Dumbells & Abs exercises

TRD66

Been on here for four months now and have, thankfully, done quite well. I do a lot of cardio which has helped me loose weight but want to work on specific areas of the body (I know I can't target calories - I'm looking at shape, muscle etc).

I want to start doing some dumbell exercises to work the arms and upper torso and also want do so abs work (crunches, planks, etc), but I don't know where to start with programs.

Does anyone have a program that works for them, or a website they found useful where I can get some good ideas?

Any help in getting going would be appreciated

beachlover317

http://www.nerdfitness.com/workouts/

I started with Nerd Fitness. Lots of body weight work and some dumbbells. I now lift heavy, but this really helped me get stronger initially. Free programs, too. Good luck..

Scheerske

It is better to train the entire body instead of zones. How much time a week do you have to train?

tigersword

You Are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren. No dumbbells needed.

TRD66

Training time is very flexible at the moment, but it would generally be in the evenings. Kids and work limit time available, as does 10K training at the moment.

The reason I chose the areas I did are becuase those need attention - I get lots of leg work from running and cycling already, plus swim at least once a week, but really need to work on the upper body strength and the abs.

RGv2

Training time is very flexible at the moment, but it would generally be in the evenings. Kids and work limit time available, as does 10K training at the moment.

The reason I chose the areas I did are becuase those need attention - I get lots of leg work from running and cycling already, plus swim at least once a week, but really need to work on the upper body strength and the abs.

Very few with nice midsections actually don't do isolated ab exercises. I can't remember the last time I did. You'd see better results from a full body routine that has compound movements.

Scheerske

If you don't do cardio on these days you can do them in about an hour.

I usually try to go 3 times a week and rotate with 3 schedules.

Day1: Chest & Triceps
Day2: Back & Biceps
Day3: Shoulders and Abbs
Day4: chest & triceps
....

Chest,back & shoulders 4 exercises
Biceps, Triceps & abbs 3 excercises

Then you have to see
If you want strength you have to do less then 5 repetitions and go heavy in weight.
If you want more mass you can do 12-10-8 repetitions.
with abbs you can always do about 20

My sched used to be:
Chest
Incline bench press
Dumbell flyes
Dumbell press
Machine press

Back
Deadlift
Lat Pull Down
Bend over row
cable row


Shoulders
Seated Barbell Press
Dumbell Front raise
Dumbell Side raise
Seated Arnold Press


Biceps
Preacher
Arm Curls
Hammer Curls

Triceps
Dips
Skullcrusher
Cable Tricep Extension

Abbs
Machine Crunch
legg raises
Side bend

RGv2

^^^ No planks, pushups, other compound movements?

InForBacon

Training time is very flexible at the moment, but it would generally be in the evenings. Kids and work limit time available, as does 10K training at the moment.

The reason I chose the areas I did are becuase those need attention - I get lots of leg work from running and cycling already, plus swim at least once a week, but really need to work on the upper body strength and the abs.

Very few with nice midsections actually do isolated ab exercises. I can't remember the last time I did. You'd see better results from a full body routine that has compound movements.

QFT

just_Jennie1

How much time do you have and do you have access to a gym?

I work one muscle group a day and alternate abs and legs. For example: Monday- chest/abs Tuesday - Back/Legs etc. (I also start out with 30 min. of cardio before as well).

As for abs: they're made in the gym, refined in the kitchen. Isolation exercises are great for strengthening the core which supports the lower back. I'm not of the mindset that isolation exercises are crap. Hell, I have a friend who's an athlete who does isolation exercises and he's pretty dang rock solid (and before anyone jumps in here I KNOW that his wash board has more to do with the way he eats. My point is that he does isolation exercises, is a huge fan of them, and also has the abs to show).

Any way, planks are excellent. I do regular planks, side planks, side planks with dips. Crunches, bicycles, weighted side bends (ONE weight), captains chair, the ab crunch machine thingy, leg lifts on the bench, decline crunches . . . .

RGv2

Training time is very flexible at the moment, but it would generally be in the evenings. Kids and work limit time available, as does 10K training at the moment.

The reason I chose the areas I did are becuase those need attention - I get lots of leg work from running and cycling already, plus swim at least once a week, but really need to work on the upper body strength and the abs.

whoops.

JoRocka

If you don't do cardio on these days you can do them in about an hour.

I usually try to go 3 times a week and rotate with 3 schedules.

Day1: Chest & Triceps
Day2: Back & Biceps
Day3: Shoulders and Abbs
Day4: chest & triceps
....

Chest,back & shoulders 4 exercises
Biceps, Triceps & abbs 3 excercises

Then you have to see
If you want strength you have to do less then 5 repetitions and go heavy in weight.
If you want more mass you can do 12-10-8 repetitions.
with abbs you can always do about 20

My sched used to be:
Chest
Incline bench press
Dumbell flyes
Dumbell press
Machine press

Back
Deadlift
Lat Pull Down
Bend over row
cable row


Shoulders
Seated Barbell Press
Dumbell Front raise
Dumbell Side raise
Seated Arnold Press


Biceps
Preacher
Arm Curls
Hammer Curls

Triceps
Dips
Skullcrusher
Cable Tricep Extension

Abbs
Machine Crunch
legg raises
Side bend

BAW HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAH

OP- whatever you do. Don't. Do This.

Not saying these exercises themselves are bad- but seriously.

There are NO legs in here. What so ever.

No dead lift
no squats
no hammystring curls
no lunges
no bulgarian split squats
No OHP
NO Overhead Squat/Lunge

Remember - friends don't let friends skip let day. I know you want an upper body focused routine- but DON"T do all upper body.

I only train "upper" 1-x2 a week. And it's 'light'... the focus on the back is heavier than the focus on the front- but that has to do with injury not personal preference. My upper body looks damn fabulous.

Squats/Front squats/Overhead Squat
dead lifts
squat and press

all great compound movements.

You're ab definition comes from diet- I rarely do "abs" I do them when I'm bored or feel like I need an extra kick in the pants. But trust me- once you start pulling 1.5-2x your body weight off the floor and you're squat is into the triple digits- you get ab work.

Ab work is fun... but it's not needed- and it doesn't need to be done every day... and it also needs to be balanced with back work (Super man's are great for this)

RGv2

If you don't do cardio on these days you can do them in about an hour.

I usually try to go 3 times a week and rotate with 3 schedules.

Day1: Chest & Triceps
Day2: Back & Biceps
Day3: Shoulders and Abbs
Day4: chest & triceps
....

Chest,back & shoulders 4 exercises
Biceps, Triceps & abbs 3 excercises

Then you have to see
If you want strength you have to do less then 5 repetitions and go heavy in weight.
If you want more mass you can do 12-10-8 repetitions.
with abbs you can always do about 20

My sched used to be:
Chest
Incline bench press
Dumbell flyes
Dumbell press
Machine press

Back
Deadlift
Lat Pull Down
Bend over row
cable row


Shoulders
Seated Barbell Press
Dumbell Front raise
Dumbell Side raise
Seated Arnold Press


Biceps
Preacher
Arm Curls
Hammer Curls

Triceps
Dips
Skullcrusher
Cable Tricep Extension

Abbs
Machine Crunch
legg raises
Side bend

BAW HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAH

OP- whatever you do. Don't. Do This.

Not saying these exercises themselves are bad- but seriously.

There are NO legs in here. What so ever.

No dead lift
no squats
no hammystring curls
no lunges
no bulgarian split squats
No OHP
NO Overhead Squat/Lunge

Remember - friends don't let friends skip let day. I know you want an upper body focused routine- but DON"T do all upper body.

I only train "upper" 1-x2 a week. And it's 'light'... the focus on the back is heavier than the focus on the front- but that has to do with injury not personal preference. My upper body looks damn fabulous.

Squats/Front squats/Overhead Squat
dead lifts
squat and press

all great compound movements.

You're ab definition comes from diet- I rarely do "abs" I do them when I'm bored or feel like I need an extra kick in the pants. But trust me- once you start pulling 1.5-2x your body weight off the floor and you're squat is into the triple digits- you get ab work.

Ab work is fun... but it's not needed- and it doesn't need to be done every day... and it also needs to be balanced with back work (Super man's are great for this)

^^^Agreed. I re-read the OP. I thought I read you didn't want to do legs (due to the cardio, I would have disagreed, but that's not the point). After re-reading and not seeing that, this is a great reply full of good advice.

chani8

Push ups.

JoRocka

^^^Agreed. I re-read the OP. I thought I read you didn't want to do legs (due to the cardio, I would have disagreed, but that's not the point). After re-reading and not seeing that, this is a great reply full of good advice.

aw thanks!

Yeah OP definitely said they already had "lower" handled with cycling- but IMHO- if you are going to lift and even more so ESPECIALLY if you are going to only life a few times- like just 2 or 3 and it isn't your main focus- that's even BIGGER justification for doing less of a body part splitting and more of a compound movement based work out. If you lift "upper" you definitely should life "lower" cycling isn't the same as lifting.



Seriously. OP you only lift 1-2x a week and your focus is else where- wouldn't you rather get the most bang for your buck? Doing a full body part split is for people who train to be- you know- body builders. They are detailing each muscle.

If you're goal is to be fit- and strong- do strong- compound movements. Again- more bang for the buck- less time wasted.

tigersword

How much time do you have and do you have access to a gym?

I work one muscle group a day and alternate abs and legs. For example: Monday- chest/abs Tuesday - Back/Legs etc. (I also start out with 30 min. of cardio before as well).

As for abs: they're made in the gym, refined in the kitchen. Isolation exercises are great for strengthening the core which supports the lower back. I'm not of the mindset that isolation exercises are crap. Hell, I have a friend who's an athlete who does isolation exercises and he's pretty dang rock solid (and before anyone jumps in here I KNOW that his wash board has more to do with the way he eats. My point is that he does isolation exercises, is a huge fan of them, and also has the abs to show).

Any way, planks are excellent. I do regular planks, side planks, side planks with dips. Crunches, bicycles, weighted side bends (ONE weight), captains chair, the ab crunch machine thingy, leg lifts on the bench, decline crunches . . . .

Isolation exercises are fine for athletes who are already in fantastic shape and are looking to build up weaker areas and maintain muscle balance. For the average person that isn't an athlete, isolation exercises take up valuable training time that will be much more efficiently used by compound lifts.

Example: bench press. When done correctly the bench press works the chest, shoulders, lats, abs, triceps, biceps (eccentric,) back, and even legs (strong leg drive is essential to a proper bench press.) In 15 minutes you can knock out 3 sets of heavy bench presses and get in work on every major body part. Same with Deadlifts. Doing a routine with bench and deadlifts will two roughly half an hour. To work all those muscle groups with isolation work, you'd probably need 2 hours.

Isolation work is great for working on specific weak points, but absolutely should never be used to build a routine around them.

Confuzzled4ever

So i had a free appointment with a trainer yesterday. he had me doing assisted pull ups and chin ups (hanging off the basketball hoop with elastic bands), farmers walks, sled pushes and pulls, front laded squat thrusts, squat thrusts with a ball, crunches and sit up throws. He also made me run around the gym a few times. He said he'd also add in pushups and other core-focus exercises, but since I already know how to do them, he wanted to show me something new.

So maybe that stuff? My goal is to reduce body fat percentage and overall strength.