Outdoor Gym Workouts: Getting More From Available Dumbbells

Outdoor gyms offer a convenient way to exercise without needing a traditional gym membership or a dedicated workout space at home. But the variety of exercises you can perform often depends on the equipment available.

Some outdoor gyms feature pull-up bars, parallel bars and other bodyweight stations. Others provide additional strength-training equipment, including dumbbells.

During a recent visit to London, I stopped by Westbourne Green Open Space to get a workout in and demonstrate how Dualbell dumbbell-to-barbell converters could expand the exercise options available using the dumbbells already there.

I also visited another outdoor gym at West Ham Park during my trip.

Why Dumbbells Are Valuable at an Outdoor Gym

Dumbbells are among the most versatile pieces of strength-training equipment.

They can be used for curls, rows, shoulder presses, lunges, squats and many other movements. They also make it possible to perform unilateral exercises, working one side of the body at a time.

At an outdoor gym, having access to dumbbells opens up more possibilities beyond traditional bodyweight exercises.

That's one reason I enjoyed visiting Westbourne Green Open Space.

The outdoor fitness equipment, provided by Swing Fitness, includes dumbbells that visitors can use for resistance training.

But having dumbbells available also raises an interesting question:

What else could you do with them?

Getting More Exercises From the Same Dumbbells

Dualbell was invented around a simple idea: get more exercise options from the dumbbells you already own or have available.

Each Dualbell wraps around the handle of a compatible dumbbell and slides onto a standard 1-inch bar. This allows the dumbbell to provide resistance for barbell and landmine exercises.

At Westbourne Green Open Space, I brought Dualbell along for my workout and to demonstrate several additional movements using the available dumbbells.

The goal wasn't to replace any of the exercises already possible with those dumbbells. It was to show another way to use them.

The same dumbbells could serve two different purposes.

You could continue using them individually for traditional dumbbell exercises, then use Dualbell to create additional training setups.

Barbell and Landmine Exercises With Dumbbells

One advantage of using Dualbell is the ability to perform different types of strength-training movements using compatible dumbbells.

Depending on the equipment and safe setup available, these can include:

• Bent-over barbell rows for back training
• Barbell curls for biceps
• Deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts for lower-body and posterior-chain training
• Landmine rows and presses with an appropriately secured landmine setup
• Bench presses when suitable bench, rack and safety equipment are available

Not every outdoor gym has the space or equipment for every exercise. It's important to choose movements appropriate for the environment and ensure everything is safely secured.

Still, using the same dumbbells for additional exercises can make a relatively compact workout setup more versatile.

My Outdoor Workout at Westbourne Green Open Space

During my London trip, I visited outdoor fitness locations at Westbourne Green Open Space and West Ham Park.

At Westbourne Green, I brought Dualbell along to get a workout in and film a few exercises using the dumbbells available at the location.

The equipment is provided by Swing Fitness, which offers access to outdoor strength-training equipment.

What interested me was how naturally the two concepts complemented each other.

The outdoor gym provides the dumbbells. Dualbell offers another way to use them.

It was an independent visit and demonstration, but it provided a useful example of how existing fitness equipment can support more workout options.

More Exercises. Same Dumbbells.

Every workout environment is different.

Some people train in fully equipped commercial gyms. Others use compact home gyms, hotel fitness rooms, garages, parks or outdoor exercise stations.

One of the ideas behind Dualbell is that you don't always need an entirely new collection of equipment to expand your exercise options.

Sometimes you can simply find more ways to use what's already available.

That's what I wanted to demonstrate during my workout at Westbourne Green Open Space.

Having access to dumbbells is great. Dualbell adds even more possibilities.

Dualbell is made in USA from durable Nylon 66, designed for compatible dumbbells and standard 1-inch (25 mm) bars. It has been lab tested up to 1,900 lbs, with a maximum recommended load of 125 lb dumbbell per Dualbell.