Lifting Dumbbells

saraht135

Hi there

I would really like to tone up my stomach and also my arms. I have heard that lifting weights is the key to this. For anyone who has used and has experience with dumbbells would this help me to achieve this? ( I dont want to go to the gym to use their equipment)

I have looked in a shop and tried out 2kg (about 4.4 pound) and 3kg (about 6.6 pound according to google convert haha). The 3kg ones seem a bit harder so are probably the ones I would go for.

Does anyone have any advice, tips or tricks for me? Thanks so much

toddis

Do push-ups, save money

KarenJanine

Do push-ups, save money

Do this. And use the money you've saved to buy a pull-up bar to give yourself a total body workout. You probably carry around a bag that weighs around 3kg so you wont achieve much with weights that light.

gizzygirlatheart

I LOVE dumbbells, they really help with definition and giving your workout that little bit extra. But you don't NEED them. You could just get large bottle of water and use those to lift - fill them with either water or sand. Get a bottle that is contoured to give you good grip

Tricep_A_Tops

Dumbbells are the most effective and versatile peice of equipment you can have or use.

obsidianwings

Dumbbells are great, but small ones like that aren't really going to go that far IMO. I would suggest getting some kind of adjustable set so you can move up in weight as needed, and also as you will most likely need a different weight for each exercise.

Yogi_Carl

I have been doing push-ups and working on pullups (can't do one yet, but working on negatives) and I absolutely love it. It's like being a kid in the playground again only this time I'm 52!

I did buy adjustable dumbells with plates up to 50K total so my workouts can include dumbbell shoulder presses and split squats, but apart from that, my whole body routine is bodyweight exercises.

The other activities I do involve my whole body working together so it is more natural for me to work bodyweight resistance rather than use weights. Why not try that and see how you progress and then buy in some dumbbells if you find you want them.

- and definitely a pullup bar, they're great fun!

kimothy38

Adjustable DBs are a great idea because once your body gets used to the weight you're using you need to change it up - either more weight or more reps. I wouldn't bother with DBs less than 10kg - too easy. I use 15kg for chest press and 10 or 12.5 for lunges. I'm really happy with the shape it has given arms, shoulders and chest. Go hard!

kiekie

I'd also like to start lifting at home and hope to be able to get an adjustable set up to 24lbs (power block).

Can anyone suggest an at-home programme or source of info that would be good for both me and the OP?

I really want to start NROL4W but I'm a complete beginner and want to get into it before I buy a gym membership. I also have a young daughter so would prefer to start at home.

Tedebearduff

Hi there

I would really like to tone up my stomach and also my arms. I have heard that lifting weights is the key to this. For anyone who has used and has experience with dumbbells would this help me to achieve this? ( I dont want to go to the gym to use their equipment)

I have looked in a shop and tried out 2kg (about 4.4 pound) and 3kg (about 6.6 pound according to google convert haha). The 3kg ones seem a bit harder so are probably the ones I would go for.

Does anyone have any advice, tips or tricks for me? Thanks so much

Youtube is your friend tons of fitness channels just search arm work out or bi/tri work outs ect.

Yogi_Carl

Have a look at "You are your own gym" - book or e-book available with fantastic homr or anywhere exercises and routines explained. I bought a copy and can really recommend it.

obsidianwings

I'd also like to start lifting at home and hope to be able to get an adjustable set up to 24lbs (power block).

Can anyone suggest an at-home programme or source of info that would be good for both me and the OP?

I really want to start NROL4W but I'm a complete beginner and want to get into it before I buy a gym membership. I also have a young daughter so would prefer to start at home.

I workout at home, i'm just finishing up NROL4W, I think it is a really good programme to start on.

californiagirl2012

Hi there

I would really like to tone up my stomach and also my arms. I have heard that lifting weights is the key to this. For anyone who has used and has experience with dumbbells would this help me to achieve this? ( I dont want to go to the gym to use their equipment)

I have looked in a shop and tried out 2kg (about 4.4 pound) and 3kg (about 6.6 pound according to google convert haha). The 3kg ones seem a bit harder so are probably the ones I would go for.

Does anyone have any advice, tips or tricks for me? Thanks so much

I love doing full body workouts with dumbells! You can do it at home. Get a variety of dumbbells, you will need bigger ones for your legs, and a bench. I know lots of women who do this at home. We do a few body weight exercises like pushups and dips but the problem with all body weight exercises is that as you get stronger all you can do is MORE and this leads to over use injuries.

On the fat loss. You have no control over where you lose the fat. It's all about calories. Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.


Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.




Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

I used to do the same ol routine for years and years, basically 8 exercises, splits, 10-12 reps, 4 sets, over and over year after year. It gave me a good base but didn't do much for my shape until I lost the fat (calories!) and learned to change up my routines.

I can't give you the routines I use because I didn't write them and it would be a copywrite violation, but here are some ideas that can help you. You can search for most of them on YouTube. There are a bunch of free workouts on bodybuilding.com and all over the internet if you are willing to take the time to research. Anyway an all body workout is best and constantly changing it up, here's a summary, not all these exercises are done the same day, I just tried to summarize the variety;

The routine I do consists of weight lifting first and cardio second, but I still do cardio (mainly running). I change up everything all the time. My running is sometimes long easy runs, sometimes HIIT, sometimes shorter medium pace runs. My weight routine changes each day, each week, Circuits, Intermittent Super Sets, Fibonacci Pyramids, X-sets, Progress Venus Pyramids, and some splits, constantly changing it up, everything a variety of Strength, Hypertrophy, and Endurance.

Legs; In addition to Deadlift's, Stiff Leg Dead Lifts, Sumo Dead Lifts and Squats I do Bulgarian Split Squats, Lunges, Reverse lunges, Curtsey lunges, Step Ups, Crossover Bench Step Ups, One legged Deadlifts (T-Bend), Lunge Matrix, Bowler Squat, One Legged Get Ups, Bower Squat and Calf Raise, Bowler Squat + Stiff Leg Deadlift, Curtsey Lunge + Dumbbell Squat, T-Bend + Y-Squat, Reverse Lunge & Step Up, Curtsey Lunge + Step Up, Y-squat, Narrow Stance Squat

For upper body I do Standing Shoulder Press, Standing Dumbell Curls, Lying Tricep extension, Pullovers, Bent Barbell Row, Standing lateral Raise, Standing front Raise, Curl and Press, Shoulder Press + Curl, Dips, Lying Tricep Extensions + Flyes, Venus Raise (a type of snatch), Bent Row + Standing Lateral Raise, Pullovers, Pushup + Dips, Standing Dumbbell curls + Overhead Tricep Extension, Bent Lateral Raise + Pullovers, One Arm Dumbbell row, Flyes + Pushups, Seated Curl & Tate Press, Seated Curls + Overhead Tricep Extension, Pushups, Pullovers + Dips, Bent Barbell Row, Lateral Raise + Full Front Raise, Venus Raise + Dips, Standing Dumbbell curls + Lying Tricep Extension, Upright Row + Dips, Bent Barbell Row, Flat bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Bent Row Narrow, Bent Row + Kickback,

Then some upper and lower combos; Squat and Front Raise, Step Up & Press, Step Up + Standing Shoulder Press, Squat & Press, Squat & Swing, Curtsy Lunge + Standing Shoulder Pres, T-Bend & Row, Pike Front Rais + Curtsey Lunge, Flat Bench Press + Step Up.

Core: Bar Bell Rollouts (you can start out with Stability Ball Roll Outs), Swiss Ball Pikes (you can start out with Stability Ball Curl Ups), and planks. As you advance Swiss Ball Pike and pushup.

I probably forgot some but you get the idea.

Wishing you the best! -Bobbie

Mighty_Rabite

If I had to make my top three recommendations for at-home exercise equipment.. pull up bar, push up stands (this is more optional but they are easier on your wrists if you have issues and you get more range of motion), and [preferably adjustable] dumbbells.

When I first started getting dumbbells, I started off with 15 and 20lb sets, but I eventually wanted/needed to add in heavier ones. The light ones are great for some moves and shadow boxing (if you do that, don't bang your joints!), but you will probably ultimately want heavier ones as well.

obsidianwings

Yeah pull up bars are great. I got my pull up bar and the 20kg dumbell set I started with from trademe. They often do $1 reserve auctions so you just have to keep an eye out and be patient to get a good deal.

ReinasWrath

Jut be sure to increase the weights after a while. If you don't your progress will flat line.

astrampe

I'd also like to start lifting at home and hope to be able to get an adjustable set up to 24lbs (power block).

Can anyone suggest an at-home programme or source of info that would be good for both me and the OP?

I really want to start NROL4W but I'm a complete beginner and want to get into it before I buy a gym membership. I also have a young daughter so would prefer to start at home.

I started with powerblocks and a book called "Smart girls do dumbells"... At home....

I would suggest getting the heavier powerblocks - I have been doing this for six months and is currently in the push month of Chalean Xtreme - and I use 35lbs for the lower body sets where she is only using 30 lbs....

And I'm sure I'll be able to move up to 37.5 within the next couple of weeks. The heavier set of powerblocks is not that much more expensive, and then you have the option to get the add ons later if needed...My set goes up to 50lbs .
I've looked at the NROLW but don't have space for barbells and just love Chalean xtreme (for now!) and dumbells are extremely versatile...

triathlete5301

bump