Best/most effective exercises using dubbells?

Weebs628
Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So, I've been lifting for about 2 weeks (newbie!) and have been using mostly the machines thus far. Well, I've been slowly incorporating dumbbells into my upper body workouts and want to eventually not use machines for upper body. The problem is I don't know the best and/or most effect workouts using dumbbells. Today I did bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, rows (bent over), overhead press and dumbbell bench press. Are there any others that are better or could I combine some of these moves to make for a shorter workout? Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    Large compound movements like squats and deadlifts
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    I don't know if I'd really recommend this per se, as I much prefer the barbell now. But when I first started it was dumbbells only. This was my routine

    upper body day
    bench press
    flys
    rows
    overhead press
    lateral arm raises
    skull crushers
    bench dips
    curls

    lower body day
    dumbbell squats
    lunges
    sldl
    calf raises
    ab work

    To be perfectly honest, I made more strength gains in the first month of compound lifting with the barbell than I did in 1.5 years of all this isolation work.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Lunges
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Reverse Foot Elevated Split Squat.


    You're Welcome.
  • anitamiron
    anitamiron Posts: 73 Member
    I like following Body Beast, Chalean Extreme or p90x for weightlifting. It helps me with form.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    The only weightlifting I do is with my 5lb weights in Jillian DVDs (so really nothing haha) but the other day I did squats while holding 10 lb dumbbells up so that each dumbbell was by my ear and it was CRAZY hard. My heart rate shot up. I did 10 and then I couldn't do anymore. I did 11 today. I feel like it's really working a lot of muscle groups. Have you tried that?
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    The only weightlifting I do is with my 5lb weights in Jillian DVDs (so really nothing haha) but the other day I did squats while holding 10 lb dumbbells up so that each dumbbell was by my ear and it was CRAZY hard. My heart rate shot up. I did 10 and then I couldn't do anymore. I did 11 today. I feel like it's really working a lot of muscle groups. Have you tried that?

    Squats rule! Keep it up. next time you can do 15 and the time after that 20... you'll be squatting 100 lbs in no time :)
  • dantrick
    dantrick Posts: 369 Member
    This workout by Dr. Jim Stoppani uses a lot of free weights. it is a 12 week program (free) with videos of each exercise so you perform them correctly. it will take from a full body workout to a 4 day split in phase 4 (the one i'm currently in). Give it a read.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beginner-to-advanced-bodybuilder-in-12-weeks.html

    Edit: it also includes PDF's of each phase for tracking and how many reps per exercise with how much rest in between.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Look up the Spartacus Workouts using dumbbells on youtube. They were originally created for Men's Health magazine. Best things you can do with dumbbells that aren't super heavy =)
  • KBjimAZ
    KBjimAZ Posts: 369 Member
    Although it's a favorite of the kettlebell community, the goblet squat can be done with a dumbell as well. Tons of examples available on youtube.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Dumbbells are great for some exercises, Machines work good for others, and barbells work best for some of the compound movements. The nice thing about dumbbells, and machines is that you can do them without a spotter, the bad thing is that it is harder to make real good strength gains with dumbbells. lifts like squats, deadlifts, and power cleans are hard to do with dumbbells because it is hard to find heavy enough dumbbells to do them, or grip strength will fail before the muscle you are intending to work fails. That being said, sometimes you can make up for it with single leg workouts, and some bodybuilders prefer certain dumbbell lifts to their barbell counterparts. I've seen many who prefer dumbbell rows over barbell rows, due to lower back stress.

    Sometimes you want to be able to lift as much weight as you can to increase hypertrophy, and most people can do more weight with a barbell, or a machine than they can with dumbbells. I'd use all three options.
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    Bump

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