Bodybuilding.net - Bodybuilding Forum

Hey everyone, I've been doing alot of reading and searching on this great forum and finally took the plunge yesterday and purchased some equipment.I wanted to start out with the basics as I am limited to work-out space right now.I picked up a set of Powerblock elites(and the 90lb upgrade kit) yesterday as well as a Power tec Incline bench.Very impressed with the Powerblocks!I know that dumbells are probably the most versitile of all free weights and was wondering if someone could suggest a good dumbell work out routine.I've played with weights in the past but this time I want to get serious!I'm 6ft and 215 lbs and 34 years old and am starting to feel my age!I have a fairly thick frame but would like to add upper body mass.Arms, shoulders and back.Can someone please point me in the right direction?Thanks very much for the advise and the great forum!!!

i think you should still do legs, if only to help your upperbody grow. and for that you A, need a barbell. or B, need some REALLY heavy dumbells.

__________________
age: 18
height: 5'9"
weight: 198bs
bench 1RM: 275
parallel squat 1RM: 385
deadlift 1RM: N/A
hang clean 1RM: N/A

i wish i could live on crack and protien shakes...

Replicate bar motions with the dumbbells, overhead dumbbell press is like military press, flat dumbbell press like the bench press. Keep in mind that you can use a heavier weight with bars than dumbells, you may bench 200 once, but i gurantee you cant do the same with two 100 pounders. Bars are useful with developing strength and mass, dumbbells give more flexibility and fuller ranges of motion, but also produce mass, just not to the same degree a bar could.
Biceps: alternating dumbell curl, hammer curl, concentration curl, incline curl.
Triceps: overhead press, kickbacks, lying press
Chest: Flat dumbbell press, flys (love these), hammer press (This is a great inner chest devloper hold two dumbbells in a hammer grip flat on a bench. Keep them at your sides and push up and slightly in and then back to starting position with the weights by your ribs.)
Deltoids: Dumbbell press, laterals, bent over laterals, front raises,
Back: Dumbbell rows
As hsfootball said, legs are important to train, they are larger muscles and release more hormone than upperbody exercises. Try doing dumbbell lunges and squats for legs. Another great way to get stronger is by using your own bodyweight. Push ups, dips, pull ups, and bench dips are great for getting stronger.
These are all the exercises i could name off the top of my head, good luck with your program and keep visiting the forum for advice.

To train your legs with dumbbells, you might want to try doing one leg exercises. One legged squats, etc. That way you can maximize resistance. Just a thought.

Just keep in mind that any exercise that you can do with a bar you can replicate a very good version of it with a dumbell. And in many cases a better version. Including the olympic lifts. Deadlifts. One arm or sinlge leg versions of things. Forget all the stuff about bars causing mass and db's causing "flexibility". Consistency will build mass and strength no matter what the implement...even if its sand bags or just heavy stuff.

As stated you can do the single leg squat versions but also you can hold the dumbells in a clean position and do a kind of front squat. Goblet squats. Be creative.

A great thing to do with db's is to create fullbody movements. So for instance you might do heavy push presses from a full (ish) squat position. Or lunges with an overhead press at the bottom. Kettleball type exercises. The sky's the limit.

I want to reiterate this thing about barbells, because they are heavier, creating more mass and strength. This is a little bit of bullshit. When you work up to an appreciable weight on a dumbell implement and then you can lift more with the barbell version of that exercise...that is a DEMONSTRATION of strength, not the source of it. Dumbells become impractical for the main implement at some point for many things but they will always be useful.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
or
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


If you act sanctimonious I will just list out your logical fallacies until you get pissed off and spew blasphemous remarks.

Hey thanks for the great advise guys.Now being a newbie at this can anyone suggest a good dumbell workout routine?Possibly a 3-4 day a week.Also how do I know what weight to start out with?Is it just a trial and error thing for the first few workouts until I find the correct weight.Should I go heavy enough to the point of failure on the last rep?Thanks very much everyone.