How to Use Handheld Weights

Handheld weights, also called dumbbells, provide you the opportunity to get in a total-body workout, even from the comfort of your own living room. For your arms, you might do biceps curls, tricep curls, arm extensions and bench presses. For your legs, you might do wide and narrow squats and forward and backward lunges. Each of these exercises requires different movements, but the basic tenets of safety and form remain the same.

Instructions

    • 1

      Start with an amount of weight that is not too heavy. The ideal amount of weight for you is the amount that forces your muscles to feel fatigued toward the end of a 10- to 12-repetition set -- and that might mean lifting more weight than you might imagine. However, it's important to learn proper form before you do that. Try using 1- or 2-pound dumbbells to start.

    • 2

      Lift the weights with the muscles in your legs, not the muscles in your back when you're lifting them off the floor or a rack, reminds the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). This can help you prevent back injuries. Also maintain a tight abdominal area to help stabilize your spine throughout each movement.

    • 3

      Grip the weights firmly, wrapping all four fingers around the bar of the weight and securing your thumb around your fingers. Most injuries from free weights happen from dropping the weights, according to ACSM.

    • 4

      Move the weights in a smooth, controlled fashion. When you're doing the difficult part of the exercise, exhale. As you do the easy part, inhale.

    • 5

      Perform two sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of each exercise, about two days a week. Don't do your handheld weights exercises on consecutive days, as your muscles need time to rest and generate new muscle tissue in between sessions. As you gain new muscle tissue, you're going to find that you'll need to lift more weight to continue working to fatigue. Move up in weight by about 5 to 10 percent every two weeks.

    • 6

      Find a spotter to help you when you're doing exercises that are new to you or ones that involve a heavy amount of weight. The dumbbells might seem harmless, but these handheld weights can still cause injury if you don't use them correctly.