Training with dumbbells is fun and highly effective at helping anyone lose fat, gain strength, and build muscle but it seems to be an overlooked choice of training these days. Many lifters usually prefer machines or barbells over dumbbell workouts. Look at the gym and you'll probably see the dumbbell rack full of untouched weights...pairs of dumbbells that haven't been used in a while. Sometimes the 5, 10, and 20 pounds dumbbells are used but the heavier ones are rarely ever touched.
And that's very unfortunate because dumbbells are superior to barbells and machines in many ways for achieving your fat loss and muscle building goals. It's an excellent choice for training to accomplish whatever body composition goals you have. Athletes can even benefit from some explosive dumbbell exercises that complements their sports-specific activities.
Let's take a look at some of the benefits of training with dumbbells. If you give yourself a convincing enough reason for doing dumbbell workouts, you'll find the motivation and initiative to start using these tools for your fitness and body composition goals. Once you know the advantages of dumbbells over any other piece of exercise equipment in the gym, you'll be more willing to switch over and try some dumbbell workouts for building muscle and losing fat.
In the next 2 parts of this series, you'll find out what I consider to be the best dumbbell exercises, for the purposes of body composition, and how you can use them in your workouts and routines. I'll present 8 dumbbell movements and show you how to incorporate them into a proper routine aimed specifically at building muscle/strength and losing fat.
So what are the advantages of dumbbell training? I can think of at least 6.
Benefits of Dumbbell Strength Training
Benefits of dumbbells are many. Acknowledge them. Embrace them. And start using dumbbells in your strength workouts.
1) Easily Accessible
You can easily build a home gym (see "build a home gym for your muscle building and fat loss workouts") with just a couple pairs of dumbbells as the main training tool. A pair of dumbbell allows you to do dozens of different dumbbell exercises. You don't need an entire set going from 5 to 50 lbs or higher. That'll cost a few hundred dollars and you don't need to put out such an investment unless you want to.
Instead, get a single pair of dumbbells to start with or better yet, get adjustable dumbbells where you can load your own weight plates onto the dumbbell bar. They've available in different width and thickness, ranging from 12-18 inches long and 1 to 2 inches thick.
If you have money, then spend the extra money for powerblocks. A pair of powerblocks allows you to adjust the weight from 5 to 50 plus pounds and it'll set you back $300. You get the entire db set with one pair. This saves space and money. Great tool. Consider getting a pair.
To complete your home gym, throw in a doorway chinup bar and you'll be able to get a full body strength and weight workout at home, without anything else. You can do dozens of different exercises and exercise variations with just a pair of dumbbells. No time wasted on a gym commute and waiting for your turn with the equipment and machines. No gym memberships. No hassles.
With dumbbells, easily access your gym in the comfort of your home.
2) Versatility
Dumbbells are versatile. They can be easily adapted to a variety of training situations. Train explosively with dumbbells to improve your stamina, flexibility, and endurance. Dumbbell strength training allows for explosive, endurance, and speed workouts. Train using high and low repetitions in different planes of motions with different exercises for building muscle and losing fat. Stand up and train with dbs. Lie down on the floor and do presses.
Do swings, snatches, split jerks, burpees, squats, and even pushups (T-pushups) with a pair of dumbbells.
There are dozens and dozens of different exercise variations you can do with dumbbells. It allows you to train multiple major muscle groups in one go (compound exercises). Many of the lifts are not technical. They're easy to learn. Group together 4-5 db movements together into a circuit and you will have a full body routine that's highly efficient for improving fitness, strength, conditioning, and overall health.
3) Exercise Variations
Off the top of my head, I can think of 27 different main and productive exercises (mostly compound movements) you can do with just a pair of dumbbells without using any other exercise equipment. Just the floor and your dumbbells. Each of the main movements contains several variations that potentially works the entire body.
Here are the movements,
- dumbbell thrusters (combination of a db squat and db shoulder press)
- db shoulder press
- db swing
- db snatch
- db clean and press
- db deadlift (also includes stiff leg deadlift with knees slightly bent to put more emphasis on the hamstrings)
- db lunges (alternate each leg or do one leg at a time)
- db t-pushups
- db floor press (can also be done on an olympic weight bench in various positions for a deeper full range of motion, ROM)
- db floor flys
- db rows
- one arm db rows
- db bench rows
- db curls (includes regular curls, concentration curls, incline curls, hammer curls, and alternating curls all working your grip and biceps)
- db split jerk
- db push press ( you can go really heavy with these, great for building explosive strength in athletes )
- db upright rows
- db arnold press (considered a variation of the shoulder press where you turn your palms in on the eccentric portion of the lift)
- db single leg squats (pistols)
- db full squats
- db burpees ( usually done with only bodyweight but using dumbbells provides extra resistance making the movement much tougher )
- db calf raises
- db crunches
- db twists and rotations
- db v-ups (use a db for added resistance throughout the movement )
- db plank hold
- db shrugs ( perhaps the best shrugging movement for building your traps muscles and strengthening your grip)
Here's a clip of a sample dumbbell workout from Zach Even of Real Man Strength,
You can do each movement with one arm for the upper body (unilateral) or one leg with the lower body on many of the shoulder pressing and squat movements listed, provided you have the balance, strength, flexibility, and stability. Majority of these lifts also works the entire body.
4) Quick Workouts
As I said above, dumbbells offer versatility and the option of doing quick workouts using the high intensity interval method. See "Lose more fat by lifting weights" and "HIIT workouts for fat loss." High intensity interval workouts allows you to alternate exercise of very high intensity for brief periods followed by brief periods of very low intensity exercise and rest.
For purposes of dumbbells, you can pick a series of 4-8 exercises and string them together into one circuit. If you prefer even shorter workouts or if you're short on time but want a high quality strength workout, pick 2 exercises, one for the upper body and one for the lower body, and do them back to back for 5 sets. You have a full body workout right there.
Here's a 2-exercise circuit with dumbbells that I've used as a quick workout,
- db thruster
- db crunches
There are 2 exercises here: db thruster and db crunches. Repeat for 5 sets of 10 each. Do each exercise one after the other without resting. Then rest for 1-2 minutes and repeat the set. The workout takes around 12-15 minutes to complete. The dumbbell thruster is a full body movement since you're combining a squat and shoulder press together. The db crunches works the abs. Just place the db on your chest and crunch up. This adds resistance to make the basic crunch tougher.
If you have some experience with explosive lifting, then you can try,
- db burpees
- db crunches
You can use 3, 4, 5, or more db lifts into a circuit. You can even combine bodyweight exercises into the mix. The above routine is missing a back exercise so you could throw in chinups or pullups using just your body weight. You'll need a doorway chinup bar for this.
Here's a sample 4 exercise circuit that works the entire body,
- db floor press 12 reps
- db bent over rows 12 reps
- db v-ups 15 reps
- db thruster 10 reps
Do each exercise one after another without resting more than 20 seconds in between. This completes one circuit. Then rest 1 minute and repeat the cicuit for a total of 4 times. The floor press works your triceps, chest, and shoulders. The bent over rows works your entire back and grip/forearms. The v-ups is an abdominal movement that stresses ab flexion and extension. And the db thruster is a combination of a full body squat and shoulder press. It's a full body movement.
You can finish this routine with this full body lift for a more enhanced muscle building and/or fat loss effect. Simple routine. Highly effective. Quick and efficient. It only takes 12 minutes maximum.
If you don't want to work your entire body at once, split upper and lower body into different training sessions. A routine that works only the upper body might look something like this,
- db arnold press 8 reps
- db one arm rows 10 reps
- db crunches 20 reps
- db hammer curls 10 reps
And here's a routine that works the lower body (legs, calves)
- db lunges 10 reps each leg
- db calf raises 20 reps
- db squats 15 reps
String both workouts into circuits if you want or do straight sets.
You see that dumbbell workouts offers a very flexible medium of training...branching out into more diverse workouts using little equipment. You can do quick db workouts in under 15 or 20 minutes if you do it right. These workouts are high intensity. Great for fat loss. Great for building muscle if you're short on time.
Here's a full youtube video (courtesy of "inshideru") that further explains the versatility and options you have for structuring dumbbell workouts at home or in the gym,
5) Stabilization and Balance
Dumbbell training works the underlying stabilizer muscles of the body. Stabilizer muscles are responsible for getting you stronger and more resistant to injuries. They strengthen bones, ligaments, and surrounding connective tissues of the musclo-skeletal system. Ask yourself, why wouldn't you want to get stronger? Dumbbells offers a good opportunity to get stronger.
You'll look like you actually work out if you are as strong as you look.
You'll look "toned", trim, lean, and athletically fit rather than "soft." Compare the professional fitness models (the ones you see in workout videos and fitness magazine covers; Denise Austin, Taye Digs) to Richard Simmons.
Who would you want to look like?
Lifting weights creates tension in your muscles, priming your muscles, and increases myogenic tone. For guys, they'll look slightly pumped even when their muscles are relaxing and not flexing. For the ladies, they'll look slimmer as muscle takes up less space than fat per inch of space.
You also get the chance of building more muscle and this is always a plus for both guys and girls. Girls with more muscles will actually look slimmer since muscle burns fat. For guys, they'll be able to build even more muscle with dumbbells.
6) Body Composition
You're able to build more muscle and lose more fat with dumbbell workouts. Dumbbells are resistance tools. And resistance is a must for building muscle. Even if your goal is not to build muscle, you'll be able to maintain whatever muscle mass you have, which preserves metabolism for purposes of fat loss. A higher metabolism means you will burn more calories per hour, shedding more fat in less time.
I always recommend some form of resistance training for anyone looking to lose weight (check out the series on "Losing fat by lifting weights.") Strength workouts with resistance (dumbbells, barbells, body weight exercises, and free weights) encourages natural HGH production and fat burning enzymes to speed up metabolism which helps you burn more fat in the long run. You will also get stronger, improve your posture and physical fitness/conditioning levels.
Further, dumbbell workouts will help you get stronger for bodybuilding purposes. Dumbbell training offers a nice change of pace of training and a break from barbell workouts. Some lifters tend to have the mindset that using a barbell is their only option to building muscle with weight training. But dumbbells are just as, if not, more effective at building lean mass. If you can work your way up to handling very heavy poundages with dumbbells, you'll build plenty of muscle mass.
So now that you know the many different benefits of dumbbell training, let's move on to what I consider the best dumbbell exercises for your strength workouts in "The Ultimate Dumbbell Training Guide- part 2." You'll find some brief instructions to performing each db lift.
Train Hard. Train Safely. Train Smart.
If you have any questions, comments or input you want to add to this article, don't hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com
photo credits:
mela sogono
jontunn
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