The Infonian

Dumbbells are probably the most versatile exercise equipment ever invented. They are perfect for anyone and are ideal for working out at home. Even with light weights, dumbbell workouts can tone your muscles and when combined with cardio, dumbbells can really boost your body’s fat-burning capacity. You’ll need to get a set of dumbbells to get started. Stick with lighter weights so you don’t run the risk of injuring yourself. We’ll start off by going over some dumbbell conditioning exercises that can be done indoors year-round. Make sure you’ve got enough clear space around you (and above you too) to be able to safely perform the maneuvers without hitting anything.

Single dumbbell squat: Grasp a dumbbell with both hands, holding it about 8 inches in front of your chest. With your feet about shoulder-width apart, keep your back straight and slowly bend at the knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor-hold for one or two seconds and then return to the starting position. Do 10-12 reps, rest for a moment then repeat;

Side shoulder raise: Stand and hold the dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing inwards. With your elbows slightly bent, raise your arms out and up, bringing the dumbbells up to about ear height. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. You can also do front raises-with your palms facing towards you, keep your arm more or less straight and bring the dumbbell up and out in front of you up to about ear height;

Overhead press: Grasp the dumbbells with your palms facing forward. Bring the dumbbells up to about ear height (your upper arms parallel to the floor). Raise the dumbbells up over your head until they just about touch-pause and return to the starting position and then repeat;

Bicep curls: Hold the dumbbells at your side palms facing forward and then keeping your elbows near your side, curl your arm up until the dumbbell just about touches your shoulder. Hold for 1-2 seconds, return to the starting position. You can do one arm at a time or both together-whichever you prefer.

Once you’ve got these basic movements down, you can start performing these exercises while walking in place. Start easy but try and get to where you can lift your legs high enough so that your thigh is nearly parallel to the floor. You want to get your heart rate up so that you’ll achieve maximum benefit. Rotate through the exercises. You can even add your own.

Now we’ll discuss a few ways that you can outside or incorporate dumbbells into outdoor activities such as walking:

Jumping jacks with overhead dumbbell press: Begin by standing with your feet about 6-8 inches apart, grasping a dumbbell in each hand and bend your elbows upright (upper arms parallel to the floor) holding the dumbbells about ear height. Jump up spreading your feet out (like you were doing a jumping jack) and as you do so, lift the dumbbells over your head. Jump back to the starting position and as you do, return the dumbbells to the starting position. Repeat 20-30 times;

Walking with dumbbells: Walking is an excellent, low-impact way to get or stay fit-it can be made even better with the addition of a lightweight set of dumbbells. Jumpstart your metabolism by doing bicep curls, overhead presses, or front raises while you’re walking;

Walking dumbbell lunges: Find an area where you can walk about 20 feet and then holding a dumbbell in each hand (arms at your side) place one foot forward as far as you comfortably can, then lower your body until the knee of your rear leg almost touches the ground and your front thigh is almost parallel to the floor. Then, keeping your torso upright, lunge forward with the other leg, repeating the process, alternating lunges 10 times;

What I’ve presented here are just a very few of the many ways to incorporate dumbbells into a conditioning workout. Be creative and come up with some of your own. Be sure to take things slowly at first and gradually build up your capacity and make sure you’ve got the form down right. Starting off too aggressively right out of the gate may result in injury and can really make it difficult to stick with your program. Try and build up to where you can do at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise 3-5 times a week.

Author: Mike Westerdal

If you are looking to build a home gym this year, there are some important criteria that should be taken into consideration. A good home gym offers versatility, the ability to have a few pieces of exercise equipment perform a wide variety of exercises. It must be durable and be able to handle the rigors of hard resistance training over a long period of time. Exercise equipment shouldn’t take up a lot of space. There are many exercises you can do with your own body weight and a mat, so the home gym equipment shouldn’t clutter up the workout space, nor be difficult to store. Finally it should be affordable. No one likes investing in a $1000 home gym just to use it as a coat rack or have it collecting dust in the corner within 3 months. This list of exercise equipment should offer solutions in each category listed above and it should provide a challenging and fun workout environment.

Exercise Ball

One of the most versatile pieces of exercise equipment, the exercise ball can be used in place of a bench for any supine or seated exercise. The exercise ball comes in a variety of sizes and depending on brand, is made of varying material. Because of the stress placed on a ball during a workout, it is important to look for a ball that is burst proof and it will not pop under you during a workout. To obtain the right size, a ball that sits with your hips and knees at 90 degrees is most likely what you should use for a majority of the exercises. For most, a 55cm or 65cm ball is sufficient. An exercise ball can be purchased for around $25-$60.

The exercise ball will provide an element of instability that cannot be duplicated by a bench; therefore you can improve core stability, and strengthen the integrity of your joints including shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. The more stable you become, the stronger you will be and will drastically reduce the incidence of injury.

Dumbbells

A good home gym isn’t complete without a few sets of dumbbells. 5-50lbs in increments of 5 will make a complete set for every type of exercise. Dumbbells are good for full body exercises that resist gravity. Exercises such as lunges, squats, shoulder press, bicep curl and chest press are just a few on the list of dumbbell exercises. They are durable, versatile, and a good set will last you a lifetime. A good set of dumbbells may cost $50-$100 for 3-4 sets of varying weight.

Foam Roll

A hard foam cylinder is used for self massage. A supplement to stretching, a foam roll can help to increase flexibility in a way that stretching cannot. In addition, it can help to relieve knots and adhesion’s within muscle tissue. If you don’t like being sore after a workout, a foam roll can help to alleviate the soreness and therefore should be a staple item for your home gym. Invest $20 in a good foam roll that will take away your pain and soreness after a tough workout.

Xerdisc

The Xerdisc is an air filled rubber disc used for improving balance, and stability. The same exercises that you do while standing (ie. shoulder press, squat, bicep curl) can all be done while standing on an Exerdisc. Improving joint integrity and balance will allow you to become a more stable, stronger individual and the exercises are fun and challenging. It can also be used for ab exercises such as crunches, and anything you can do to make ab exercises harder has to be good! A quality Xerdisc may run about $40.

Xertube

Tubing comes in a variety of sizes based on the level of tension you want. Tubing can be used for most exercises in place of dumbbells and they will provide a variable tension. The plus side to using tubing is that you can gain resistance from a lateral position that dumbbells cannot provide. Exercises such as wood chops, torso twists, and pulling exercises like the bent row and lat pull are just a few that you can do with tubing that you can’t get with other forms or resistance. Tubing is also safe for seniors looking to stay active as there is no risk of dropping the weight. Tubing is color coded in relation to the resistance it provides. I suggest 3-5 different tubes from thin to thick to give you opportunity to perform many exercises with small and large muscle groups. They are usually about $5-$8 a piece and can be used around doorknobs, in door jams and any other stationary post.

This exercise equipment should provide everyone from the novice to the advanced, a well rounded home gym that you can invest in for less than $200 total. The level of versatility, durability, and challenge that is provided by these pieces of equipment is unmatched by any single unit you can buy, and should give you years of workouts that can be changed and progressed as you continue to get into better and better shape. Consult with your personal trainer as to what exercise equipment may be best for your home gym.

Author: Charles Carter