dumbell training rack lifting aid

[safelifter]

I've been looking into the possibility of developing a dumbell rack that helps with the handling of dumbell weights while doing sets. Usually when body builders think of dumbell racks, they think of dumbell storage racks for hex-shaped racks. I'm not talking storage racks, but of the actual rack that will assist a person to position themselves in front (or underneath) of the dumbells before lifting them and allow them to rest the dumbells after each set done (like what the traditional barbell rack does for a person for preloading of weights and self spotters).

There are several designs of these types of machines/racks, but so far none will do the job like I'd want them to due to design limitations. Some of the designs I've come across are not even being produced (perhaps due to dis-interest or because other weight lifters didn't like how they worked or bad marketing or all of these problems).

Several months ago I searched for a machine that would hold my dumbells in place so that I could lay down on the bench, get underneath of them and then lift them off the rack to do reps. I did find this one simple weight accessory called POWER HOOKS. Some people like them (according to testimonies). I bought them.

They do hold the dumbell, but the power hooks are a bit clunky and make the dumbell handle a bit uncomfortable because of design limitations. I suppose one could just put up with it and get use to the way they work. Trouble is, if I end up not being able to push the dumbells back up to starting position, I get a bit trapped with heavy dumbells while laying down. Then I'd need to wrestle a bit with the dumbells to get them off of me so I could sit up and put them on the floor. I imagine other lifters have similar situations (yes/no?). Every lifter has their own way of getting through this snaffoo.

I for one am not satisfied with that solution. That's when I started thinking and doing research into various past and present dumbell rack designs to see what designs have been done. So far I haven't found the design I'm after and that brings me to the point where I'd like to develop my own dumbell rack product.

I have several questions for all here (hope to get some response) . And perhaps there is some helpful feedback from experienced lifters too.

How interested would you be in a product that helped you lift dumbells more safely in various exercises and get you started in safer positions to avoid injury due to hiking up dumbells while laying down on a bench. How much would you pay for such a machine if it was truly helpful or even revolutionary in design. It would not be smart to design a product, get patents, and spend lots of money to get it into production without some user feedback.

The main issue is for people to avoid unsafe positions and movements that could potentially incur minor or major injury due to straining and awkward movements. Anything ?can? be done without training aids, but you increase your risks to injury very much when you include movements that are unsafe because you can't avoid them. Trying to get up from a dumbell bench press could make lifters hurt their backs in the process even if it's just a minor pull in the back muscle or minor spinal pinch.

I know many lifters tend to ignor these sorts of small pains as they subside within several hours or a couple days. Lifters try to control the movement of getting up after a set in such a way so as to make the movement smooth enough in an attempt to prevent injury to the back. This to me is Russian Roulette with the spine. At some point all those little back pinches and back muscle pulls are gonna result with back problems down the road.

Yet heavy dumbell exercises are essential for varying your workout routines and they hit certain stabilizer muscles that normally don't get hit the same way as with barbell routines. In fact I've found that heavy dumbell shoulder shrugs feel safer than heavy barbell shrugs, but it would be safer to not have to lift them from the floor each time.

FYI: This is primarily a product that would be used by lifters who want to lift at home (like me) though I imagine a Gym industrial version could be developed for Gyms too (and for people who want top notch features and don't mind paying a bit more for it). I want the home version of this product to be able to handle up to 300 lb dumbells (600 lbs. for both dumbells). I figure anyone who can do more than that is far and few in between and would want the industrial gym version.

This rack could also handle barbells as well. But I primarily am interested in developing a system that focuses on dumbell rack and spotting even though it can be made to handle both barbells and dumbells. As a barbell rack, it would handle 600 lb. barbell loads.

All dumbell systems of this related sort don't have a way to spot dumbells at multiple positions during the ROM which would be especially important during heavy dumbell work with DB bench presses and also to a lesser degree with DB military presses & DB flies.

Don't forget to vote, thanks

 

[The Shadow]

Well......there is already one on the market Orb

 

[safelifter]

Another point to mention is that this dumbell rack lifting aid would be designed to allow full ROM without impeding movement throughout the ROM. Other tools or systems that have been designed sometimes interfere with the movement through the ROM due to design limitations. This rack would be designed to allow for maximum clearance while providing multiple spotting positions for both dumbell and barbell exercises. There is no other system out there to my knowledge that will spot a dumbell at multiple spotting positions throughout the ROM of a repitition.

 

[safelifter]

The Shadow said:

Well......there is already one on the market Orb

To which product are you referring to? I have seen the few choices of dumbell lifting aid products and they do not offer a way to spot a lifter throughout the full ROM of a rep. In fact I've seen a few other patent ideas as well and none of them provide for spotting of dumbells once they are lifted off of the starting position. And all of them seem to impede to some degree the ROM because of design limitations.

 

[s8nlilhlpr]

Same as any other lift, if you can't safely get the weight up, and back down, then you probably shouldn't be lifting that weight. A "tool" that sets the weight above them on bench press, would let idiots put too much weight on it, then get pancaked.

 

[safelifter]

s8nlilhlpr said:

A "tool" that sets the weight above them on bench press, would let idiots put too much weight on it, then get pancaked.

Yes, that is the problem with the other solutions, no self-spotter feature. The rack I'm talking about would self-spot a dumbell.

Picture this: You got 120 lb. dumbells (or whatever heavy weight is used) in hand and you are doing your set of flat DB bench presses. You get to your 8th rep, but at the bottom of the ROM you can't get the dumbell back up to starting position even if you are using one such device as the POWER HOOK because there's no spotter built into the system. You are forced to wiggle around and sit up with heavy dumbells in hand possibly pulling a groin muscle as you strain to sit up. You are able to press the weight 7 times so it's not that the weight is too heavy, but that you want to press it again to max your routine. Sometimes we just get stuck like that, not because it's too much weight, but because we fatigue to muscle failure. A lifter has to work toward muscle failure in order to build muscle, but needs a safe way to take the load off if need be.

 

[Cynical Simian]

Or you just move them to the side enough to drop them, since unlike with a barbell, the dumbbells won't be pulling a bar down into your torso.

I agree with s8nlilhlpr: between power hooks and intelligent lifting, this shouldn't be an issue. It sounds like you want to invent a device that allows people to "team dumbbell bench" alone.

 

[safelifter]

Don't like dropping DB's. Dropped dumbells mark up floors in the house (or in my case could bust up the cement in the basement). Then there is the potential damage to the DB itself which probably isn't too likely unless you drop it frequently. A 100+ lb. dumbell could crack a floor board if dropped. A self-spotting system would help eliminate the need to drop weights to the floor.

"team dumbbell bench"? Enlighten me about that term (what is it?).

 

[SgtSlaughter]

"team dumbbell bench" alone.

... I like throwing the 90's when I'm done with them

 

[safelifter]

Soooo, again, what is "team dumbbell bench"? I'm not familiar with that term.

sgtslaughter said:

... I like throwing the 90's when I'm done with them

hahaha guess you also like holes in your floor too

 

[SgtSlaughter]

hahaha guess you also like holes in your floor too

I use them for "below sea level" squating

 

[SgtSlaughter]

"team dumbbell bench"? Enlighten me about that term (what is it?).

I beleive it originated from this:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6186490&postcount=540

 

[petpre61]

all it takes is a db with power hooks and an additional safety bar at around the level of the usual turning point. If you cant get the weight up just go back and hook them on the safety bar. works perfect with me.

 

[Cynical Simian]

all it takes is a db with power hooks and an additional safety bar at around the level of the usual turning point. If you cant get the weight up just go back and hook them on the safety bar. works perfect with me.

That would be too sensible and simple.

lol, Sarge, that post explains team lifting quite well, but I doubt it originated there. Serious lifters have probably been mocking guys who make excessive use of "spotters" with phrases like that for decades.

After further consideration, I was wrong about dropping dumbbells being a viable option. As someone who has his home gym set up on marble flooring and likes to bench with expensive electronics and china sets in the rack, I feel I could really use a product like this.

 

[safelifter]

sgtslaughter said:

(regarding “team dumbbell bench”)

I beleive it originated from this:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6186490&postcount=540

Hmmm, I fail to see how that term applies to the rack I'm attempting to describe to everyone here (if in fact it originated on that thread and that's what it means). The rack has to do with handling dumbells in a safer way (confused as to how ?“team dumbbell bench” applies). BTW, that little story was quite a bit hilarious: ...They were actually curling the same 45 lb straight-bar together.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

petpre61 said:

all it takes is a db with power hooks and an additional safety bar at around the level of the usual turning point. If you cant get the weight up just go back and hook them on the safety bar. works perfect with me.

That “could” work for some who have certain particular rack designs that allow for the correct positioning of 2 barbell bars (something I'm not privy too).

However, the Power Hook has inherent design flaws that personally I'm not fond of. I bought them and found them a bit clunky. The power hook at times gets turned around facing the wrong direction which makes hooking it onto the bars more difficult or perhaps impossible (another design limitation). Secondly at times the hook bumps into the bar upon the pressing motion interfering with smooth pressing up of dumbells for DB bench presses. That shouldn't be a problem in this rack system design.

Power Hooks are definitely better than nothing and your system would help improve the dumbell situation though a number of people may not have access to a rack that holds 2 barbells (or they may simply not have 2 barbell bars at home). Just attempting to improve the mouse trap making it more effective and safe.

Cynical Simian said:

...I feel I could really use a product like this.

Thanks for the positive remark

...And thanks to everyone else too even if it's criticisms 'cause it lets me know what's in a lifter's mind when considering lifting aids.

Keep the comments coming