Women often gravitate towards cardio workouts and other slimming exercises rather than muscle building. However, a few simple dumbbell routines can make a huge difference in building your strength and balance.
1. Bend Over and Lift
This simple exercise has benefits for your biceps, back, and legs. It is an especially useful exercise if you want to develop better posture. The trick is to keep your back straight. It can be tempting to arch your back, but a straight back is essential.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and bend over with your back perfectly straight
- Very slightly bend your knees to improve your balance and extend your arms with a dumbbell in each hand
- Lift your arms towards your chest, keeping your elbows tucked into your side
- When you get to the top, squeeze your shoulder blades together as if squeezing a ball between them to extend the motion through your upper back
2. Dumbbell Lift
Among the most classic dumbbell exercises, this lift works your shoulders, chest, and upper back. Because it requires some balance, it can also provide some benefits to your core and legs. This is also one of the easiest dumbbell lifts, which makes it a good option for when you are just getting started.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand, just over your shoulders
- Raise your arms to the ceiling, stretching at the top to extend the motion through your upper back
- Bring your arms back down, being careful to keep the dumbbells even
3. Seated Twist
It can be hard to find good ab exercises using dumbbells, but this is one of the better options out there. It requires a bit more balance and flexibility than the other routines on this list. If you find yourself struggling with it, you may want to find some good stretches on Stretch.com to prepare you for this exercise.
- Sit on the floor and raise your legs and back so that only your bum is resting on the ground
- Hold a dumbbell between your two hands and twist from side to side. Be careful to turn your neck along with your body so as not to strain it
- Extend the stretch as far as you can in both directions, working your abs in the front and the sides
4. Reverse Lunge
Reverse lunges provide a great workout for your legs as well as your abs, back, and glutes. It’s hard to find one exercise that provides such far-reaching benefits. You probably already have a lunge routine, but the reverse lunge is well worth adding to the mix.
- Stand with your legs about hip-width apart and hold the dumbbells at your sides
- Step backward with one leg and slowly lower your knee to the ground, raising the dumbbells to your chest as you go
- Be careful to keep your chest facing forward and to move slowly so that you can feel the muscles working to maintain your balance and the weight of the dumbbells
5. Bicep Curl
Here is another very traditional dumbbell exercise that is nonetheless well worth adding to your routine. This is an easy exercise to do, but it can do a great job of toning your biceps and upper arms.
Remember to do it slowly so that your muscles have to work to maintain the weight of the dumbbell throughout the entire lift. If you would like to add a bit more toning to this routine, try doing it while seated and leaning forward slightly so that your abs are engaged.
- Hold dumbbells in your hands at each side with your palms facing inward
- Lift one dumbbell at a time towards your shoulder, rotating your arm as you go so that the palm faces upward
- Slowly lower the dumbbell and repeat with the other hand
Is it Worth it to Use Dumbbells?
Many women are tempted to feel that it isn’t worth bothering with dumbbells. After all, they don’t seem to add a lot to the workout, especially initially. However, over time, dumbbells can actually have significant benefits for your workout.
Dumbbells increase the strength of your muscles more quickly compared to not using dumbbells. They structure your motion to make a workout more effective and make it less likely that you’ll be injured. Furthermore, they demand greater balance, which increases how hard your muscles need to work throughout your entire body.
Dumbbells offer a more natural workout as opposed to using an exercise machine, and they are very easy to store in your home. As an added benefit, you can increase the weight of dumbbells easily as your strength builds.
Benefit From Dumbbell Routines
Many women are not drawn to strength training with weights in the way men are, but dumbbells can provide significant benefits to your daily workout routine. They are a simple, inexpensive way to add a lot of value to your exercise.
