Try our Dumbbell Workouts at home. Most people with flabby arms that seem to have a life of their own will do just about anything to tone up their arms.
Dumbbell Workouts At Home
Everyone has heard of dumbbells, but many do not incorporate them into their workout routine, simply because they do not know the true benefit of them. Dumbbell workouts at home will burn fat on the arms and all over the body when done correctly and consistently. However, your workout alone won’t cut it. You will also have to perform some dietary changes and cardiovascular exercises as well.
Save on gym memberships if money is a little tight and just invest in a set of dumbbells so you can complete your workouts in the privacy of your home, whenever you have a few minutes to devote to your fitness.
Spot Training
People spot-train in an attempt to reduce fat or build muscle in one specific area. Unfortunately, focusing all your training on one spot of the body is not effective. Regardless of the hard work you put in, fat loss is determined by other factors including age, genetic makeup, and hormones.
This explains why men normally store most of their fat in the abdomen while women store a majority of theirs in the hips and thighs. Attempting to spot train your arms will not work as they are notoriously impervious to fat loss. This should, however, not discourage you. The arm battle IS winnable.
Getting Rid Of The Fat
Getting rid of fat cannot be done by exercise alone but it requires a change in diet as well. Change your diet so as to create a calorie deficit, which means you will be burning more calories than you consume.
Do a diet overhaul and trade the non-nutritious and high-calorie foods such as processed sugars, processed grains, and soda, with nutritious and low-calorie foods such as vegetables and lean proteins. Regular physical activity like swimming, cycling, jogging, and walking further helps to burn calories.
Up to an hour daily of cardiovascular activity, five times a week is ideal for weight loss. Once the cardio workout is manageable then it is advisable to switch up the training a little more by involving some spurts of high-intensity workouts.
Pick Up The Dumbbells
Cardio is not enough to turn that pesky arm fat into muscle. Combining weight-training with cardio is necessary to prevent muscle loss. Your focus may be on losing the fat in your arms but it is also important to build muscle and tautness while at it, which is why the dumbbells are so useful. Pick up those dumbbells and start out with 2 workouts per week.
Muscle also helps to improve your metabolism during weight loss as muscle requires more energy to sustain. This keeps your metabolism more active and helps you burn more calories.
Ensure you have 48 hours between every workout sessions so as to allow your muscles to recover and grow.
Full Body Workout
Your arms may be your problem spot but you shouldn’t stop there. Weight-training your entire body will increase your growth hormone levels which leads to more muscle and less fat. Pick up your dumbbells at least two times in the week and weight-train key parts of your body such as your legs, arms, shoulders, back, chest and core.
The weights should not be too heavy but neither should they be too light. Aim for dumbbells that begin to feel weighty towards the last few reps in your set. Start off slowly by incorporating just one set of exercises per body part in your workout. As you progress you can increase the number of reps and sets, along with increasing the weight of the dumbbells.
Steady progression and consistency are necessary for getting the results. As you get stronger you may also dedicate more days of the week to weight-training but be careful not to overwork your muscles by ensuring you give them at least 48 hours of rest in-between sessions.
Best 10 Dumbbell Moves to Lose Weight and Build Muscle
1. Bent-Over Row
How To: Keep your core tight and your back straight as you row the weights up to your chest. Lower and repeat.
Targets: Rows will target several muscles in your upper body including the traps, rhomboids, lats, and biceps perfect for getting you that ‘V’ shape. It will hone in on your deltoids to create some T-shirt-filling boulder shoulders, too.
2. Goblet Squat
How To: Stand with feet set wider than shoulder-width and hold a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest. Sit back into a squat, then drive back up and repeat.
Targets: Are you a nervous newbie or a long-time hard gainer? It doesn’t matter with this move. Goblet squats are perfect for any level. They specifically target glute activation while improving both hip and thoracic mobility.
3. Cross Body Hammer Curl
How To: One at a time, curl each weight up towards your opposing shoulder. Return under control to the start position and repeat on the other side.
Targets: Remember, if you want to win the arms race then don’t ignore the rule of divide and conquer. Focusing on one arm at a time creates a large neural drive, which engages the nervous system to recruit more muscle fibers.
4. One Arm Swing
How To: Sink into a squat and swing the dumbbell through your legs before immediately driving yourself forward, bringing the weight up towards your head as you straighten your legs. Repeat this movement, then swap sides.
Targets: With proper form, this swing will not only recruit muscles within your posterior chain but it will also build your grip strength, coordination, lower back muscles, quadriceps, and shoulders. In other words, it’ll give you the momentum your body transformation workout needs. Most of these traditional kettlebell moves can be replicated.
5. Farmers’ Walk
How To: Walk forward taking short, quick steps. Go for the given distance, as fast as possible.
Targets: There’s no technique to worry about, but you’ll still supercharge your grip strength. And don’t worry, this lack of technique won’t get you injured; through a process called irradiation, this move bunches your rotator cuff, protecting your shoulders.
6. Two Arm Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift
How To: Lower the dumbbells to the top of your feet, as far as you can go by extending through your waist, then slowly return to the starting position.
Targets: It shreds your legs into powerful pins by targeting your fast-twitch lower-body muscles. Plus, stiff legged deadlifts ensure your entire posterior chain is functioning effectively and prevents hip and lower back injuries. It’s one of the best free weight exercises to build up your lower body – injury free.
7. Bench Press
How To: Plant your feet firmly under your hips – this helps to lift your chest and lock your shoulders into position. Retract your shoulder blades as you lower the barbell. Don’t bounce it off your chest; squeeze it hard and make sure not to bend your wrists. Hold for one count above your chest before ‘exploding’ the bar up.
Targets: If you’re looking to build quality pecs appeal then always opt for a dumbbell press over barbell. Why? A weight in each hand allows for a greater stretch at the bottom of the lift, building a bigger chest. And if you want to take this move further? Squeeze your pecs together at the top of the lift to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible.
8. Dumbbell Clean
How To: Flip your wrists so they face forwards and bring the weights to your shoulders, slightly jumping as you do. Slowly straighten your legs to stand. Then lower the weights down to your thigh before moving into squat position and repeating.
Targets: Incorporating these powerlifter lifts into your training will not only build lean muscle tissue but also build explosive power. This move also rushes blood to your glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and arms to maximize your muscle-growing power.
9. Step-Ups
How To: Place your right foot onto the elevated platform and push up through your heel to lift yourself up and place your left foot on the platform. Step back down with your left foot, concentrating on flexing your hip and the knee of your right leg. Repeat on the other side.
Targets: It’s a sure fire way to maximize your gluteus maximus, the major muscle responsible for extending, rotating and adducting and abducting from the hip joint. Plus, single leg exercises will increase the stabilizer strength of the smaller muscles around the joint, protecting you against injuries.
10. Dumbbell Scaption
How To: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing forward. Without bending your elbows, raise your arms at a 30-degree angle to your shoulders level. Pause for 1-2 seconds, then slowly lower your arms back to the starting position. Repeat.
Targets: Rotator cuff, shoulder impingement, and tears are common issues from overuse exercises, but not if you use the dumbbell scaption. By targeting your stabilizing muscles it protects the shoulder joint and ligaments surrounding it.
Let us know if you have tried any dumbbell workouts and how it is working for you. Our readers all are looking for information on what others are trying.
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