How heavy should the dumbbells be if I just want to train my lines?

Recently many of my students have started to train seriously on their own and have bought some fitness equipment to use at home, so in addition to yoga mats, fitness tools that are convenient for use at home include: sliding discs, dumbbells, sandbags, medicine balls, yoga balls, BOSU, massage rollers, elastic ropes, etc.

The benefits are because:

1. It doesn’t take up too much space to use and store.

2. And it can be reused to make many changes,

3. Each of the above equipment can be used in combination.

In fact, when introducing the use of dumbbells at home, we should start with this question:

Do you know how many kilograms you should buy if you want to buy dumbbells for exercising at home?

If you understand and know the approximate answer, it means you may know the direction and goal of your movement. If you have no idea at all, then you need to understand it better next.

First of all, you need to know what your goal is?

If you want to get stronger, you need dumbbells that are heavy enough to effectively bear the weight and achieve the stimulation intensity for muscle hypertrophy. (For example, if you want to make your arms thicker and your muscles bigger, you would use an effective weight of 6-15 reps for biceps curls, which means you can only do 6-15 reps with this weight with all your strength.)

Let me share a story. When I started working out, I searched for information online and discovered that with only bodyweight exercises, the size of my muscles could only be limited and the movements I could do were limited. So I bought a set of dumbbells, and I could purchase additional iron plates on my own. Then I realized I needed a reclining chair to do more movements, and I started using heavier and heavier irons, buying more and more iron sheets, until I broke my mom’s ironing board.

Finally, I saw many weight-bearing equipment training introduced on the Internet, which could not be done at home. Then I realized that the most practical way to develop each muscle is to go to the gym, because there are many equipments and enough weights to carefully exercise each part.

It is not possible to place so many large devices at home, and the cost is very high!

If you don't want to get stronger, then strength training doesn't have to be limited to weight. You can start with whole-body exercise, focusing on the changes and difficulty of the movements. Each movement is not about developing local muscles, but training the whole body. Many movements are multi-directional and require the participation of many parts. For example, when training the abdomen, the arms are also trained, and when training the lower body, the core is also trained.

The following are four examples of combined actions:

1. Mainly for training the lower body, thighs and buttocks: hold the dumbbells with both hands, squat to the side with the dumbbells facing downwards, then stand back to the middle and lift them up directly, do it 10-20 times on each side separately, remember to keep your back straight, knees and toes facing forward!

2. Mainly for training the upper body, core and arms: At the beginning, hold the dumbbells with both hands and do a plank. After rotating the lower body left and right, continue to rotate the upper body. Be careful and focus on controlling the dumbbells to lift the track to the side. Stop when you lift it directly above. Keep it slow when lowering it, and don't lock your elbows. Do this with your left and right hands and feet four times in a row, and you can try to do it 20 times.

3. Train the whole body, thighs, buttocks, core and shoulder joint strength: step the left foot on a higher stable surface, such as a ladder or a chair, hold the dumbbells at the side with the right hand, and do single-leg and single-handed stepping and lifting continuously, keeping the body straight and the dynamic balance during the movement. Pay attention to the position of the dumbbells and arm tracks and keep the body in a straight line at all times.

Do 10-20 reps on one side and then switch sides. If you have trouble balancing on one leg, try practicing without dumbbells first.

4. Another set of training for the upper body, core and arms: At the beginning, hold the dumbbells with both hands and do a plank. Use both hands alternately to pull the dumbbells up to the waist position. Try to keep the body level and not tilted. Then take turns to tap the floor with your feet forward and quickly go back. Do this 4 times in a row with your left and right hands and feet. You can try to do 20 times.

The method is: try to do the above 4 exercises 10-20 times, continuously as a set, rest for one minute, and do 3-4 sets. You can adjust the number, speed and rest time according to your personal physical fitness.

Each movement requires the coordination of different parts of the body, and each person can use different weights. What is considered is the overall load caused by using this weight in this movement.

For example, in the last movement, if you let your body tilt too much in order to use heavy dumbbells, then the meaning of doing this movement is lost. In order to keep the body stable when supporting, you need a lot of concentration and whole body strength to maintain the posture and exercise the core. Remember that the quality of the action is very important!

Therefore, boys may be able to use 5 kilograms, while girls may only be able to use 2 or 3 kilograms, as long as this weight is tiring for you to do this posture. You can choose to do this exercise ten times with 5 kg before you get tired, or do it 20 times with 3 kg before you get tired. It's very flexible! You can even do it without dumbbells, because if it is a big challenge to move your hands and feet and keep your body stable without dumbbells, then this load is enough for you.

Don't limit strength training to local muscles or weights and equipment. Tools are dead, but the mind and body are alive. First, pay attention to the body itself. It is the body that does the movements and controls the body. It must have the ability to move and stabilize, and then you can do more.

Then you can use your creativity to make more changes to the movements, do the movements at different angles or in a different order, and the same movement can be replaced by different equipment or used together. This is training the body and the mind. Therefore, the above movements can also be performed using elastic ropes or sandbags.

Therefore, if you only train a part of the body and do not use enough weight, the intensity will not be enough and the effect will not be enough. So do you know how heavy the dumbbells should be?

If you want to train for muscle hypertrophy, then it is most practical to go to a gym, which has a full range of weights and equipment. If you want to use dumbbells at home, you must first know what movements you want to do? What movements can you do or what movements are suitable for you? Maybe some movements can be practiced with bare hands first. After understanding the concepts of movements and training methods, even chairs and basketballs can be used as tools.

Some equipment may not be sold in general stores, but can be purchased by searching online. Don't forget that the equipment needs to be used flexibly, and the body's flexibility, balance control and good movements are the most important. If the equipment doesn't work or can't control your body movements, freehand methods and improving flexibility may be what you need most!

Then don’t ask me where to buy the chair, because I’ve been asked this several times! You can use any stable and sturdy chair, stone steps or wooden box as an exercise tool. Remember that this is a training for the body and even more so for the brain.

This article comes from: Muscle Mom Blog

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