The Best Dumbbell Weights for a Lady

If you think you can get away with lifting those 1-pound dumbbells over and over as you stick with your gym routine, think again. That might work for you at first, but because of muscle adaptation, the "best" dumbbell weight for women is going to change all the time -- even if you're not at all interested in getting bulky, as many women aren't.

  1. Lifting to Fatigue

    • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that all adults do strength-training exercises two days a week, using all major muscle groups. You don't have to do a lot of repetitions and sets of each exercise, either. According to MayoClinic.com, one set of 12 to 15 repetitions is totally fine for most adults -- you just have to lift enough weight to cause your muscles to feel fatigued toward the end of the set.

    Starting Out

    • If that 1-pound dumbbell will cause you to feel fatigued at the end of your set, great -- you've found the "best" weight for you and your body. If you don't know how much weight you can handle, however, you're going to have to go through a process of trial and error. Check out the dumbbell rack at your local gym, or get yourself a set of adjustable-weight dumbbells. Pick up a low weight, such as a 3- or 5-pound dumbbell, and try to do a single repetition of a bicep curl or lateral arm raise. If it seems really difficult or really easy to do that first rep, move up or down in weight and try again.

    Progression

    • Sometimes, you may not really know what the right weight will be until toward the end of your set. That's where keeping a log of your lifting routine can come in handy, since it will help you remember the amount of weight you lifted for each exercise, and jog your memory about what to try the next time. Your muscles have an incredible capacity to adapt. After you've lifted a 5-pound dumbbell for one or two weeks, you may find that the weight no longer causes fatigue. That's when you should move up to a weight that is 5 to 10 percent heavier. Continue to move up to a heavier weight every one to three weeks, depending on your progress.

    Different Weight, Different Exercises

    • If you're using dumbbells to work all the muscles of your body, keep in mind that the "best" weight for you may change depending on the type of exercise you're doing. For example, the 5-pound weight might be great for doing bicep curls, but you may need to move up to 10-pound weights for the bench press. That means you'll need to go through the process of trial and error for each exercise that's part of your routine.