Most people these days are quite familiar with the concept of a gym and lifting weights. In North America, there are gyms in almost every corner or block, especially if you are in a large city.

But did you know the ancient form of bodybuilding actually originates from India? That’s right! In 11^th century, Indians had started to carve out stones, in the shape of dumbbells, specifically for continuous lifting to grow stronger and bigger.

The ideal shape that people were trying to achieve was known as the “Grecian Ideal”. In ancient Greece, athletes used to train for their sport by various different exercises and one of these included carrying a calf on their back until the calf had fully grown into a bull. This was a way to measure their progression in strength, but this also gave them progressive resistance to perform better at their sport, which varied per athlete.

This further influenced Indians to aim to achieve the “look” of the athlete and therefore dumbbells were born!

So the next time you go to the gym, and pick up a dumbbell, make sure you smile and “own it”, knowing that your roots are tied to weights!

Here is also a sample typical Dumbbell Workout for you to start carving out YOUR desired shape.

Bicep Cruls

12 – 15 Reps and 4 sets

Tricep kickbacks

15 Reps and 4 Sets

Single Arm Back Row

12 Reps and 4 Sets

Chest Press

12-15 Reps and 4 Sets

Sumo Squats with Dumbbells

12 – 15 Reps and 4 Sets

Pendulum Lunge

12 – 15 Reps Per Leg and 3 Sets

Step ups with dumbells

15 Reps each leg and 3 Sets