At Home Workout with Dumbbells

drbskinny · June 2013

Hey everyone! I'm pretty new to exercising & am looking for some help/ideas for working out at home. I have a small set of weights (3, 5, & 8lbs along with a 8lb medicine ball) and need some help on figuring out what to do & where to start.

I have no idea the types of exercises or the amount (reps./sets) I should be trying or doing when just starting out but would greatly appreciate any helpful ideas or support that you can give.

Witchdoctor58 · June 2013

What are your goals?

The weights you have now are good for toning, and you can bulk up the smaller muscle groups, but you will need more resistance for the larger groups if you want to add mass (in a woman, that means lovely curves and definition, not bulging muscles).

You could check out your local library for DVDs and resources...there is so much out there! I liked Chalean Extreme, by Beachbody...it's a 12 week program using DBs that is suitable for beginners, but you will need more resistance. You could also try resistance bands to supplement what you have now; they are versatile and you can vary the workout by using different lengths of the band.

FitGirlNani · June 2013

I'm not sure how familiar you are with the website Pinterest, but there are so many ideas and tips on there. From my personal experience, with that amount of weight, I usually start off with 3 sets of 12 reps.

Here's a few links:
http://pinterest.com/pin/280278776781208200/
http://losing-every-extra-pound.tumblr.com/post/24482567752/sexy-arms-in-6-weeks-if-youre-just-starting-out

I have tried both and feel it working. Hope I helped a bit.

ayankeefan51 · June 2013

I also have 100 lbs to lose and work out at home using dumbbell and body weight training. I just started a couple weeks ago and would say you should learn about compound lifts done with dumbbells and a bench. Use 5lbs and hogher only with 30 sec to start in between each rep. The rest time between reps should decrease as the exercise gets too easy. Or keep increasing your weights as it gets too easy. Everyone is going to say strong lifts 5x5 and the New Rules of Lifting for women program and book as well, which I wil utilize once I buy barbells and the bar. For now, I came up with my own 4 day a week weight training program using dumbbell/bodyweight exercises from the JEFit app/website, muscleandstrength.com and maybe other weight training sites for compound lifting that I've found. There are also tons of forums on here about this topic that provides alot of good info for a newbie as well. Below is one that I previously saw. There are a few more on my page that I was apart of that could give you more info. Good luck in your journey!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1008385-no-idea-how-to-start-lifting-help

bwogilvie · June 2013

Stumptuous.com is a website aimed at weight training for women. There are some good ideas there (including lots of advice that's useful for men, too). The starting category is good for beginners: http://www.stumptuous.com/category/starting/starting_weight_training