This is a busy life and each one of us has a lot to deal with on a daily basis. But does that mean we completely ignore the whole concept of a fitness or workout session? No. in spite of the constraints of space and time, we have to find that corner of the room and that little time for ourselves in order to take care of our bodies.
This indeed will take a lot of time and effort and a huge part of that will be your willingness and interest to work out. Once you have convinced yourself to get to the gym or use that fitness equipment, you would want to get the most out of your fitness sessions. This might include just normal body fitness as well as having the perfect body physique.
Now, would you believe it if we told you that all this could be achieved with the help of dumbbells? A full-body dumbbell workout is more effective than what you actually think.
With the help of this gym equipment, you can work every single muscle of your body, keeping it fit overall. There are different dumbbell exercises targeting different parts of the body.
In this article, we are going to tell you about the various activities you could try out using these dumbbells.
Chest
The first part of the body that we are going to deal with here is the chest and this is one of the strongest areas covered by dumbbell action. A general workout with the dumbbells will help you exercise the muscles of the chest, giving it the required activity. If you are looking to target your pectorals, these dumbbell exercises are ideal for the purpose.
The most common exercise catering to the chest is the bench press. You might have heard about this form of exercise before. There are, of course, several variations of the bench press. We are going to go through three of the list here. But before we get into the variations, let us learn the main process. You are required to hold the dumbbells firmly with both hands with your palms facing inwards. Moving your hands up and down, or inward and upward will do the job for you.
Inclined bench press: This is a form of exercise that targets mainly the upper part of the chest. It imparts strength and power.
Flat bench press: This dumbbell exercise caters to the middle of the chest region.
Reclined bench press: As obvious, reclined bench press activities work on the lower part of the chest to give it the required boost.
Shoulders
You might have heard about a lot of exercises catering to the shoulder region. But dumbbells can work on these muscles like nothing else. Firstly, the muscles on this contoured part of the body are called the deltoids. A few of the exercises are very effective for a full fitness workout.
- Sitting shoulder overhead press
- Front dumbbell raise
- Dumbbell press
These exercises mainly work on the anterior part of the contoured region, lateral raise, dumbbell upright row and shoulder shrug. A few minutes of workout with the dumbbells can do wonders to your shoulders.
Back
A lot of people face a lot of problems with the back area. We often tend to ignore this part of the body. In fact, the back is home to a lot more muscles including the likes of the latissimus dorsi, the trapezius and the rhomboids. There are two major types of exercises that can be done with the help of dumbbells that can keep your back healthy.
Dumbbell bent-over row: This particular exercise works along the length of your spinal cord to keep you healthy and fit. For performing this particular activity, you need to keep your back straight while keeping your body bent in general at the waist. Your knees should be a little bent and in this position, you can pull the dumbbells straight to your chest in a repetitive motion.
Kneeling one arm row: This is another effective dumbbell exercise working well on your back. For this, you will need a bench or a table on which you will place one knee. The other leg is moved to the side of the table or bench and thereby raise the dumbbells to your chest and back again. This can be repeated a few times alternating both the hands.
Both of these exercises are useful in targeting all three muscles of the back.
Limbs
The limbs are another important part of the human body. In order to have a clear and effective workout to keep the limbs fit, we need to divide the limbs into two parts. Let us see how.
Arms
Biceps- Some of the exercises include bicep curl, alternating bicep curl, hammer curl, concentration curl and the likes.
Triceps- one arm and two arm triceps extension, triceps kickback, etc.
Forearms- palms-up wrist curl, palms down wrist curl
Legs
The muscles targeted in the legs are the quadriceps and glutes.
Here are some of the exercises:
- Squats- One dumbbell works between your thighs
- Lunges- two dumbbells required for two hands with the body bent 90 degrees to the floor
- Toe raise- Here, you need to lift yourself on your toes all the while holding on to the dumbbells in your hands.
Abdominals
The upper and lower regions of your abdominal portions can be targeted with the help of the following dumbbell exercises.
Weighted crunch: Lie down on the floor with a dumbbell on your chest and lift your chest up in a regular motion.
Weighted leg raises: Place a dumbbell between your feet while lying down on your back and keep lifting the legs in repetitive actions.
Side bend: This easy exercise requires you to hold a dumbbell in one hand and bend your body at the waist.
The best part about these adjustable dumbbells is that you can practice these exercises in the comfort of your home. These are effective for maintaining body fitness.