Workouts Fitness Wisdom

Posts Tagged ‘Dumbbell’

A weird thing happens to both men and women. They wake up one morning and are shocked to see the person staring back at them from the mirror. Who is this person? Why are they so fat? Where did their youthful, athletic appearance go? And when they realize the person is really themselves, they sigh, “How did I let myself get so out of shape?”
It’s time for a dumbbell workout program!
A dumbbell workout program, properly done, builds strong muscles, burns off fat, strengthens the abdominals, improves cardiorespiratory endurance and creates real-world strength and conditioning you can use to improve your quality of life. So, when you want to get back in shape fast, it’s time to dust off those dumbbells and get to work.
But one word of caution.
All dumbbell workout programs are not created equal!
If you want to get the most out of your dumbbell workout program, look for a workout program that simultaneously builds a strong, attractive body, burns off fat and improves cardiorespiratory conditioning. Unfortunately, most of the dumbbell workout programs you see people performing or read about are based on bodybuilding style training. This is not the way to get the most out of your dumbbell training.
By bodybuilding style dumbbell training, I mean using dumbbells to “isolate” small muscle groups. Usually, this goes hand in hand with using light dumbbells. Just think about it, if you are going to “isolate” a small muscle, you’ll only be able to use a small weight. This is not an efficient or effective use of your dumbbell training! (I’m putting parentheses around isolation, because in my opinion it is impossible to completely isolate a muscle. Plus, I don’t see the value in doing so, even if you could.)
By dumbbell workout program, I mean a full body workout program using only dumbbells. And by full body I mean all the muscles in the body, plus the heart and lungs. Yes, contrary to popular belief, you can get a great full body muscle building and cardiorespiratory workout all in one. And just think at all the time you’ll save!
I personally use three types of dumbbell lifts in my dumbbell workout program:
- Grinding “Slow” Lifts: These are dumbbell lifts like presses, rows, squats and deadlifts. These lifts build functional muscle in all the right places. When you know how to combine them into a full dumbbell workout program, you can build the entire body and improve heart and lung function at the same time!
- Explosive “Quick” Lifts: These are dumbbell lifts like swings, snatches and jerks. These lifts not only build explosive, athletic muscle, but they boost cardiorespiratory endurance and burn off fat. So, you don’t just keep and build more muscle, but you strip away the fat keeping your from your best body!
- Dumbbell Combo Matrixes. These are my personal favorite, where you combine two or more dumbbell lifts into one exercise. This is great for teaching your body to function as one complete unit with strength and conditioning. And since these dumbbell exercises are very challenging, they burn a lot of calories both during and after the workout!
At this point you may be thinking, “This doesn’t look like any dumbbell workout program I’ve seen”. And you’re right. It’s better.
The sad truth is, the dumbbell is one of the most underused and misused pieces of training equipment. Men usually limit their use to dumbbell curls, dumbbell flys or dumbbell kickbacks. While there is nothing wrong with those exercises, they don’t constitute a full dumbbell workout program and are not the best ways to use dumbbells. And ladies, stop using dumbbells for just light weight “toning” exercise! You’re missing out on the true benefits of dumbbell training.
I hope this article has opened your eyes to the fantastic results you can get when you perform a dumbbell workout program designed to use dumbbells to their full potential. In my opinion, there is no faster way to build a strong, attractive body, improve cardiorespiratory conditioning and burn off fat.
Now look in the mirror and answer this question:
“Couldn’t you benefit from a proper dumbbell workout program?”

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Dumbbell lunges are not just part of a killer leg workout. They also strengthen your hips and they're a great butt workout too! For more info, visit www.effective-workout-routines.com Read the rest of this entry »

A dumbbell workout is an excellent way to burn off fat, and keep it off. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand how to take full advantage of the fat burning characteristics of dumbbell training. I hope this article opens your eyes and helps you on your quest for a leaner, more attractive body!
When most men and women think about burning off the ugly fat keeping them from looking and performing their best, very few of them think about a dumbbell workout. Usually, the first two things that come to mind are restrictive diets and long duration aerobic exercise. This is a shame, because dumbbell exercise is an excellent way to burn off fat and build a muscular, attractive body.
Here are three important ways a dumbbell workout helps you shed extra pounds of flab…
1) Dumbbell Training Builds Muscle
You may be asking, “What does building muscle have to do with fat loss?” The answer is simple. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn during the day to maintain the muscle. Muscle is more “metabolically expensive”. It takes more energy to maintain muscle, even during rest. So, since you burn more calories naturally during the day for maintenance, there are fewer calories left over to be converted into fat.
A dumbbell workout is excellent for building muscle because you can take advantage of the bilateral deficit. You see, when you perform dumbbell exercises with a single limb (as compared to the two-limb version of the same exercise), your body recruits more muscle for stabilization purposed. More muscle recruited means the ability to use heavier weights. And heavier weights mean more muscle growth!
And just to make sure you’re paying attention: More muscle = less fat!
2) A Unilateral Dumbbell Workout Uses More Energy
Unilateral training is when you perform an exercise with one arm or leg for a certain number of repetitions, then perform the same number of repetitions with the opposite arm or leg. This doubles the amount of “work time” per set.
So, not only can you use heavier weights (as discussed in #1), but you spend more time exercising with those weights. This means you expend more energy performing a unilateral dumbbell workout than a machine or barbell workout.
More energy used in the workout means more fat burned and less calories left over to be converted to fat!
3) A Dumbbell Workout Blurs The Lines Between Strength And Cardio Training, Producing More Metabolic Disturbance
Most people have been lulled to sleep by the set 1, rest, set 2, rest, set 3, rest format of training. But what happens if you throw some high repetition, rhythmic exercises into your dumbbell workout. For example, what happens if you do 20 reps of dumbbell snatches for each arm back to back. The exercise requires muscular strength and power, but also extraordinary heart and lung power. This kind of dumbbell workout burns a lot of fat.
But maybe more important, you burn fat during AND after the workout. Think of it this way. The workout places stress on your muscles, heart and lungs. To recover, your body uses a great deal of energy to return to a normal state. This means you are not only burning calories during the workout, but during the recovery process as well.
So, you effectively turn your body into a 24 hour fat burning machine!
Are you starting to see what a powerful weapon a dumbbell workout is in your battle to lose fat and keep it off? And I’ll let you in on a little secret. Restrictive diets and long duration exercise is NOT the fat loss solution you seek. A nutritious diet, well planned workout program and healthy lifestyle is!
If you need to lose ugly pounds of fat, it’s time to give a dumbbell workout a try!

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Tonight’s workout: 10 Pullups: 5, 3, 2 100 Decline Oblique Twists Seated Narrow Grip Rows: 3×20 @ 35lbs 20 windshield wipers 10 sit-up-toe-touches Decline Dumbbell Presses: 3×20 @ 15lbs each hand Decline Crunches: 3×10 Dumbbell Squats: …

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Training for fat loss has surely evolved over the past decade. For years the first thing most fat loss seekers have done is jump on the treadmill and do hours of endurance training with no results to speak of. In fact, it has been scientifically proven time and time again that aerobic training alone for fat loss just doesn’t work.

So what does work? A combination of total body resistance training workouts and cardio interval training has been proven in both the lab and in the gym to be the ultimate one-two fat burning punch for twice the results in less than half the time when compared to the primitive, outdated aerobic training approach to weight loss.

Now, what exactly is a total body resistance training workout? Well, there are many ways to skin a cat but for our purposes a total body workout means that you have effectively worked you upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout.

Now, am I saying that you need to perform three separate exercises each and every workout to get that total body effect? Not exactly, in fact I am about to share with you today a rather revolutionary approach to fat loss training that truly simplifies the process on the user’s end. Essentially I am going to teach you how to do ONE exercise total body workouts using combination exercises to burn belly fat fast!

A combination exercise is where you take one exercise and combine it with one or more exercises. The whole idea here is to get more muscles involved to burn calories (and fat) in the shortest amount of time possible. After all, the key to any successful fat loss workout is escalating density, or the accumulation of more work in the same amount of time or less from workout to workout. So, total body workouts are great, but why not turbo charge your results by using total body exercises within your total body workouts.

For example, let’s say you are doing a dumbbell lunge to work your lower body. The lunge is a unilateral knee-dominant exercise which when performed correctly dramatically increases single-leg strength and stability and is a key movement pattern to teaching your body how to decelerate or efficiently stop and go on command. Well if you add a dumbbell curl to press at the end of each lunge, you would transform this exercise from a great lower body exercise to an even better TOTAL body exercise by simultaneously involving your upper body. The curl to press is in itself a combination upper body movement that works both pull-push components at the same time. Plus, your core is the link between all integrated upper and lower body movements so any time you perform an upper-lower body combo exercise your core automatically gets called into action. In other words, choose the right exercise and it’s one and your done!

So, now let’s show you how to make use of this single total body exercise for a simple, yet brutally effective five to ten minute fat loss workout:

One Exercise Workout#1- DB Lunge + Curl to Press

- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)

- Perform max reps for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized

- Once you can perform at least 5-10 reps per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell

This is all made possible because each leg gets just enough rest as you alternate legs on each lunge and your upper body gets just enough rest while you reset and perform each lunge before the next curl to press. Plus, you are using the same piece of equipment in one place without the need to move to another exercise or station. Yep, that’s called making the most out of every available second to melt off that ugly, unwanted body fat as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Now, if this sounds easy, let me personally guarantee you that it certainly is not. Many noted fitness professionals like Charles Staley and Alwyn Cosgrove refer to this type of workout as Escalating Density Training (EDT) and have used it with their diverse clientele with great success. Just like every trainer has a different name for every exercise, so do I have a different name for this type of training. I refer to it as Continuous Work because you are literally performing the same total body exercise continuously for 5-10 straight minutes. My many boot camp and corporate clients have a definite love-hate relationship with these workouts. Love because of the intensity and ****… well, because of the intensity!

Here are three more great “One Exercise Workout” examples that you can do anywhere:

One Exercise Workout#2- 1-Arm DB Squat to Press

- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)

- 1 Round = Perform 10 total reps/side

- Perform max rounds for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized

- Once you can perform at least 1 round per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell

One Exercise Workout#3- 1-Arm DB Swing

- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)

- 1 Round = Perform 10 total reps/side

- Perform max rounds for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized

- Once you can perform at least 1 round per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell

One Exercise Workout#4- Killer Variation: DB Squat Thrust + Push-up + Core Row + Knee-Ins

- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)

- Perform max reps for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized

- Once you can perform at least 5-10 reps per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell

Well there it is, four great “One Exercise Workouts” involving total body combination exercises that you can do in 5-10 minutes at home or on the road when traveling. Now if you really wanted to ramp up your results with a full 20-minute workout, try selecting two of the total body exercises above and then doing two separate 10-minute workouts or selecting all four of the total body exercises above and then doing four separate 5-minute workouts. And for those of you ******** lifters, try adding in these short, but sweet 5-10 minute workouts as finishers for a great metabolic boost to end each training session. It will go a long way to helping you stay lean year round.

Crank it!

Here is a killer arm workout you can do at home with just a set of dumbbells to help get those huge guns, I’m sore for days after doing this workout. This is an arm workout for the advanced bodybuilder, if you are new to bodybuilding please check my website for a more appropriate workout. There are six exercises, three for biceps and three for triceps. The entire workout takes 45 minutes and there is very little down time. Make sure you have done warm-up sets for both biceps and triceps …

forum.scoobysworkshop.com Got fitness questions? Check out the free AskScooby Forum to get your questions answered! Here is a great chest workout you can do at home with a cheap dumbbell set. Big gyms are nice but when you can get a killer workout at home without the overhead of getting to and from the gym. In this chest workout we are going to do pushups, then with no rest immediately do flys, then with no rest immediately do dumbbell press. Make sure and use a much lighter weight than you …

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