Workout Exercises & Routines With Dumb Bells

Low or High Reps?

• If your plan is to engage weights in an aerobic routine, you will be developing leaner muscle and using the weights to build more of a toned and cut look. The same goes for normal dumb bell exercise at a high rate of repetition. Use five-pound dumb bells for boxing aerobics, clutching them as you shadow box until you can't hold them up any more.

  The goal in boxing is to become as lean as possible for the lowest weight class you can fight in. At the same time you want fast-twitch power in your muscles so the weight loss isn't coupled with strength loss. This combination of benefits provided by a boxing-type workout with dumb bells also provides phenomenal muscle tone.

  If your goal is to be the guy with the biggest biceps at the beach, do low reps with high weight. Grab the heaviest barbell on the rack and start pumping one to five reps at a time. Standing and seated curls are easy starting points, but as your muscles adjust, you can graduate to inclined curls.

The Basics

• Start with the major muscles like the pectorals in the chest. Use one dumb bell for each hand and do some bench presses. If you don't have a bench, you can lie on the floor. You can work a variety of other muscles from the same position.

  For more bicep stimulation you can do a butterfly press motion by reaching your arms out to each side and curling them back toward your chest. This will also work the forearms and the outer chest. You can also hold one dumb bell with two hands and raise it over your head, point it toward the floor, and then bring it back to the chest area. You can do all these variations from a standing position as well.

  You'll want to consult some weight-lifting charts to develop a routine that will target multiple different muscle groups. Just remember that when you perform reps, you want to travel the full range of motion for each exercise. Don't stop short or overextend.

Get Creative

• If the desired effect is to prepare yourself for a particular sport, adapt your routine for the specific task at hand. For basketball, you could hold a dumb bell in one hand and practice jumping as high as possible while holding it over your head. For hockey you could hold the dumb bell like a stick and practice your slapshot. Just don't let go, allowing it to fly out of your hands.

  Whatever you are lifting weights for, think of the specific muscle group to improve for best results. Your best exercise may not be on a chart. You might have to invent it. Any full-range motion you can repeat qualifies as a dumb bell exercise. Just about every upper-body muscle can benefit from a well-planned routine with dumb bells. Don't feel like you have to stick to the traditional, by-the-book styles. Go rogue and create your own fitness regimen.