Barbell and dumbbell exercises have proven to show
serious fitness results for many years, without all of the expensive
equipment people have associated with fitness recently. One of the main
benefits of free weights, barbells, and dumbbells is their portability
and versatility. You can perform a huge range of exercises that work
every main muscle group, right in the comfort of your own home with
nothing more than some floor space, a set of weights, and a workout
bench!
What barbell exercises and dumbbell workouts give you, over the
larger exercise equipment you'll find at the gym, is a great stabilizing
workout. When you exercise with weight sets, you work your stabilizing
muscles on top of your main muscle groups, without even realizing it.
Since you're not using specialized gym equipment to isolate each muscle
group, weight set workouts force you to stabilize yourself in order to
perform the exercise correctly. This works a wide range of muscles, all
while you focus on one group.
Dumbbells and
barbell exercises can work your abs, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps,
forearms, back, and leg muscles. Try the following dumbbell and barbell workouts
for all of these groups, with your new weight set:
- Dumbbell Hammer curls - Standing up straight with your arms tight at your sides. Curl the weights up in a hammer motion and slowly return them to your sides.
- Dumbbell Chest flies - Sitting at a slight incline, with a
dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms above your chest straight up. Bend
your elbows slightly and lower your arms to either side until they are
parallel with the floor. Return to the starting position.
- Dumbbell Shoulder press - Sitting or standing, with a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arm directly over your head with your elbow slightly bent. Lower your arm until it is bent at a 90-degree angle behind you head then return to the starting position. Switch arms when ready.
- Dumbbell Lunges - With a dumbbell in each hand, stand straight and hold your arms at your sides. Step forward and bend your knee to a 90-degree angle, letting the other knee bend normally. Hold, and then return to the upright position. Repeat, switching legs each time.
- Barbell Trunk Rotations - While sitting on a bench, place the
barbell behind your neck, holding it with both hands. Rotate your upper body
from side to side without moving your legs. Take short pauses between
rotations, and hold, while keeping your back straight throughout. Try
alternating grips from a wide to a close grip.
- Bench Press - Lying down on your back on a bench, grasp the
barbell with both hands. Push the barbell straight up until your elbows are
almost locked, then lower it slowly back down to your chest. Breathe out
while pushing up, and in while lowering it back down. Take short pauses at
the top and bottom of the form, and try different grip positions to work
separate muscles.
- Barbell Pullover - Lying down on your back at the end of a bench,
hold the barbell at your head height with your arms extended. Raise the
barbell up until your arms are perpendicular to the floor, and then slowly
lower them back to your starting position. Remember to breathe out when
pushing the barbell up, and in while lowering it down. Try different arm
positions, like straight arm and bent arm.
- Barbell Upright Row - Standing up straight, hold the barbell with
both hands in front of your thighs, palms facing backwards towards you.
Raise the barbell straight up, your arms bending out at the elbow, until it
reaches the top of your chest, and then lower it back to the starting
position, slowly, breathing out. Never jerk your back, and always perform in
slow, meticulous movements.
- Barbell Biceps Curl - Standing up straight, hold the barbell with
both hands, palms facing away from you. Bend your elbows back and raise the
barbell up towards your shoulders, then lower it back to the starting
position. Make sure your back and upper arms are stabilized throughout the
workout. Try different grips, close, wide, medium, for different results and
difficulties.
- Barbell Triceps Extension - Standing up straight, hold the
barbell behind your shoulders with your upper arms pointing up and your
elbows at a 90 degree angle. Raise the barbell up by straightening your
arms, and then slowly lower it back to the starting position. Do not lower
the barbell beyond the starting position, since this can cause you to strain
to raise it back up.
Offering versatile exercises and
multiple levels of resistance, free weight dumbbells and barbells are great tools to shape you into the body you're looking for. Check out our entire fitness selection including
fitness equipment
and accessories for more options.
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