Dancers, you need dumbbells

Dancers purchasing equipment for home workouts often fall into the same trap that the general fitness population does, which is stocking up on a lot of bands, light weights, and exercise balls better suited for physical therapy rehabilitation than strength training.

We use bands, myofascial release balls, and other physical therapy implements in our strength training studio as supplemental equipment. But that’s the key: it’s supplemental. Probably the most efficient and effective tool you could invest in as a dancer who might be faced with working out at home is a pair of selectable dumbbells like these or these. Keep those bands and balls for your warmup and for dancer-specific supplemental exercises, but you’ll need access to progressively heavier weights if you want to build the power and durable strength you need to perform at a high level.

It’s somewhat counterintuitive, but I’d argue that the younger the dancer, the more important it is to have access to weights. Mature dancers or professionals are strong enough to do advanced bodyweight exercise variations that will still challenge them. But younger dancers often lack the strength needed to even complete 10 perfectly executed pushups, so for them it’s helpful to be able to develop shoulder and chest strength with lighter dumbbells that get progressively heavier.

Pushups are a really great exercise! But think about where dancers most often will need to use their pushing strength, particularly for boys and men. It’s not horizontal. It’s vertical. And so if a boy needs to get stronger overhead, it’s really helpful if he has access to progressively heavier weights that will challenge his ability to lift overhead while maintaining good lumbopelvic control.

Adjustable dumbbells aren’t a cheap investment. And right now they are incredibly difficult to get because everyone is stocking up on their home gyms. But they’re a tool that every dancer I know could use in their home gyms. Goblet squats. Lunges. Overhead presses. Rowing movements. Explosive movements. Dumbbells are accessible and versatile in a way that barbells aren’t intended to be and kettlebells sometimes can’t be because of the specific skills involved. (A kettlebell snatch will require some coaching to avoid having the weight crash on someone’s forearm. A dumbbell snatch avoids that technical obstacle.)

There are a lot of legitimate reasons for dancers to stock up on physical therapy tools, including price. Bands are great! But there’s also a reason to begin seeing the efficient strength-building process as a worthy investment, including long-term athletic development, power, and physical resilience.