At home, dumbbell workouts are better for reaching your fitness, fat loss, and physical development goals than gym machines. It’s hard to believe that these weight training hand tools can replace a room full of expensive equipment. But it is true, which is good news for some athletes.

In tough economic times, gym membership is one of the first things to go away. Many gym members calculate the cost of each gym visit and find that it is simply not worth it and that the money can be better used elsewhere. But what are they going to do? Should they give up their dreams of a fit, lean, and athletically muscular body along with their gym card?

Absolutely not! In fact, former gym-goers should see this as an opportunity, not a downside. Now you are free to take responsibility for your fitness, fat loss, and physique and explore highly effective training methods that you may have previously overlooked … like dumbbell workouts at home.

Exercise is about movement

Walk into any commercial gym and … listen. Just listen to other users to see what they are saying. Inevitably, you will hear about the MUSCLES that a certain exercise works. You will hear a trainer explain to a new client that this gym machine “works the glutes” or “hits the lats”. And you’ll hear the rats in the gym talking about “pumping up their pecs” or “blowing up their bi’s.” It’s clear … they care about specific muscles that exercise works on.

But focusing on muscles is the wrong approach. Exercise is about movement, not muscle. Your performance improves due to your ability to better MOVE your own body weight or a heavy object. And ironically, training to move better strengthens the muscles needed for movement and makes them grow … resulting in the athletic, lean, and muscular exercises that you strive the most for.

Dumbbells are better for weight training movement than gym machines. Therefore, they are better at creating the physical changes that lead to higher performance and a more attractive appearance. Let’s look at gym machines first …

Gym machines restrict your movement

Strapping into a machine and working against resistance in a predetermined movement pattern is a lousy way to train. Even if you can set the machine correctly for your body type and size, movement is completely foreign to any movement you encounter in the real world. This makes it less effective!

Oh, but I forgot. You’re training muscles, not movements, right? If that’s your only concern, sit back, buckle up, and push and pull these weird shapes. But if you want to improve the way you perform (and watch) OUTSIDE the gym, you need to train the movements. And that’s where the dumbbells come in.

Dumbbells train your body as if it were moving

Dumbbells are an extremely versatile training tool. You can use them together, one limb at a time or alternately. This means that they closely mimic the movements you will encounter in real-world activities, sports, and work. This means more physical enhancements that you can see, feel and USE!

Now, just don’t think that by switching to dumbbells you are free of the “muscle versus movement” problem. Most dumbbell exercises are designed by bodybuilders who ONLY care about the muscles. And they use the versatility of dumbbells to “isolate” specific muscle groups. This is not the way to get the most out of your dumbbell training!

A well-constructed dumbbell routine uses a wide range of exercises to train every movement imaginable. And it does so in a way that relates more closely to the movements that you will encounter in the real world. Using a full-body workout that uses dumbbells in unison, one at a time, and alternating is one of the best ways to improve fitness, burn fat, and build an athletic body. If those are the reasons you use exercise machines, it’s time to quit the gym and get some dumbbells. If you’re considering quitting the gym to save some money, this could be a blessing in disguise. Take this opportunity to get out of the “muscle training” mindset and start using dumbbells to train the movements. I think you will be happy with the performance, health and appearance RESULTS you get. At home, dumbbell workouts will become your new best friend.