Is working out solely with dumbells a good strategy?

[raildogg]

I don't have that much money right now to spend on exercise equipment. But I do have 5 lb, 10 lb, 25 lb and 40 lb dumbells. Are these enough to do a good arm-upper body-shoulder-back workout?

 

[Aimster]

no, if you want to see results you need to join the gym and have a strong diet.

School gym ? All schools around here have some kind of gym, even the community colleges.

http://www.bodybuilding.com (forums - store)

or...

balley total fitness.. print a free 2 week pass out online. It is good for each one around you. So, if you have 4 around you that is 8 weeks free. They offer student programs ($150 I believe for 4 months).

 

[watdahel]

Yes it is.

 

[Whisper]

It's better than nothing, and of course you'll see some gains compared to doing nothing at all...but especially for the larger muscle groups (chest and legs most noticeably), having some heavier weights around would go a long way in helping improve the end result.

Then again, you could always just stick to push-ups, sit-ups, dips, etc. in addition to your dumbbells until you can afford to either join a gym, or pick up some more equipment.

 

[Special K]

Most upper body movements can be done with dumbbells, but you'll have a hard time training your lower body with them. DB squats and deadlifts don't really work very well.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: Special K
Most upper body movements can be done with dumbbells, but you'll have a hard time training your lower body with them. DB squats and deadlifts don't really work very well.

Yup!

Although, starting out, I'm sure doing dumbbell squats and deads would work just fine.

 

[Aimster]

You all didn't see his dumbell weights ..

25-40 is a big increase. He will def need to buy some 30s and 35s.

Since he has probably not worked out a lot in his life he will probably needs some 10s and 15s.

 

[AbAbber2k]

You can "get in shape" with what you've got. For lower body do squats and lunges. Upper body... press, military press, tricep extensions, curls, hammer curls, front/side raises, flys, reverse flys, bent over rows... so many things you can do with DBs. You'll definitly plateau with the weights you have, but by then hopefully you'll have a little money to drop on a gym membership or more weights.

Edit: der

 

[doze]

Some pushup and pullups wouldn't hurt either

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: doze
Some pushup and pullups wouldn't hurt either

that is so hard... even for hard working Americans...

"Hi, welcome to Burger King, may I take your order?"

 

[UncleWai]

Originally posted by: doze
Some pushup and pullups wouldn't hurt either

yes. Screw weight training. Pull-up bars are all you need. I've been running and using the pull-up bars like a mad man for half a year now. The result is great.

 

[rudder]

buy a bench at a yard sale and you will be good to go. There are tons of excercises to do with just dumbells and a bench.

 

[krunchykrome]

You can start with what you have. But sooner or later, you're going to need heavier weights and more equipment. You're either going to have to join a gym or buy a home gym. Diet and water consumption is very important as well.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: UncleWai

Originally posted by: doze
Some pushup and pullups wouldn't hurt either

yes. Screw weight training. Pull-up bars are all you need. I've been running and using the pull-up bars like a mad man for half a year now. The result is great.

:laugh:

 

[Snakexor]

free weights are actuallly better to work out with than benches/machines. the reason why is that when you bench press with dumbells or any other excersize you are not only working your target muscle groups but also the muscles around it that are needed to stabilize the weight during the rep.

 

[Xyo II]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
free weights are actuallly better to work out with than benches/machines. the reason why is that when you bench press with dumbells or any other excersize you are not only working your target muscle groups but also the muscles around it that are needed to stabilize the weight during the rep.

And if you haven't worked out before, make sure to stretch before you start. Nothing like pulling a muscle at 8:00 am and being sore the entire day.

 

[raildogg]

Thanks for the great responses.

As Aimster noted, there is a huge weight increase from 25 lb to 40 lb. I got greedy and thougth I could handle it. The thing is that I cannot workout my biceps muscles with the 40 lb but I can workout my shoulders, chest and triceps with them.

Should I continue to work my biceps with my 25 lb and hope to get stronger to be able to do it on the 40 lb one day?

I am a workout amateur as you can tell.

 

[UncleWai]

why didn't you buy plates instead?
You cannot go from 25 to 40lb but just continuing working with 25lb.
If you keep using 25lbs, you will just gain more endurance and do my reps @25lbs, but it won't push you to do 40lb curls.

 

[UncleWai]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: UncleWai

Originally posted by: doze
Some pushup and pullups wouldn't hurt either

yes. Screw weight training. Pull-up bars are all you need. I've been running and using the pull-up bars like a mad man for half a year now. The result is great.

:laugh:

Dude you must have misunderstood me thinking it was a mockery at the thug workout. I am not kidding, pull-up bars are the shizzle. one pull-up requires a lot of muscles working together. You won't get crazy bulky muscles like the ones you see in weightlifters. You get definition, more agility doing using bodyweights.

But really, I was too cheap to pay $30 a month to sign up for a gym. I just go down to the local park and do all my exercises there.