Recommend a beginners dumbbells workout

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PatrickO2
PatrickO2 Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm working on weight loss with diet and also doing more cardiovascular (mainly walking at present) to improve general fitness. I've heard it's useful to be doing a resistance workout as well. I don't think I would have the time/inclination to go to a gym, so I thought dumbbells at home would be a good option.

Can anyone recommend a complete dumbbells programme that can be done in about 20 mins. I'm not aiming to put on loads of muscle, just to improve general tone and shape a bit. I'm 56 and generally pretty unfit and have never done free weights before.

Also what's a good way to decide what weight to start with?

Thanks in advance for advice.

Replies

  • lois4468
    lois4468 Posts: 166 Member
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    Check You tube if you want free. They have lots of exercise videos.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,023 Member
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    Fitness blender on youtube is a good place to start.
  • PatrickO2
    PatrickO2 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thanks for that lois4468 and themommie. I will check those out.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    I would really recommend making time to go to a gym. Follow a progressive lifting plan. If not, look into convict conditioning and enjoy the wonderful world of body-weight conditioning.

    I see, even at the gym, people doing tons of reps of 2lb weights... over and over.. expecting to see a change. Unless you're looking to invest in some nice adjustable weights, don't bother.

    just my .02.
  • a84vikes
    a84vikes Posts: 13 Member
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    Patrick,
    You can do a combo of regular standing curls and hammer curls do 3 sets of 10. So you would do one curl on each arm then do one hammer curl on each arm and that would be one. So you are really doing sets of 20 curls. Start out with a weight you can easily manage, if you go to heavy you will know by the time you do 5 reps. Then you can finish with seated curls where you rest your elbow on your inner thigh and do 3 sets of 10 on each arm. I do a few more things but this is a good start to getting a good bicep workout. But check on the mentioned sites for other exercises. Good luck hope this helps a little.
  • MzPix
    MzPix Posts: 177 Member
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    I recommend doing 1 or 2 sessions with a certified trainer. Call ahead of time and tell them exactly what you want to learn (a dumbbell workout for at home). That way you can learn proper form and they can watch you perform the moves to let you know if you are doing it correctly.

    I actually received an awesome rack of dumbbells for christmas and asked this same question a while back on the MFP forums. The main response I got was to go check out youtube. That might work for some people, but for me it was completely counter-productive advice. Youtube has literally millions of videos uploaded by every sector of society. Narrowing the search down to something helpful, doable, and safe was taking me hours. I found a lot of youtube exercise and weight lifting videos out there that are teaching the WRONG stuff. There are kids teaching each other wrong form, stunt devils deliberately engaging in risky behaviors, people claiming to be professionals filming from their mom's basement, and a plethora of education on how to do things incorrectly.

    My vote is for a trainer who knows what he or she is doing, can provide one-on-one instruction, can give you feedback on your form, can help you with the amount of weight you should be at, and can consider your individual characteristics like age, weight, activity level, medical needs, etc.
  • PatrickO2
    PatrickO2 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thanks guys. I think getting some professional training is the way to do it.

    I'm glad I asked here I could have wasted a lot of time or even injured myself.

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