Will 4lbs mini dumbbells produce results?

ShadowMist124

I'm currently doing Jillian Michaels's 30 day shred, ripped in 30 and 6 weeks 6 packs, one of them every morn and night. I just bought a pair of mini dumbbells today, I lifted them before buying, 3lbs ones felt light, and the 5lbs ones did not seem quite right, so I bought the 4 lbs ones. I went home and tried them again and I didn't feel they were so very heavy except when I held them in certain positions. I've read about people saying 4lbs weights are practically nothing and will not do you good when it comes to toning. And many people started at 5 from what I read. The store just wouldn't take returns and they weren't cheap! Will 4lbs weights produce any difference? Experienced advice appreciated. Thanks!

P.S I'm female, 18, 5'5", 140.4lbs or 63.7kgs. I used to do JM workouts too in the past but I didn't give my all nor did I use any weights, contrary to her instructions.

weightliftingdiva

Someone will be along with science soon, but I have a feeling that the cardio benefits you get from those videos/weights will outweigh any muscle retention/gaining benefits you wish to achieve. Generally you have to pick up heavier things than that to retain/gain muscle.

smantha32

Any amount of weight is better than doing nothing. Eventually you'll probably find they're too light for you though.

TheGuardian

FYI, Dumbbells should be anywhere from $1 to $2 per pound, depending on if they are coated or not.

4lb weights are better than no weights, but you'll likely outgrow them extremely quickly on virtually every exercise even on very high numbers of reps (20+)

Use them for now, but keep an eye out on Kijiji for a used dumbbell set - they usually come with 5, 8, 10 lb dumbbells and a little stand, although the weight may vary.