Building strong, defined muscles doesn’t always require complicated and expensive equipment; With a simple well-executed dumbbell routine you can get fast and very satisfying results.
Dumbbell exercises have many advantages for anyone: they can be done practically anywhere, they are not of great intensity and they still generate satisfactory results for people with different levels of training.
But so that all this is not just a dead letter, it is necessary to develop a good full-body routine, one that contemplates the joint work between the back, legs, shoulders and in general all the areas that we most want to tone.
Benefits of dumbbell training
Before looking at the routine in detail, it is good to consider the advantages of dumbbells , and it is that in addition to the ease of execution or being able to perform exercises with them anywhere without the need for a lot of space, these implements have other benefits.
A clear benefit of dumbbells is that they allow you to detect muscle imbalances, in a way that other weight training does not. For example: if you are doing a barbell chest press, one arm may be executing more force than the other, without you even noticing. With dumbbells these flaws are more obvious, so they can be recorded and later corrected in detail.
Another important benefit is that the dumbbells are so safe that you can use them freely without the need for a coach or people to assist you during the lift. This, of course, does not mean that lifting dumbbells is something only intuitive, but it is an advantage to be able to train with them without the need for greater precautionary measures.
The full body dumbbell routine
These are some instructions prior to the routine, for its best execution:
- The routine is divided into two circuits, an A circuit and a B circuit, each with four exercises, for a total of eight exercises.
- Each circuit must be done in 3 sets of 10 repetitions, that is to say: each exercise is executed 10 times until completing one circuit and then it is repeated again two more times, to complete 3 sets.
- Before moving on to the next circuit, you can rest for about two minutes.
- A good tip is to use two pairs of dumbbells, some heavy and some a little lighter. With the heavy dumbbells you perform the first two exercises of each set, while you leave the light ones for the last two exercises.
Circuit A
1. Dumbbell chest press
- Using a flat bench, sit on the edge, resting your feet firmly on the floor and holding a dumbbell in each hand, resting them on your thighs.
- Raise the dumbbells supporting yourself on your thighs and drop backwards, until you are lying in a starting position, with your arms raised and straight with your shoulders, your feet firmly supported again.
- Lower the dumbbells toward your chest, until your arms are parallel to the ground.
- Press with your arms to raise the dumbbells again and repeat for 10 reps.
2. One leg dumbbell deadlift
- Start standing up, holding a dumbbell in each hand and with your arms extended down and to your sides.
- Extend your left leg back, while bending forward from the hips, leaving your arms with the dumbbells extended in front of you, as low as possible.
- The knee of the right leg can be kept very slightly bent to make the exercise more comfortable.
- Hold the position for about 5 seconds and then, pressing with the glutes, reverse the movement until you are in the starting position.
- Do 10 reps.
3. Renegade Rowing
- Start in a high push-up position, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- The feet may be slightly wider than the hips to create stability.
- Bring a dumbbell up toward your armpit (rowing motion) while applying slight pressure to your abdomen to support the twist and minimize hip movement.
- Return to the starting position and repeat about 10 times, alternating sides.
4. Split squat with dumbbells and rear foot elevated
- Start by standing with your back to a low flat bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Raise one foot back, onto the bench, with slight pressure.
- Drop down slightly, keeping your torso vertical.
- When the knee of the back leg has come as close to the ground as possible, raise yourself up to the starting position, pressing down on the sole of the foot.
- Repeat 10 times and switch sides.
Circuit B
1. Cup squat
- Start standing up, holding a single dumbbell at the level of your chin, with both hands and by one of its ends.
- With some pressure on your abdomen, lower yourself into a squat position so that your elbows touch the inside of your knees.
- Pause for a second holding the position and then gain momentum in your thighs and feet to return to the starting position.
- It is important that you keep your spine neutral, so that the greatest effort falls on the legs and not on the lower back.
- Repeat the exercise 10 times.
2. One-arm dumbbell row
- Position yourself on a flat bench with one knee and its corresponding hand resting on the bench, while the foot of the other leg remains firmly on the floor and with the free hand you hold a dumbbell.
- Keeping your back straight, raise the dumbbell up to your armpit.
- Drop your arm again and repeat the exercise.
3. One arm dumbbell power clean
- Start standing up, holding a dumbbell in one hand at shoulder height.
- Drop into a squat position, extending your arm with the dumbbell in the middle of your legs, back straight and chest high.
- Taking a quick push and leaning on your glutes, lift yourself up as you raise the arm of the dumbbell, bending the elbow until it is again at shoulder height.
- Repeat the exercise about 10 times and then switch sides.
4. Alternating Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Begin standing, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, with the palms of your hands facing outward.
- Maintaining some pressure on your abdomen, raise a dumbbell by extending your arm over your head.
- Bring that arm back to the starting position and repeat the exercise with the other arm.
Reference
- Holt, Nick. Full-Body Dumbbell Workout To Build Muscle & Get Strong. For Builtlean. [Revised February 2017].
