This classic piece of weight training equipment is essential to the world of fitness and especially that of weight training and free weight exercises. This piece of equipment consists of a short bar with a weight at the end of the small bar; they can be used on their own or in pairs depending on the exercise.
As Defined in the Oxford English Dictionary
“a short bar with a weight at each end, used for exercise or muscle-building”
So now we have a good idea of what it is, but why is it called a dumbbell?
The name Dumbbell for the training tool we use today was believed to have come from the practice of ringing church bells, these were very heavy and the bell ringers would need to train.
To avoid making undue noise while training, the bell was removed, making it ‘dumb’. The dumbbell itself is an apparent evolution of Halteres, a weight used in ancient Greece, often used in pairs.
The modern dumbbell you see today has been developed to be more functional and ergonomic. As a weight training tool with two heavyweights on either end of a bar which made no noise, the name ‘dumbbell’ stuck and it’s now synonymous with the training tool.