Dumbbell strength training
Oishii
Posts: 2,675 Member
In an ideal world, I'd go back to Stronglifts 5x5 to improve my strength and retain muscle. Unfortunately time, transport and childcare conspire to make an at-home workout more likely to be sustainable. I find body weight exercise less rewarding as I enjoy the progress I feel when adding weight, and I'm scared of dropping a barbell on myself when working out alone, so Dumbbells sound the best option.
So, I have the following questions:
- Is there a full body dumbbell workout you'd recommend?
- Why do dumbbell workouts typically recommend more repetitions than barbell workouts? Won't this increase mass more than improve strength?
- Any other advice?
Thank you in advance.
So, I have the following questions:
- Is there a full body dumbbell workout you'd recommend?
- Why do dumbbell workouts typically recommend more repetitions than barbell workouts? Won't this increase mass more than improve strength?
- Any other advice?
Thank you in advance.
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Replies
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http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/rudy6.htm
Love that full body dumbell. I try to fit in 2 sets of it twice a day if I can. Once before work and once at night. Or if I can only fit 1 round in I do 3 sets.
I might be a bit different as I want some more mass to balance out my body shape so for me that is not an issue for your second question. I am guessing you could just use higher weights and less reps for the same strength goal.
Biggest complaint I have is squats/deadlifts/bench you will find you will max out with dumbbells at home. I have a 9 month old and have been using dumbbells for a bit and am getting to where I know I will need to get back into the gym once she is a bit older because I do not have enough weight.1 -
This was invaluable for me: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/902569/barbell-routines-when-you-only-have-dumbbells/p12
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In an ideal world, I'd go back to Stronglifts 5x5 to improve my strength and retain muscle. Unfortunately time, transport and childcare conspire to make an at-home workout more likely to be sustainable. I find body weight exercise less rewarding as I enjoy the progress I feel when adding weight, and I'm scared of dropping a barbell on myself when working out alone, so Dumbbells sound the best option.
So, I have the following questions:
- Is there a full body dumbbell workout you'd recommend?
- Why do dumbbell workouts typically recommend more repetitions than barbell workouts? Won't this increase mass more than improve strength?
- Any other advice?
Thank you in advance.
One of the main downsides to dumbbell training is that under most circumstances you are required to make 10lb increases in weight since you're adding 5lbs per dumbbell (assuming this is a lift requiring two DBs).
And so because of this, it might require you to build volume for a longer period of time before making a jump in weight, and so you may see slightly higher rep ranges and slightly larger rep-gaps between the bottom and top end of the rep range.
To your main questions:
Is there a full body DB workout you'd recommend?
No, but I've designed them for clients before and I'd still keep some basic ideas in mind -- you still want to incorporate squatting, pressing, pulling and hip hinging, and you still want to keep progressive overload in mind.
Examples of exercises to fit this criteria:
Squat: goblet squat, rear foot elevated split squat
Press: overhead press, flat DB press
Pull: DB bent row, Kroc Row
Hinge: DB hip thrust, DB RDL, and unilateral versions of both
You can increase mass and increase strength with DB's.0 -
The two biggest advantages DB's have over BB's is versatility and side-isolation, making sure each side is equally strong rather than having one side do most of the work while the other just supports.
With a DB, you can perform the exact same movement but it feels completely different depending on where you place the DB. Consider for example doing lunges. Try the same movement with the DB's placed at various spots:
Arms straight down to your sides
Arms bent, DB at shoulder height
Arms straight above you
A BB can do the same thing but is extremely unwieldy. But a BB can't help when you do this chest-press routine:
Set 1: Press both DB's simultaneously
Set 2: Press one DB at a time, keeping one arm straight while the other moves, alternate arms between reps
Set 3: Press one DB at a time, without a weight in the other arm at all, switch arms between sets
People typically find they can't use the same total weight in DB's for a movement as they could if they used a BB (bench-pressing a 100-lb BB is easier than two 50-lb DB's). You absolutely can increase strength with DB's, but if you're hoping to stick to sets of 3-6 then you run a risk in getting the weights into position.3 -
In an ideal world, I'd go back to Stronglifts 5x5 to improve my strength and retain muscle. Unfortunately time, transport and childcare conspire to make an at-home workout more likely to be sustainable. I find body weight exercise less rewarding as I enjoy the progress I feel when adding weight, and I'm scared of dropping a barbell on myself when working out alone, so Dumbbells sound the best option.
So, I have the following questions:
- Is there a full body dumbbell workout you'd recommend?
- Why do dumbbell workouts typically recommend more repetitions than barbell workouts? Won't this increase mass more than improve strength?
- Any other advice?
Thank you in advance.
So I tend to do a lot of DB training due to some limitations caused by injuries. One of the hardest (even harder than many BB programs) is German Body Comp. It's a time under tension (concentric, pause, eccentric, pause pattern). They are full body and focused on compound moves.
Program details can be found in this thread
Other option is to modify existing BB programs to be replace with DB. It may not be as effective or allow you to make large increase like @SideSteel alluded it, but it is still better than nothing. Along with DB, I have also incorporated resistance bands (in fact, they are the reason I can do pull ups and chip ups these days) to expand the availability of moves (e.g., with a church wrap on my feet or a door attachment, I can mimic the cable pull).0 -
Sorry that I jump on this topic...
So I've been doing ICF 5x5 with those modified DB moves for 16-18 weeks before I have to stop for a while for my palms cuz they hurt whenever I grab the heavy DBs. Now the questions came up:
1) how do I count the weight for those upper body moves I held one DB in each hand? (Like, OHP with two 20lb DBs, obviously one in each hand. Do I still count it as OHP for 40 lb?), and
2) I know there's its limitations for DBs, like my hand gripping problem. Would there be a good way to solve it? Or it is what it is so switching to BB is the only option?
Each one of my Bowflex has a max of 52.5 lb. I have no problem for most of those in ICF, especially those upper body moves. My arms might be a little bit wabbling, but it's much better if I use slingshot. The real problem is with squat... I went from one 45 lb to two 45lb for squat and then I have to do something else (like split squat) cuz my palms hurt when holding more than 50lb in each hand. I can't squat properly also because of the bulky plate design when I increase the weight (with two DBs the plates kind of get in the way of my legs). I do believe I can squat more though...
Thanks for any suggestions!!
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When i use dumbbells i mark the weight of one. And with barbell i use total. As long as you are consistent so you can increase appropriately then you should be good
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DB exercises are measured per DB, a doing an OHP with a pair of 20# DB's would be marked as "DB OHP 20#" with sets and reps per usual. You'll often find doing "DB OHP 20#" is more difficult than "BB OHP 40#", because even though it's the same mass of iron your stabilizer muscles have to work harder using DB's.2
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Thanks @psulemon and @nossmf ! I actually marked it that way but not really sure... And yes, I do increased the weight I use over an 18-week course (very slow/small increase though) especially for the upper body parts. Squat is a major reason why I seriously considering finding a gym cuz it doesn't seem like I can no longer increase the weight once I hit the max for two DBs (that will be 105 lb in total) but now I can even grab them properly with smaller weights...
Guess I can still keep doing it like this for a while for the upper body muscles and find something else for the glutes
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Would less weight in hand but doing one-legged lower body help?
Helps match what is going on with upper body - each side is on it's own for ability.
Lower body right now you are sharing the load, just like BB.0 -
@heybales yes I think that somewhat adds "variety" to the lower body strength and stability (I switch to split squats once a while), but I don't know how much it'll help in the long run... The max weight limit for my hands is still there, and I have to go back to check if I work the same muscle groups by switching to those single-leg ones.
But I still have rooms for improvement by using my DBs though... Guess that's why I really need a gym and good PT later so I can learn the right & harmless way to keep going 0 -
You can train your grip with farmer's walks. In essence, pick up a weight and walk, that simple. In your case, heavy DB's. Measure progress by how many seconds you can hold the weight down by your side, either standing still or walking in a circle. When you can break a minute, increase the weight. Most of the time people do farmer's walks with a weight in each hand, but I prefer doing them one hand at a time, the other left empty. This weight imbalance forces you to brace your core to keep your shoulders from sagging to one side, so double the gain in one move.
Add three sets of farmer's walks at the END of one workout per week.2 -
I ended up trying this workout:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/rudy6.htm
Unfortunately it was too long for me to complete it (child in crèche creates an absolute time limit) and I left the gym lacking the 'balanced' feeling SL 5x5 gives me. Also, I started on just 2kg I'm each hand (other lowish weights were all being used) but when I find my limit, it will involve sweat, so I also need time for a shower!
In reducing the number of exercises therefore, I am tempted to cut those I don't see as replicating real-life movements, which leaves me with:
Squat
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Lying press
Overhead press
Bent over rows
Bicep curls
Does that seem a reasonable way to reduce the exercises? Does it balance out muscle groups enough?0 -
I ended up trying this workout:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/rudy6.htm
Unfortunately it was too long for me to complete it (child in crèche creates an absolute time limit) and I left the gym lacking the 'balanced' feeling SL 5x5 gives me. Also, I started on just 2kg I'm each hand (other lowish weights were all being used) but when I find my limit, it will involve sweat, so I also need time for a shower!
In reducing the number of exercises therefore, I am tempted to cut those I don't see as replicating real-life movements, which leaves me with:
Squat
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Lying press
Overhead press
Bent over rows
Bicep curls
Does that seem a reasonable way to reduce the exercises? Does it balance out muscle groups enough?
It seems faily reasonable. You could also try:
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html1 -
I ended up trying this workout:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/rudy6.htm
Unfortunately it was too long for me to complete it (child in crèche creates an absolute time limit) and I left the gym lacking the 'balanced' feeling SL 5x5 gives me. Also, I started on just 2kg I'm each hand (other lowish weights were all being used) but when I find my limit, it will involve sweat, so I also need time for a shower!
In reducing the number of exercises therefore, I am tempted to cut those I don't see as replicating real-life movements, which leaves me with:
Squat
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Lying press
Overhead press
Bent over rows
Bicep curls
Does that seem a reasonable way to reduce the exercises? Does it balance out muscle groups enough?
I'd even change the order between upper and lower so you can move faster between them without needing longer rest perhaps.
Squat
OHP (or bench, depending on which you are weaker on) - push
B-OR - pull
SL-DL
Bench (or OHP) - push
pull-ups (or negatives for rest the set) - pull
That last one to engage biceps and lats, might as well use the time to hit 2 muscles.
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Following. . . .0
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Wanting to start .. somewhere and only the use of dumbbells. Thank you to everyone that has posted a suggestion here!!0
