barbell or dumbells

S

skatie0569

Cathlete
Hello everyone!
I don't own a barbell.
Can you substitute dumbells successfully in most of the workouts?
I have purchased The Intensity series Pyramids (don't have it yet) and will soon get Power Hour + but won't have a barbell for a while yet.
Can I use my dumbells?
How far do you think I will go before I come to a standstill with any of the workouts and find I can't progress the barbell AND does anyone use a weight bench or do you all use a step?
Thanks,
Kelly
 
Hi Kelly! You can use dumbbells for all the tapes. Sometimes, heavy dumbbells get too heavy to hold in your hands and it is easier to rest that much weight across your shoulders with a barbell. You will know when that time comes. Til then, dumbbells work GREAT! I think many of us here just use our steps for a weight bench. I do and find it works just great. I have never even thought of getting a weight bench since it would take up too much more room. Having extra risers is a good thing so you can use it for step-ups/leg presses, sit'n'stands and so forth. Also, the fact that you can incline it is a good thing! You just remove or add risers to one end for the incline. Hope this helps! Have FUN!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
I have used dumbells for the last 3 years and prefer it. Besides I can keep my 3 yr old from running into the dumbells where the bar sticks out too far and I worry about him running into it.
Traci'
 
I used dumbbells for quite a while with Cathe strength tapes but found that at a certain point I really needed a barbell to lift as heavy as I could. As you build strength, you'll probably want a barbell too, but for now dumbbells will be fine. (I'm assuming you're fairly new to weightlifting? Correct me if I'm wrong!)

I'll never get a weightbench. My step works great, and, depending on the exercise, I even use my stability ball as a bench. Less stuff to lug out!
 
Susan you are right..
I am a weight training newbie!
I DO have to get accustomed to doing the workouts and lifting the dumbells and I havn't even seen a cathe video here before so I don't know what I am up for yet.. I hear she is very very hard!
Kelly;)
 
The beauty of weight training is that you just use weights that are the right weight for YOU. Start out light when you're just learning, then increase to as heavy as you can lift with good form. Cathe is great at teaching good form so if you learn from her, you learn from a master! I suggest you start with MIS but all of her weight tapes are excellent.
 
It's the incresing strength in the lower body that will tell you when it's time to get a barbell, and if you follow one of the links from beneath a recent phot from the BOdy Blast series, you will see that Cathe sues one from Escalade sports available at walmart.com that is super cheap.

For me, I could use dumbells for lower body training up to 40 lbs, with one 20 lb dumbell on eachy shoulder.

Then I got a barbell, and it is one purchase in my life I have never regretted. I only use the barbell now for lower body work, it's so much easier, and the weight is better distributed so I am safer with better balance.

Also, in workouts like CTX upper body there are many upper body exercises that use the barbell, and it does give a very different feel. Again, because the weight is well distributed, I find there are certain upper body exercises I do better with a barbell because it is that much easier to control the weight.

However, I used exclusively dumbells, with no ill-effects for the fist year of my weight training career!

Clare
 
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