Dumbbells are common gym equipment that are often neglected in favor of heavier weights or more sophisticated equipment. However, they are often a staple of home gyms as they are relatively light and easy to transport or store. While they are often associated with upper body work, they can allow you to perform a quick and convenient full-body workout, either by combining different exercises or with certain exercises that work your whole body.
Types
The kind of workout you will be able to perform will depend on your level of conditioning, as well as how heavy your dumbbells are. Light dumbbells will allow you to perform a simple, low-intensity calorie-burning workout, whereas heavier dumbbells make for a higher-intensity circuit for the more experienced. Only heavier weights can be used for muscle-building workouts.
Advantages
Dumbbells are relatively easy to store and transport. Compared with barbells, they require you to use more stabilizing muscles and promote more symmetry, as each arm must work separately from the other instead of allowing one arm to compensate for the other. They also allow each arm to move more freely while you lift, allowing your shoulders to take a more natural posture.
Exercises
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, you can perform exercises such as dumbbell raises, to the front or to the side. You can perform upright or bent over rows, or renegade rows, where you support yourself on the dumbbells in the push-up position and perform rows with alternate arms. You can do squats or lunges while holding a dumbbell in each hand to work your legs harder. Some exercises, such as the dead lift, can be performed with dumbbells and offer a full-body workout in their own right.
Circuits
A full-body workout with dumbbells must either consist of a circuit combining single exercises that work different parts of the body, or exercises that work the whole body. An example of the former includes a circuit with moderate weights, consisting of 10 repetitions each of dumbbell squats, dumbbell lunges, chest press, shoulder press, shrugs and rows, done with minimal rest. This sequence can then be repeated several times. An example of a full-body workout with a single exercise would be a Tabata thruster workout. This involves performing a 20-second set of dumbbell thrusters at maximum intensity with a light weight, with dumbbells held at your shoulders as you squat down, pressing them to an extended position overhead as you stand. Rest for 10 seconds, then repeat for eight sets in total for a fast but intense workout.
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