A Brief History of the Dumbbell

Pumping Iron, pounding steel, lifting heavy things and then putting them down, whatever you call it, I love weight lifting. Road cycling is my preferred form of cardio, but there is just something so satisfying about chasing "the pump". While machines and bars are fantastic, I do prefer using dumbbells for the majority of working out. During the pandemic, I built up a fairly respectable collection, ranging from 10 to 70 pounds (4.5 to 32 kg). Between those and an adjustable bench, I didn't really need anything else. The only issue was when it came to squats. Dumbbells are not practical when it comes to performing squats with any sort of weight. Thankfully, I already had a strong foundation from years of training. Plus, have you ever seen the legs on most cyclists? 'Ridiculous' is a term I've heard used more than once.

But where did dumbbells come from? Moreover, why the a silly name? It sounds like a term of derision used on the childhood playground. To answer these questions, and more, we must go way back in history.

The earliest weights used for strength training that we know about came from Ancient Greece, circa 5th century B.C. Known as Halteres (incidentally, also the same name as a winged insect), they looked like round stones which were cut in half with handles. The handles were not in the centre, but towards one end, making them awkward to use. The term comes from the Greek hallomai, or "leaping". Hence why these were sometimes referred to as "jumping weights." Greek athletes would train with them to improve their jumping capabilities. 

The Greek physicians, Galen and Antyllus, who lived in Rome during the 2nd century A.D., devised training exercises for the halteres, focused mainly on curls for arms, lunges for legs, and deadlifts for back. Interestingly, very little was done for the chest, aside from press-ups. A lot of emphasis was placed on the physique, especially for men. The phrase, "built like a Greek god" is still in common use, with good reason. Yet if one looks at statues of muscular Greeks, the chests are not as proportional to the rest of the body. While fitness was a large part of Ancient Greek culture, strength training was focused on practical application. A bulky chest simply wasn't considered aesthetic. Even into the early 20th century, large chests on bodybuilders were extremely rare. Coach Greg Doucette, an IFBB pro bodybuilder, kinesiologist, and fitness expert, has a fantastic video on this very subject that I highly recommend:

"I don't need to do bench press, you silly mortals!"

From what we can gather, Greek physical fitness was completely male dominated. Women were not even allowed to attend the earliest gymnasiums (an entire subject in itself). The Romans, on the other hand, encouraged both men and women to be physically active. One of the earliest depictions of recognisable hand weights comes from a 3rd century mosaic of women exercising.

"We were bodybuilding 1,800 years before Rachel McLish made it cool for women!"

In places like India and the Middle East, weighted clubs were used for building strength going back 2,500 years, possibly longer. During the height of the British Empire, colonists in India adapted what they called the "Indian Club" for strength training. Resembling bowling pins, the exercises incorporated a lot of various swinging techniques to build both strength and mobility.

Perhaps most famous in modern times are the Persian Clubs wielded by legendary Iranian-American pro wrestler, Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known as The Iron Sheik. While the Indian / Persian clubs varied in weight, the Iron Sheik's were quite heavy, at 75 pounds each (34 kg). While much of pro wrestling is an act, even today wrestlers have stated that Shiek's "Persian Club Challenge", where he would swing them in alternating arcs over his head was a legitimate act of immense strength and muscular endurance. Hulk Hogan (who stood six inches taller and about 60 pounds heavier than the Sheik) stated he tried it once and felt like his forearms were about to snap. Below is a link to another great video about the Sheik's Persian Clubs, found by his in-ring rival (though real-life close friend), Sergeant Slaughter:

While we have some pictorial examples of hand weights being used back in Ancient Rome, plus the halteres and eastern clubs, what we now think of as dumbbells appeared with greater regularity during the 18th and 19th centuries. The very term "dumbbell" originated when athletes began using a type of bell, much like those used in church towers, only with the clapper removed. Hence they were "dumb" (as in silent) bells. One story is that in the early 1700s, the English essayist, Joseph Addison, took the actual bell from a church tower because he wanted to rig up a type of Indian Club for his own fitness workouts. Whether this story is true or apocryphal, by the 19th century the term "dumbbell" had stuck. Emphasis had moved away from the awkward clubs to handles with evenly balanced weights (usually ball shaped) on either end. Wooden weights were common, albeit very light, usually under 10 pounds. Iron dumbbells varied considerably, up to 100 pounds.

19th century dumbbells, weighing around 2 1/2 pounds each

The earliest patent on adjustable dumbbells, where one could add plates to each side, dates from 1865. Today, these are most often seen for private purchase, as most gyms exclusively used fixed-weight dumbbells, with adjustable-weights for long bars. By the late Victorian Era, feats of strength, particularly in circuses and other performing shows, became hit attractions. The dumbbells used for these were often of exaggerated size, though this takes nothing away from the feats of strength performed. Indeed, using a "circus dumbbell" of ridiculous proportions is far more difficult to wield than a standard dumbbell of the same weight.

The legendary Eugen Sandow. Called the 'Father of Modern Bodybuilding', the trophies of the Olympia Bodybuilding Championships are cast in his image

The most famous dumbbell to be named after a person is the Thomas Inch dumbbell, named for British strongman, Thomas Inch (1881 - 1963). The Inch dumbbell had a very thick handle, was quite short, and weighed 172 pounds. In an era before steroids and performance enhancing substances became prevalent, Inch was able to lift the dumbbell one-handed, though there are disputed accounts as to whether he was actually able to clean and press it. Many strongman competitors and bodybuilders, including the legendary Reg Park, tried and failed to lift the Inch dumbbell. In 2002, Olympic lifter, strongman competitor, and pro wrestler, Mark Henry, succeeded in one-hand clean and pressing the Inch dumbbell. It should be noted that Henry stands 6'4" and weighs 360 pounds. I have not been able to find Thomas Inch's height and weight, but he was certainly much smaller than Mark Henry.

 

Thomas Inch and his famous dumbbell

By the late 19th century, it wasn't just men who were looking to build physical strength. Albeit, bodybuilding and weight training were not considered feminine qualities, with Victorian Era strongwomen relegated to a type of "freak show". By the mid-20th century, fitness pioneers like Abbye Stockton helped pave the way alongside their male counterparts. It was not an easy road, however. In a future blog post, we'll look at the role of weight lifting and women's fitness during the late Victorian Era and into the 20th century.

Women's bodybuilding and fitness pioneer, Abbye Stockton

The fitness industry, as it is known today, remained very niche until the late 1970s. While strongmen, and in some cases strongwomen, appeared on magazine covers, strength training and bodybuilding were anything but mainstream. Gyms were considered the hangouts of extremely insecure "freaks" (almost exclusively men). This started to change when a docudrama (i.e. a film that is part documentary, part scripted drama) was filmed in 1975 and released two years later. You might have heard of it, or at least it's leading star with a thick accent and what was thought to be an unpronounceable last name.

The 1985 sequel, while not nearly as popular, did still help pave the way for women into the world of bodybuilding and fitness.

By the 1980s, the once-shunned subculture of weight lifting and bodybuilding became mainstream. Today, it is a multi-billion dollar / pound / euro industry. Modern gyms can be quite intimidating, with all the fancy equipment and machines. However, one thing that has never, and will never change, is when it comes to building muscle, one can never go wrong keeping it simple and sticking to the basics. There are endless benefits of hoisting simple weights that we first saw on Ancient Roman mosaics, and whose name derives from some lads possibly nicking and dismantling old church bells.

My simple workout bench and dumbbell rack continues to serve me well

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