Dumbbells vs. Barbells: Why Use Both?
If you’ve ever wondered why you see both dumbbells and barbells in our classes, you’re not alone! Each tool has its own strengths, and together they give you the best bang for your buck when it comes to building strength.
Barbells allow you to lift heavier loads and distribute weight across a larger surface area. This makes them ideal for your “big lifts” (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press) where strength and load progression are key.
Dumbbells, on the other hand, challenge your body in a different way. Because you’re holding weight in each hand, they train unilateral (single-side) strength. That means no side gets to hide behind the other! They also allow for a greater range of motion and rotational work in movements like dumbbell bench presses, bent-over rows, or dumbbell woodchoppers
Movement Patterns & Skill Levels
Barbells often create more “closed-chain” movements (your range stops when the bar meets the body), while dumbbells allow more “open-chain” movements with freedom of motion.
Barbells: Sometimes require more skill but can mask imbalances between right and left sides.
Dumbbells: Can be humbling, because they expose strength differences between your dominant and non-dominant side.
Both tools are valuable, and depending on your goals, here is why you might use both.
Progressive Overload: The Key to Strength Gains
If you’ve been lifting the same weights for months, you may be missing out on the secret sauce of strength training: progressive overload. This is the principle of making your workouts slightly more challenging each week, either by adding more weight (load) or more repetitions (volume).
If your dumbbell squats start to feel easy, it might be time to graduate to the barbell.
If your barbell bench press is getting heavy, switching to dumbbells can reveal whether one arm has been doing more of the work.
Progressive overload keeps your muscles, bones, and connective tissues adapting—which is where strength, stability, and long-term results come from.
Choosing Based on Your Goals
For time-efficient strength training: Barbells are my go-to for primary lifts. They let me lift heavy, preserve muscle, and build bone density.
For sport-specific training: Dumbbells help me challenge stability and ensure both sides stay equally strong—perfect for running, cycling, and swimming.
For beginners: At Sweatworking’s Learn to Lift, we start with bodyweight and dumbbells to build safe movement patterns, then progress to barbells once strength and confidence are established.
For rehab: Dumbbells and unilateral exercises (like split squats or single-arm presses) are often used to bring the injured side back in line with the non-injured side.
For physique goals: Dumbbells shine for high-rep, targeted muscle work (think bicep curls, tricep extensions) butt- pun definitely intended, for those larger, stronger muscle groups like your glutes, quads, hammies and your back, barbells can be a great option for added load.
How We Use Both in Lifting Club
In Lifting Club, our small-group classes, we combine the best of both worlds:
Barbells for primary lifts like deadlifts—where we can safely load a large muscle group, challenge grip strength, and encourage progressive overload.
Dumbbells for accessory work—where we target smaller muscle groups and stabilize the body with movements like single-arm presses.
Ready to Start Strength Training?
If you’re curious about how to begin your strength training journey—or if you’re ready to graduate from dumbbells to barbells—come train with us:
👉 Join Learn to Lift to build confidence and strength from the ground up.
👉 Join Lifting Club to train in a small-group setting, get strong with barbells, and challenge yourself with progressive overload.
We’ll meet you where you are—and help you level up.
Unsure of where to start? Book your free consultation today.
