Dumbbell Exercises

When considering fitness training for firefighters, it’s easy to see why the dumbbell is a marvelous tool: We’re often called upon to work in odd positions in basically all of our service delivery areas, whether it involves picking up a patient or a complicated extrication on a freeway. Firefighters work through every anatomical plane, so it’s important to train the body to do the same thing during our workouts. I can think of no better exercise tool to help us accomplish this than the common dumbbell.

The Benefits of Dumbbells
Any exercise you do with a barbell or machine can be duplicated with dumbbells. They can be ordered in all shapes and in weights ranging from 1 lb. to 200 lbs., so they’re an easy way to create team-based workouts. (Note: If you see someone lifting a 200-lb. dumbbell, I hope they’re on your crew, because I wouldn’t want to mess with them.)

Dumbbells are also an ideal way to unilaterally train the body, meaning you can easily use one arm at a time. I say “arm,” but as you’ll find out when you do a single right-arm push press, you’ll actually originate this lift at the feet, then through the legs, hips, back and shoulder of the right arm, so you get a full-body workout with concentration of the auxiliary muscles on the right side of the body. But remember: Every exercise you perform with the right side of your body, you must also perform with the left; otherwise your clothes will fit funny.

Another benefit: Although they work the body differently because of the balance issues involved when manipulating single weights, dumbbells give the exerciser a fuller range of motion, which is ideal for some areas of the body. Tip: A fuller range of motion can also cause issues in certain areas of the body, so if you’re trying to rehabilitate an injury, always ask your physician before you start your workout if using dumbbells is OK.

Dumbbells can be used as the main focus of your workout or as an ideal auxiliary lift. I like using dumbbells in functional routines as well, because they’re ideal for training on carrying odd loads, which is what we carry while on the fire/rescue ground. With dumbbells, you can simply carry different sizes in each hand to train the body to stay straight and manage this kind of movement.

Dumbbell Exercises
Some people say dumbbells are half the size and twice the work as a barbell. Try some of these exercises and see if you agree.

The Dumbbell Lunge: Firefighters need balance and strong legs in order to perform well on the fireground while wearing PPE. This exercise provides both. You can manipulate it by the length of your stride and, of course, by the amount of weight you use. Try setting up cones to help you adjust your stride length. You can choose to make one narrow stride and one wide stride in the same set just to make things interesting. You can also use a variety of dumbbell positions to manipulate the exercise. The overhead position, front shoulder position and side position are a few examples.

The Gorilla Squat: On the job, firefighters frequently find themselves in odd physical positions, such as while working a vehicle extrication. The Gorilla Squat is an ideal exercise for improving overhead arm and shoulder strength while also working the lower torso. To perform, place one dumbbell overhead and hang the other down in between your legs. While keeping your chest out and lower back locked, squat down until the lower dumbbell touches the floor and then stand up. Repeat this exercise five times with each arm.

The Lateral Dumbbell Lunge: Hang the dumbbells down by your sides with your legs spread apart. Then lunge to the right side and touch both dumbbells to the ground. One will touch down on the right side of your body, while the other should touch down in the center of your legs that should remain spread apart. This is a great way to build balance.

Get Creative
Dumbbells are a great way to train yourself to have independent movement of your upper body. Once again, this is useful in tool manipulation or while working with one hand, such as when company officers must perform tasks while also communicating with a portable radio. Try these unique dumbbell exercises.

Alternating Plane Dumbbell Lateral Raises: Hold the dumbbells on both sides of your body in the standing position. Then raise one dumbbell straight in front of you and the other out to the side. Return to the start position and then repeat with the other side. Continue until you have 10 repetitions on each side.

Dumbbell Press and Lateral Raise: Begin with one dumbbell on the shoulder in the press position and the other off to one side. Press the shoulder dumbbell overhead while doing a lateral raise with the other. You’ll find that these movements really force you to concentrate while you do them. In fact, they almost hurt the brain as much as your muscles … almost.

Dumbbell Calf Raise: With this movement, you simply hold the dumbbells in various positions while raising up on your toes. The beauty of using dumbbells is the various adaptations you can easily create simply by changing the position of the dumbbell. As shown, we’re using a simple shoulder position, but these can also be done with the dumbbells down in the hanging position. For a real challenge, try doing them in the overhead position.

Three-in-One Exercise: Dumbbells are an excellent strength developer for the upper body. I like to do a three-in-one exercise for the chest and shoulders with the flat bench. First, take a heavy weight and do 10 repetitions while keeping the dumbbells close to the body and twisting the wrists at the top.

Next, choose a moderate weight and start with the arms spread at a 90-degree angle. Then push the dumbbells up and twist the wrists once again while bring the weights up so that they touch in the middle.
 
Finally, take a lighter weight and start with your arms spread out wide until they’re just outside of your peripheral vision. Keep the dumbbells out wide with the elbows slightly bent and once again touch them in the middle. Complete 10 repetitions for each exercise. These are done is succession with no rest in between except to change the dumbbells.

Anything but Dumb
Dumbbells are an excellent fitness tool for firefighters. They allow us to gain strength while working on important functional fitness goals, such as flexibility and balance. They’re also simple, easy tools that can help vary your strength training workout while forcing you to think about the different ways in which they can be used. So when you think about it, it’s rather odd that these weights were given the name “dumbbells.” What dummy came up with that idea?