This article will look at a barbell in detail, covering every question you have ever considered concerning it. From strength training to muscle gain and even barbell cardio, this article will cover it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is a barbell really enough?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Long before all the fancy equipment that you find in the gym nowadays, like cable machine free-weighted machines, plate machines, cardio machines, and everything else, the only way to train was primarily with barbells. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You would take a bar, put weights on either side and work through your exercises. Tens of thousands of people got fitter, healthier, and stronger just using barbells, so yes, they are enough. But how come?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A barbell is enough to accomplish just about any fitness goal. You can use it for building muscle, toning, endurance training, strength training, and just about everything else, even for cardio. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cardio is a form of exercise that is sustained over long periods of time for fitness and weight loss purposes. To a degree, this can also be achieved with barbells, but primarily to accomplish those goals, cardio is the best way to go about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contrary to popular belief, a barbell will work your body and muscles groups just like any other exercise using different types of weights or machines would. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A barbell is different from other free weight exercises in that it provides you with stability where other forms of free weight do not, such as dumbbells. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing to consider is that dumbbells just like barbells, are also enough to achieve the goals you wish to in the gym. Check out my article here, <\/a>where I go over why dumbbells are enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the reason of stability, an exercise with a barbell tends to utilize your core when the exercise is being performed. Moreover, using a barbell typically means that exercises you perform will be compound exercises (utilizing more than one muscle group). <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that utilizing a barbell does not only strengthen your core, but you will work many muscle groups with fewer exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take, for example, squats, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press. By using a barbell for each of these, you are essentially getting a full-body workout that would otherwise require many different machines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that using a barbell in your workout routine will save you time, so if you only have 30 minutes in the gym, I would highly recommend considering a barbell as part of your workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another advantage is that because a barbell is so rigid, exercising with one means that you will have to focus on form. This means that it will increase your athletic performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As your technique improves with a barbell, it will strengthen your neuromuscular connections, and these are considered to be responsible for major strength gains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another factor to consider and that studies <\/a>have shown is that working with free weights (barbells) increases free testosterone levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, beginners will greatly benefit from a barbell because it equals out your body. Everybody is born with a dominant side of their body. this means that one side will naturally be stronger than the other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You will see this straight away with someone who has not trained in the gym before; they will be able to do more reps with one side of their body than the other. Using a barbell forces the body to even itself out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only that, but we stated that barbells could be used for cardio as well, but that will be discussed under its own heading further on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your goals in the gym are to build muscle mass (get bigger) and to train for strength, then you will have to use a barbell without a doubt. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We said that using a barbell strengthens your neuromuscular connections, and these specifically help you with strength gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, we also stated that barbells are key to evening out your body because both sides of the body are not as equally as strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, due to the fact that barbell exercises typically incorporate the use of your core, they are one of the most fundamental and important pieces of exercise equipment that you can use and should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can indeed build muscle with a barbell as with any other piece of exercise equipment, and in fact, many professional bodybuilders and experienced gym fanatics swear by it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is because of the reasons above that we explained, such as a barbell will utilize the core, be a compound exercise, even out the body, and strengthen neuromuscular connections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another factor to consider, however, is that when you use a barbell, you have to use heavy enough weight that tears enough muscular tissue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This typically means your rep range will be between 5 and 8 reps. Also, no matter what type of weight training you are doing, you always need to use sufficient enough weight to achieve the rep range but go to failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information on what rep ranges you need to achieve different results, you can check out my article here, <\/a>where I go over that in detail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Barbells are so great that Frank Rich creator of Massthetic Muscle states you only need 5 barbell exercises to build the ultimate amount of mass. Check it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat does a barbell do to your body?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are the advantages of using a barbell?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDo you really need a barbell?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can you build muscle with just a barbell?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n