As NRG we often get asked, what equipment should I be using when performing rehabilitation exercise. Should I use dumbbells? Can barbells be used? Are kettlebells good to use? The answer is yes. Rehab is all encompassing! There will be exercises where kettlebells are more useful than dumbbells, there will be exercises where cables are better than resistance bands. The difficult bit is finding what works best for your needs. So in this article we will discuss both positives and negatives of equipment and what exercises they are especially useful for.
Dumbbells Benefits:
- Widely available
- Usually small increments of weight so improvement easily measurable
- Well balanced
- Are more simple to use
- Perfect for pressing movements (bench, overhead press, floor press)
Negatives:
- Sometimes not heavy enough for stronger athletes
- Can be difficult to move quickly
- No change of resistance throughout the movement
Kettlebell Benefits:
- Easy to hold
- Comfortable to move quickly and increase heart rate
- Good to coach people into more advanced movements
- Good for stability
- Kettlebell swings variations teach coordination whilst teaching advanced positions like hip hinge and squatting
Negatives:
- Not always available at some gyms
- Not always small weight increments
- Can be too challenging stability wise for patients
Barbell Benefits:
- Can apply heavy loads
- Can perform complex lifting easily
- Easy to progress exercises with weights
- Perfect for compound lifting and strength/power development
Negatives:
- Can be too heavy for some to use
- Can be hard to coordinate
- Movement limitations may make it too hard
- Can be equally difficult to coach
Resistance Bands:
- No impact and lighter loads
- Can help stability and positions
- Easy to use
- Can be used as an accessory onto other equipment to change the strength curve
Negatives:
- Only top resistance at end range
- Can be hard to progress
- Difficult to gauge how much resistance you are actually using
Body Weight:
- Easy to complete and very simple
- Can be used in high volume to increase heart rate significantly
- Low impact on joints
- Press ups and air squats can be varied to change certain muscle activity depending on the athlete
Negatives:
- Hard to progress
- May have movement issues which prevent them completing exercise effectively
- Some people are not strong enough to complete initial exercise
And that concludes this piece on rehabilitation equipment. Keep an eye out in the future for where we break down our favourite exercises to use for each piece of equipment and how we would coach it. As always if you have any questions or want more information then please let us know by either commenting or sending us an email! To stay up to date with every article we post then feel free to sign up to our newsletter below!
Interested in personal training, injury assessment or sports massage? You book now via email or phone! We look forward to hearing from you.