How to incorporate dumbbells into workouts

How to Incorporate Dumbbells into Workouts

Working out with weights at home is a simple but effective way to keep your training sessions varied and engaging. While most of us consider strength training to be all about increasing muscle mass and bulking up, working out with weights comes with some serious health benefits. Exercising with home gym dumbbells, for example, can improve your posture and your balance, increase your confidence, enhance your bone health and strength, give you more flexibility, boost your metabolism, contribute to weight loss and even reduce inflammation of the joints.

While cardiovascular exercise focuses on your heart health and contributes to weight loss as part of a healthier lifestyle, investing in dumbbells for home can sculpt your body, help your clothes to fit better and give you the tone and definition you've always wanted. For many individuals, heading to the weight section in the gym can feel incredibly daunting, which is why choosing the best dumbbells for home workouts is the perfect way to get started on your weight training journey.

Picking up those dumbbells for the first time can leave people wondering if their form, posture or approach to weight training is correct. So with this in mind, let’s examine how to successfully incorporate dumbbells into your home workouts.

Invest in the Right Equipment

Getting to grips with weight training and dumbbells is easier when you’re using the right equipment. Head online and you’ll find a range of dumbbells for home gym workouts. However, it’s important that your dumbbells are sourced from a reputable sports equipment provider. This ensures that your chosen dumbbells are of the highest quality and you have the option to purchase them in matching weight sets to ensure balance and familiarity with the weights as you develop your home gym dumbbells routine.

Remember: Finding the best dumbbell weight for home use that suits your requirements is an important factor in building your weight training programme.

Start Small

Successfully incorporating dumbbells into your home workouts requires a slow and steady approach.  While picking up weights and pushing through the resistance sounds straightforward enough, as you’re handling weights, a degree of caution should be implemented to prevent injury and to keep you safe as you exercise with your at home dumbbells. Consider the mantra:

Start light – until you get it right

Individuals who jump into weight training at home with no experience and start working with heavier weights from the outset put themselves at risk of a severe injury and getting into poor habits that impact their form and the efficacy of their exercises. The best dumbbells for home gym workouts are those that allow users to increase the weight in small increments, as their strength and confidence grow, so can the weight they’re using. Adjustable dumbbells can give you the chance to get your form accurate before you challenge yourself with a heavier weight.

Keep a Record of Your Progress

Starting small will your home dumbbell workouts is a positive step, however in order to make your weight training successful, it’s important to keep a record of your progress as your strength, confidence and body begin to adapt. Recording your home gym dumbbell workout can be done via a fitness app on your smartphone, by keeping notes on your smart device, or keeping it traditional with a workout diary/log.

Keeping a close eye on your progress can help you see your progress, encourage you to lift a little heavier when you feel the time is right and help you to see how far you’ve come.  

Remember That Consistency is Key with Dumbbell Training

Using at home dumbbells to get the results you want and to benefit from the pros of weight training, requires a high level of consistency. Picking up your dumbbells one week and then not touching them for another two, is undermining the effort you put in on those days you do decide to train. In addition, it’s likely that you won’t see much progress with your home gym dumbbells routines and quit. To stop this from happening, you should be lifting your weights at least 3 times a week and taking at least one day to rest and recover to promote muscle growth.  

Dumbbell Exercises for Beginners

Now you have the best dumbbells for home gym workouts at your disposal, there’s no need to do anything fancy or complicated when you start your training. You’ll find a range of weighted exercises you can complete with your at home dumbbells. Most effective routines begin with at least 12 reps for each exercise with 3-5 sets – although this is dependent on your chosen weight increment and your current levels of fitness. While we’ve discussed the dangers of overloading yourself in the early stages of your training, remember to challenge yourself, you should feel your muscles working to complete the exercise, break a sweat and those last few reps should burn!  

If you prefer to keep things light, you can always increase the number of reps or sets you’re completing for each exercise. Consider these home gym dumbbell exercises to get you started.

Floor Press

This exercise helps to open up the chest. Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor. Press the weights together, straight above you and then lower them slowly, until your elbows (almost) touch the floor.

How to Incorporate Dumbbells into WorkoutsHow to Incorporate Dumbbells into Workouts

Shrug

This exercise targets the traps and shoulders with minimal, low-impact movements. Take a dumbbell in each hand and keep them by your sides. Then gripping the dumbbells tightly, simply raise your shoulders, keeping your arms straight. Do this slowly, pausing at the top of the exercise.

How to incorporate dumbbells into workoutsHow to incorporate dumbbells into workouts

Overhead Press

Complete this exercise either sitting down on a bench or standing. Take your dumbbells in each hand and hold them at shoulder height, with your elbows extended at the sides at 90°, push the weights overhead slowly and bring them back down into the starting position.

How to incorporate dumbbells into workoutsHow to incorporate dumbbells into workouts

Lunge

Taking a dumbbell in each hand, and keeping your arms straight. Take a long step forward with one leg and lower your body down until your knee is at a 90° angle. Then return to the starting position.

How to incorporate dumbbells into workouts

Bicep Curl

A bicep curl is one of the simplest home gym dumbbell exercises you can complete. Holding your dumbbells in each hand, your palms facing outward, slowly bring the dumbbells up to chest height, bending your elbow. Remember to keep your movements slow and controlled to gain maximum benefit from the exercise.

How to incorporate dumbbells into workoutsHow to incorporate dumbbells into workouts

Final Thoughts…

Focusing on your health through exercise is one of the best ways to preserve your body and mind. Follow these tips to successfully incorporate dumbbells into your home workouts today.