Can a dumbbell routine be effective for building muscle?

jakepaul86

I would love to do a program like strong lifts or starting strength as i think these are the most effective workouts to get me to my goal, but money wise i cant invest in any new equipment right now. Can i still get results with a dumbbell routine? This is the one i was looking at...http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html goal is to gain musle and decrease body fat percentage. Thanks!

myofibril

Yes.

Resistance, time under tension and progressive overload can all be achieved with dumbbells.

Cyclink

As long as they are heavy enough, yes.

astrampe

Yes, it can...Go heavy or go home!:flowerforyou:
It's the weight you lift, not the shape of the weight.....It doesn't matter if it's two heavy weights with a short bar in between or two heavy weights with a long bar in between - in the end it's all about resistance and overload.....

DopeItUp

Arguably dumbbells can be even better due to the requirements of having to balance the weights in each hand (especially when it comes to overhead work like bench press or the press). Bench pressing a 200lb barbell for example is a pretty decent accomplishment but bench pressing 2x 100lb dumbbells is much, much harder.

But then again, trying to squat or deadlift heavy weights with DBs will be next to impossible. So a good mix of training is important

psuLemon

I did a bulk phase using dumbells and p90x. I gained 9lbs of muscle out of the 11 lbs of total weight. So yes, you can gain muscle with dumbells. Just make sure protein is adequate.

waldo56

You can effectively build muscles with bodyweight too.

Resistance is resistance. Apply progressive overload, sufficient loading volume, a calorie surplus, and enough protein, your mucles will grown. Where the resistance comes from is irrelevant.

My last bulking phase I gained >10 lbs muscle, and don't own a DB bigger than 35 lbs. Really don't use them much anyway.

SanDiegoCasey

You don't have a little gym near you for like $10/month or something? I need diversity, and change of routine. which means different equipment, and different weights. As chris rock said, you can drive a car with your feet if you want to, that don't make it a good freaking idea.

Also regarding the specific plan that you mentioned.. you would need more than just one set of dumbells, maybe if you got like the selecttech adjustable weight bells you could get away with it, but those are +$300 used on craigslist. One set of one weight will not work also they have you doing pullups, do you have a pullup bar?

You're not going to use the same dumbell weight to do shrugs with that you will use to do military presses or lateral shoulder raises. totally different weight, or even bench and curls, I would hope you're benching drastically more than you can curl.

Look into a cheap gym, ymca or something.

digitalbill

Back in the Army, most of my lifting workouts were done with Dumbbells simply because of the safety issue. (I could drop them and not get killed).
With the right workout, you can get very strong very quickly.

Flamenquero

Back in the Army, most of my lifting workouts were done with Dumbbells simply because of the safety issue. (I could drop them and not get killed).
With the right workout, you can get very strong very quickly.

Ditto.

Also I think the dumbells are more effective since there is more balancing that needs to be done than with a barbell. I prefer dumbells.

jakepaul86

Catch is i have a friend willing to lend me a set that goes up to fifty which is enough to get me started. Thanks!

astrampe

You don't need a gym - there are lots of lifting programs on the internet / in storesto keep you from getting bored...
The set that goes up to fifty should get you a long way....
As for pull-ups, I'm planning to start P90X after Christmas(finishing Chalean Xtreme then) and don't have a pull-up bar, but I got heavy resistance bands and a nifty little door attachment thingy, and the resistance bands pull-ups in the dvd looks like it will definitely do the same....
My "home gym" consists of a set of powerblocks (up to 50lbs), a bench, bands, and a kettlebell set (10, 15, 20 and 25lbs) - don't think you need too much if you want to concentrate on building muscle.....
Good luck!

SanDiegoCasey

Catch is i have a friend willing to lend me a set that goes up to fifty which is enough to get me started. Thanks!

If you have a set of DB's, that should give you a good start. You will need a flat bench though to really get the most use out of them.

You seem like you are a fairly big guy so I can tell you you will quickly need more than 50# for squats, shrugs, even Bench without doing sets of 20+. When you hit those kind of heavier lifts, be sure to put them towards the end of your workout so you're already worn out..

Depending on what type of workout you are doing, you may want to look into some of the full body workouts (lot available on MMA, crossfit, bootcamp sites) I think that will give you better results, tends to be more towards athletic muscle than show muscle, which may or may not be what you're looking for. If you're going in the PD (police department) Forrest Griffin (mma fighter) I'm sure would have been better equipped for his job than say Ronnie Coleman (Former 8X mr. Olympia) although both were cops.

flechero

Here is a good dumbbell only routine

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html

I have put on a significant amount of muscle with this routine. I've added inches to everything but my waistline. As long as you challange yourself and add weight as prescribed, you will build.

flechero

Catch is i have a friend willing to lend me a set that goes up to fifty which is enough to get me started. Thanks!

if you have an Academy sports or equivalent near you, you can get a standard 110 set with dumbbells for about $49. That will keep you going a while and buy another set to up weight or have a 2nd set of dumbbells at the ready so you don't have to change them with each exercise change.