DID YOU
REALIZE THAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH A VERY EFFECTIVE WEIGHT TRAINING
WORKOUT WITH NOTHING MORE THAN A PAIR OF ADJUSTABLE DUMBBELLS ? |
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Yes,
you can get a thorough and complete workout with dumbbells. They
obviously take up much less room than either a home gym, or a full
blown weight bench setup. They are great for someone who has little
room to spare, (College dorm rooms, or small apartments come
immediately to mind), or someone who tends to move, or lead a less than
stabilized existence, (physically speaking of course).
SO MUCH FOR INCREASING STRENGTH,
RIGHT ? |
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Obviously,
you will not be able to go for any super heavy lifts using a set of
dumbbells, but don't think that means you can't successfuly stress your
muscles with an all-dumbbell workout. Think excellent form, slow
deliberate rep speeds, and really concentrate on the targeted muscle.
The mind-body link isn't totally just a bunch of touchy feely liberal
crap, it can actually work. Resistance training isn't just about total
poundage of weight lifted. The range of motion and rep-speed impact the
effect on your muscles every bit as much as weight, so go for quality,
not just quantity when using dumbbells.
Most
people have a tendency to be a little stronger in their dominant side.
This is fairly normal, and should not be much of a concern, unless it
is a large difference. If this is the case, then dumbbells just may be
the perfect solution, for upper body especially. With dumbbells you can
preform uni-lateral, (one handed, or one sided), exercises. This
eliminates any help from the stronger side, and forces the lagging side
to catch up.
SOME EXAMPLES
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For legs, use exercises like lunges, dumbbell squats, stiff legged dead lifts, and step-ups, among others.
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For chest, dumbbell bench presses, (flat, inclined, or declined), and flyes (flat, inclined, or declined).
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For back, dumbbell rows, (uni-, or bi-laterally), and pullovers.
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For shoulders, dumbbell presses, (seated or standing), lateral raises, (front, side, and back), and upright rows.
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For biceps literally all the curling motions lend themselves very well to dumbbell applications, and some actually work only with dumbbells.
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For triceps, overhead raises, kickbacks, and french presses.
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For calves, one or two legged calf raises.
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For forearms, wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, and even hammer curls.
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HERE IS A SAMPLE OF A GOOD DUMBBELL WORKOUT
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ABS
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LEGS
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CHEST
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BACK
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SHOULDERS
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BICEPS
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TRICEPS
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CALVES
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FOREARMS
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SO THERE YOU GO !
You have accomplished an entire full body workout without ever lifting a barbell !
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