipment can make the strength more balanced, and can be used to balance the development of muscle strength and improve the weak side.

To be more specific, weight is more intuitive. Generally, many people use the bench press method when exercising. If using a barbell bench press, some people can press 100kg with a barbell, but if using dumbbells for the same bench press, they can only do 50kg. This is a very obvious difference, so you should choose a barbell or dumbbell according to your needs.