Not to be confused with
barbell, a larger version of the same concept, held with both hands.
The dumbbell, a type of
free weight, is a piece of equipment used in
weight training. It is usually used individually or in pairs, with one in each hand.
History
The forerunner of the dumbbell,
halteres, were used in
ancient Greece as lifting weights[1][2] and also as weights in the
ancient Greek version of the
long jump.[3] A kind of dumbbell was also used in India for more than a millennium, shaped like a
club – so it was named
Indian club.[4][5] The design of the "Nal", as the equipment was referred to, can be seen as a halfway point between a
barbell and a dumbbell. It was generally used in pairs, in workouts by
wrestlers, bodybuilders, sports players, and others wishing to increase strength and muscle size.
Although Addison elsewhere in the same publication describes having used equipment similar to the modern understanding of dumbbells, according to sport historian
Jan Todd, the form of the first dumbbells remains unclear.[6] The
Oxford English Dictionary describes "apparatus similar to that used to ring a church bell, but without the bell, so noiseless or ‘dumb’", implying the action of pulling a bell rope to practice
English bellringing.[7]
Types
By the early 17th century, the familiar shape of the dumbbell, with two equal weights attached to a handle, had appeared.[8] There are currently three main types of dumbbell:
Fixed-weight dumbbells are
weights created in a dumbbell shape. Inexpensive varieties consist of
cast iron, sometimes coated with
rubber or
neoprene for comfort, and even cheaper versions consist of a rigid
plastic shell that is filled with
concrete.
Adjustable dumbbells consist of a metal bar whose centre portion is often engraved with a crosshatch
pattern (
knurling) to improve grip.
Weight plates are slid onto the outer portions of the dumbbell and secured with clips or collars. Shown to the right is a "spinlock" dumbbell, whose ends are threaded to accept large
nuts as collars. Alternatively, a dumbbell may have smooth ends with plates being secured by a sprung collar.
"Selectorized" (adjustable) dumbbells are adjustable dumbbells whose number of plates (i.e. weight) can be easily changed when resting in the dumbbell stand. This is achieved by adjusting the number of plates that follow the handle when lifted, e.g. by turning a dial or moving a selector pin — rather than manually adding or removing plates. This makes it very easy to change the weight of the dumbbell between exercises, and the stand typically doubles as storage for the additional weights not being used for a particular exercise. There are different types of mechanism:
Block type
Dial type
Glide type
Twist type
2-in-1 dumbbell/barbell
Named dumbbells
Thomas Inch dumbbell, also known as "172" (2.38 inches (60 mm) handle, weighs 172 pounds (78 kg))[9]
Circus dumbbells: historically used in traveling
circus acts, these dumbbells have exaggerated ends and wider handles, and just like normal dumbbells, come in various weights and sizes.