OK, I’ll admit it… when I was younger I used to do the same type of bodybuilding exercises you see most people doing today. My fellow wrestlers and I would gather in my basement and use dumbbells and barbells to “prepare” for the upcoming wrestling season.  And yes, our muscles did grow.

But what we found out on day 1 of wrestling season was that the weight training we were doing did NOT prepare us for the rigors of wrestling. If anything, the inflated muscles were a hindrance to our performance!  And after cutting weight to get to my weight class, those puffed up muscles were a thing of the past.

It made me wonder if those off season workouts were worth it!

But the problem was, at the time there was no one teaching any other forms of weight training besides bodybuilding type training.  So, year after year we would gather in my basement and commit the same mistakes.

One of the things that snapped me out of the bodybuilding mindset is the simple dumbbell swing. Here is a video I found if you don’t have any idea what I am talking about it…

dumb bell swings

And those are even done with a weighted vest.

Anyway, you probably won’t find this in any bodybuilding routine because it is not immediately relevant what muscles are trained.  And since muscle growth is the only concern of bodybuilders, not knowing the muscles makes doing the exercise pointless. But that is not the case if you want to use dumbbells to build an athletic body.

I’m of a different mindset now (one I wish I had know about in my bodybuilding days).  I believe the training of movements is more important than the training of muscles. Train to move better, and the muscles will take care of themselves.

Now, the dumbbell swing is pretty simple to understand. But once you start using it in your dumbbell workouts it just might wake up something you’ve been missing.  You might just start wondering what other dumbbell MOVEMENT exercises there are and how they can help you build your best body.

And that is the start of something great!

I think 99% of the dumbbell workouts people are doing are crap. Sorry, but that is what I think.  In my opinion, dumbbells are one of the best training tools out there, but most people don’t use them correctly.

I’m not talking about the specific mechanics of a specific exercise… I’m talking about exercise selection itself!

If you want to get the best use of your dumbbells, then I suggest you check out: Superior Dumbbell Workout

Dumbbell swings are only one of many dumbbell exercises you should be doing. And the sooner you get away from using dumbbells like bodybuilders are using, the better.  I think when you see the way I use dumbbell you’ll realize you’ve been missing out!

Superior Dumbbell Workout