DUMBELLS

Brendan from CrossFit HQ and one of the owners of CrossFit North Santa Cruz wrote an article about dumbell training last month on his blog. Thought I would share it with you guys so you can further understand why they are so important to any training program even though we all prefer to use barbells.

DUMBELLS!!!! I want to stress the value of training with them to everyone who is reading this. First off, lets talk about variance. The list of movements that can be done working with these old and too many times forgotten tools is endless. Even just one set of dumbells is good enough to create many super effective training regimens with plenty of variance. Since most of our gyms are equipped with a with a wide range of sizes to work with I believe they are good enough without anything else to create the fittest most powerful athletes on earth. The versatility is what sets them apart. Throw them, catch them, swing them, use them single arm. They are great for combining complex movements together like the "burpee squat clean thruster". Have you ever tried that one? OMG! It's the sh?t.
Another reason to use dumbells is the relentless demand they put on training stability. Strengthening our ability to stabilize loads is undeniably crucial to athletic development. Going overhead with dumbells, especially when doing it single arm is dominant over barbell training for the mission of creating unmatched control. ( keep in mind that overhead is more than a locked out elbow, its a shoulder shoulder shoved up into your ear.) Single arm dumbell snatches, single and double arm overhead walking lunges, single arm and double arm clean and jerks are great ways to combine fully engaged stability efforts with all out functional mobility. This bleeds right in with how dumbells may also be victorious when it comes to developing midline stabilization ( our term for core strength). The extra amount of engagement demanded upon us to control loads overhead when single arm defeats the barbell. What about both arms overhead with dumbells? You think this is easier? Hardly. The multilateral planes in which the dumbells must be controlled are there regardless of the double arm and are the reason why everybody especially athletes need to with them. In sport, life, combat, and everywhere our bodies move in all planes and we must train our bodies to prepare for these demands.
I am in no way saying that dumbells are better than barbells, I love barbells. The ability to lift much heavier loads come with barbell training. That reason alone makes barbell training indispensable. What I am saying is make sure to include dumbells as a huge part of your program. Don't forget about them. Don't be afraid to go heavy. Never use weights you are unable to control without proper mechanics but go as heavy as you can being able to.


Training Log
5/9/08

(I planned on doing a 5x3 OHS, but I'm having forearm troubles in my right arm. So I didn't do nothing. I modified.)

Back Squat
5x5 255# on 5/2/08 245#

As you can see, looking back at this week, I did alot of strength work. During most of April I did alot of high intensity metcons and caught up on some Benchmark WODs that I missed while dealing with injuries and illness during Feb. and March.(note: I did not completely shut down my training during this period of injury/illness, I modified around it for WODs and practiced what I could).
I planned this week to be strength heavy with 2-3 metcons where I pushed really hard. You can't expect to give each WOD your best effort 5 plus times a week, every week. Just give it what you got that day and be happy that you still put forth a great effort, even though it may not have been your best to date.
I plan on keeping up with my strength work over the next few weeks and see how I feel. If my body responds well I will probably keep it up well into the summer months. I will also try to put alot of work in on my o-lifting. 2-3 metcon efforts a week should help sustain my conditioning level, while not negatively impacting my strength gains.