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Dumbbell
Exercises
Dumbbell Weight Training
What exactly are dumbbell exercises?
For that matter, what
exactly are dumbbells?
Well, a dumbbell, not to be confused
with
the slang term you may use for some people, is a piece of weight
training equipment and
is considered a type of free weight. These weights help provide
additional resistance which helps build lean muscle mass - in other
words - strengthening exercises.
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Types
of Dumbbells
There
are two basic types of dumbbells; 1) Adjustable dumbbells and 2) Fixed
Weight Dumbbells. The adjustable dumbbells, as the name
indicates, can be adjusted to be heavier or lighter. It has a
metal bar where weight can be added or removed.
Fixed
dumbbells are a static weight and cannot be adjusted. You can
generally buy fixed dumbbell weights in a set, with various weight
sizes in the set. For instance, a set may include a pair of
2lb
weights, 3 lb weights and 5 lb weights.
Types
of Dumbbell
Exercises
Since
dumbbells are held in your hand, the most common use of dumbbells are
to exercise the upper body. This would include shoulder
exercises, back exercises, chest exercises and arm exercises for the
biceps, triceps, etc.
However, dumbbell exercises are
also great for the lower body. Exercises like the lunge or
squats
can be done while holding the dumbbells. This adds the extra
weight and resistance to really work the legs and glutes. I
love
glute exercises and refer to these types of exercises as my butt
blasters.
Generally, any exercise you can do on the floor, you
can add weight by holding the dumbbells. This way, all your
exercises can become dumbbell exercises. |
Benefits
of Dumbbell Exercises
One of the advantages of dumbbell exercises is
convenience. You can perform these exercises at the gym or in
the comfort of your own home. It is a very inexpensive way
for strength training the entire body and can be easily stored taking
up very little space.
From arms to calves, dumbbells give you a great way to strength train
all your muscle groups.
Unlike barbells, which only give you one range of motion for the
muscles, using dumbbells, you get a variety of ranges, working various
areas of the muscle.
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Using
dumbbells also helps with developing your lagging side of the
body, if you have one. Often people will have one arm or leg
that is stronger than the other, therefore when doing strength training
with a barbell, it is the predominately the stronger muscle that is
doing
more of the work.
However, with dumbbells, you will work both
sides equally as each arm or leg would be worked independently. |
Disadvantages
The one disadvantage to using dumbbells is that you may outgrow the
weight. Basically, as you improve on your strength training,
you may need to move up to more weight to continue
strengthening. You can buy dumbbells that allow for
additional
weight to be added (adjustable dumbbells) or you could try holding two
dumbbells at
one time to increase the weight.
How
It's Done
Many of
the dumbbell exercises can be performed standing up or sitting
down. However, some will require you to lay down on a bench,
so a weight bench or similar surface will be required.
With any strength training exercises, ensuring that you are doing the
exercise properly is critical for a couple of reasons. One,
it will minimize risk of injury and two, you will strengthen the muscle
correctly, targeting the correct muscles.
This site will eventually have illustrations and
instructions on how to use the dumbbells and how to perform specific
exercises. In the meantime, I've provided a couple of links
below to some sites that have valuable information on
dumbbells and illustrations on how to perform each exercise.
Free Fitness Video Demonstrations
using Dumbbells
Here on this site you can find instructions
and free fitness videos of several dumbbell
exercises for the upper
body and lower body.
In addition to dumbbell exercises for strength training, check out the
pros and cons of resistance band exercises.
Related
Articles
Benefits
of Warming Up and Cooling Down
Before you start your dumbbell workout be sure to warm up and cool
down. Find out how you can benefit from a good warm up and cool down.
20
Minute Dumbbell Workout
If you have got the time, then visit this page and get a 20 minute
strengthening routine using dumbbell weights.
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