Talk:Dumbbell

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212.200.178.22 18:41, 12 January 2007 (UTC)Um, a disambig section...? --67.172.99.160 00:14, 27 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone explain to me the difference between straight and tapered handles on dumbbells? When would one want to use tapered handles? JeffGirard 18:52, 11 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Why do we need to see that fat woman, it's not like an incentive for people.

Dumbbells are also known as free weights and are considered as giving a more natural feel to exercise, and involving more stabilising muscles than machine based exercises. Many people find dumbbell training more practical and overall better than the machine one because of the ability to workout at home with only using an adjustable pair or a set of dumbbells and a simple bench. Viki.212.200.178.22 18:41, 12 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Top weights[edit]

What exactly is going on with this section? It needs more explanation or deletion. Chocobomastr (talk) 01:14, 15 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Kettlebell etymology[edit]

I removed the following sentences from the article:

"Kettles were also available in various sizes, ranging up to those holding several gallons. Filled with sand or water, these too could be used for training. When athletes started making purpose-built equipment, they also kept the name."

They were apparently about the similar etymology of the word "kettlebell" (even though the word "kettlebell" itself was never actually used). I replaced the removed sentences with the following sentence:

"The etymology of the word "kettlebell" is similar."

If the etymology of the word "kettlebell" that I removed is indeed true, perhaps it should be added to the Kettlebell Wikipedia article instead. SoccerMan2009 (talk) 06:59, 21 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Trolling with Citation Needed[edit]

The information regarding expensive, cast-iron dumbbells and the cheaper, plastic-and-concrete versions is accurate. Without citing about a thousand price lists and inadvertently hooking up a bunch of commercial sites (or specific brands, for that matter) with traffic, I'm not sure how this should be cited. Also, the rubber-coated iron dumbbells - does this actually warrant citation? Do either of these items actually warrant citation? Who added these tags? It seems like a bit of nitpicking or outright trolling. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.115.253.138 (talk) 05:22, 21 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Totally agree. Since nobody has responded, I am going to remove them.119.149.3.61 (talk) 16:13, 21 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Etymology[edit]

My urban myth-detecting sense tells me that the explanation of the word dumbbells given is a load of cobblers. - Gnomon —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.198.212.130 (talk) 14:07, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Gnomon, Well, that's what I read somewhere many years ago. Think about it. It certainly explains the name. Keith 16 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.78.198.17 (talk) 21:08, 29 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Without evidence to the contrary I suppose we have to go with the Oxford dictionary. To me, the bell practice bit makes sense when dealing with Handbells, rather than church bells that I think always use a rope.

Googling books, it seems the earliest book to mention "dumbbell" and "bell" is the 1665 "Philosophical Transactions, Giving Some Accompt of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in Many Considerable Parts of the World" (see here). However, I don't have a copy handy! Batternut (talk) 16:15, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Actually Jan Todd's history, already linked in this article, gives a more thorough investigation of the etymology than the Oxford dictionary. Indeed she gives a reference, which the Oxford doesn't... So Joseph Addison mentions using a 'dumb bell' in an article in The Spectator on 12 July 1711 (a date that agrees with the Oxford's reckoning of an early 18th century origin). That article from The Spectator may well be in Volume II of 1711 eight volume collection. Anyone got a copy? Batternut (talk) 16:01, 25 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Dubious image[edit]

Those "dumbbells" looks awfully small to be an exercise, and it's quite possible they are filled with noisy seeds and she's actually performing percussion with the other musician. — MaxEnt 02:32, 20 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

This is simple a smaller part of a larger work that is more clearly about sport/physical activity: https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/roman-girls-bikinis-mosaic-villa-romana-del-casale-sicily/ Frenes (talk) 00:06, 12 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]