When it comes to bodybuilding, choosing the right amount of weight to lift is going to be just as important as any other aspect of your fitness journey. Even if you have the perfect workout plan and the correct diet, lifting a weight that’s unsuitable for you and your muscles will make all your efforts go to waste and you’ll probably not see any results. And this is crucial, especially for dumbbells since they’re considered one of the best types of equipment that promotes growth and increases strength. So you’ll need to be very picky when choosing your weight. With that being said, are 7 kg dumbbells heavy?
Any weight that can make you struggle especially towards your last repetitions can be considered heavy and that includes 7 kg dumbbells as well which are great for beginners. However, you’ll eventually get stronger and will need to upgrade them for something heavier.
In this article, we’ll talk more in-depth about if 7kg dumbbells are heavy, if they can build muscles, and if they’re great for beginners.
Table of Contents
Are 7 Kg Dumbbells Heavy?
To answer this question, we first need to understand the literal definition of heavy: something of great weight, that’s difficult to lift or move.
From this definition, we can conclude that a heavy dumbbell is anything that will be too difficult to lift. And that depends entirely on the current strength level of each person. In other words, if a dumbbell can provide you with a pretty decent struggle, especially during those last couple of repetitions, then they’re definitely considered heavy, and that even includes 7 kg dumbbells.
To put this into perspective for you, let’s do a little test. The next time you’re about to hit a training session, what I want you to do is something called “Dumbbell Strength Testing”. It’s a pretty straightforward test that involves around lifting a set amount of dumbbell weight in order to see whether or not it’s heavy enough for you and if it’s the right time to upgrade. The way you do it is by lifting dumbbells of your choice, in this case, the 7 kg ones, and doing repetitions of any exercise that you want until failure.
If at most you can do 8 repetitions and start to struggle during the last ones, then you can definitely consider that set of dumbbells heavy for that exact exercise (if a dumbbell is considered heavy for a certain exercise, it doesn’t mean that it’s heavy for all other exercises. For example, you can lift way more while bench pressing compared to bicep curls).
If you can successfully do more than 12 repetitions with ease, then it’s definitely not heavy and it’s time to upgrade.
This little test is the best when it comes to choosing whether or not a dumbbell is heavy enough for you and it can be also applied to any other type of equipment.
Can 7 Kg Dumbbells Build Muscles?
Most of the time, muscle building depends on how strong you are, and this strength depends on how heavy you can lift. In other words, the heavier you can lift, the more chances your muscles have for growing.
With that being said, we’ll go back to the “Dumbbell Strength Test”. If the test was positive, meaning that you struggled the whole time with the 7 kg dumbbells, especially during the last couple of repetitions, that pretty much means that they will definitely build your muscles since they’re heavy. If you easily did 12 repetitions with little to no struggle, these dumbbells aren’t heavy enough for you so they won’t build any muscles and it’s time for an upgrade.
Remember that struggling and feeling that tension, especially in the last repetitions is the ultimate key to growth and if you can’t achieve that, then your results will be disappointing.
In this case, If you have a gym membership, you can upgrade your weights anytime you want since most gyms have dumbbells up to 20 or 50 kg. If you don’t have the possibility to join a local gym and you’re stuck with only 7 kg dumbbells, I highly recommend upgrading to heavier or adjustable ones. You should also consider bodyweight exercises. Push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups are some great sets of exercises that promote muscle growth without any type of equipment. All you need is your own weight, hard work, and dedication.
Are 7 Kg Dumbbells Good For Beginners?
If you’re a beginner, you probably shouldn’t even think about lifting heavy dumbbells or heavy weights in general. First of all, dumbbells are harder than any other type of equipment since they require a lot of stability and control, so lifting heavy ones will only cause injury. Secondly, 7 kg dumbbells are a perfect weight to start with for beginners since they’re not too heavy but also not too light so they’re a great introduction to the world of dumbbells. Lastly, when you’re first starting out, you’re probably not going to be familiar with most movements done by dumbbells and you’ll want to get used to them. 7 kg dumbbells are great for learning how these exercises are done and getting the hang of them.
Conclusion:
The amount of weight that you lift could be the only difference between seeing good and bad results when it comes to your fitness journey. Deciding the optimal and most efficient dumbbell weight for you may seem hard at first, but with the right techniques and mindset, you’ll eventually get the hang of it. If you can’t wait to lift more than 7 kg, I assure you that with time, you’ll get a lot stronger to the point that you’ll warm up using 20 kg weight.