How to use dumbbells to build muscles

　　Dumbbells are like a hammer and chisel, sculpting every muscle in the body. As long as you have a pair of dumbbells and a bench, you can do any kind of bodybuilding training you want. Here’s how to use a pair of dumbbells to train your entire body.

　　1. Lower back: Compared with barbells, lifting dumbbells can reduce the pressure on the spine. Besides, it’s more comfortable to do the exercises with dumbbells. If you use dumbbells to do straight-leg deadlift exercises, you can also effectively develop the biceps femoris.

　　2. Calf: Stand upright and perform single-leg heel raise exercises with dumbbells in hand, which is more effective than using a calf machine. You can also step on a wooden board with the balls of your feet and place dumbbells on your knees to perform single-leg or double-leg seated calf raises.

　　3. Back: Compared with barbells, doing bent-over rowing exercises with one or two dumbbells (one arm is safer for the lower back) can make the back muscles grow faster. One-arm dumbbell rowing has always been a favorite back exercise for seven-time Mr. Olympia winner Lee Haney. It can not only exercise The serratus anterior muscle of the chest can also develop the muscles on both sides of the back.

　　4. Chest: Lying on your back on a bench and using dumbbells to do flat, incline and decline presses is more conducive to muscle growth than using a barbell because it can stimulate the muscles extensively and deeply. You can also use dumbbells to do multi-angle fly exercises to develop all parts of the chest muscles. A good practice is to do a set of dumbbell bench presses immediately after doing a set of dumbbell flyes. This kind of practice is not only effective, but also can reduce the burden on the shoulders and avoid sports injuries.

　　5. Shoulders: Various forms of dumbbell exercises can develop shoulder muscles. For example, use dumbbells to do lateral raises, front raises, and bent over fly exercises to develop the middle, biliary, and posterior bundles of the shoulder deltoid muscles. Develop your trapezius muscles with dumbbell shrugs or ring exercises.

　　6. Biceps: Dumbbell curls are the best exercise used by many bodybuilding champions to build the "peak" of the biceps. Different ways of dumbbell curls can make the upper arms thicker, and the blocks are separated and clearly highlighted when viewed from behind.

　　7. Triceps brachii: Use dumbbells to do single-arm or double-arm flexion and extension exercises at the back of the neck to develop the triceps brachii into a horseshoe shape. When practicing, you can lower the dumbbells as low as possible to enhance the training effect.

　　8. Forearm: Use dumbbell wrist curls with an overhand grip to develop the inner forearm muscles; use reverse grip wrist curls to develop the lateral forearm muscles.

　　9. Thighs: Do dumbbell weight-bearing squats with small wooden boards on your heels to develop your quadriceps muscles. If you lie on a bench with dumbbells under your feet and do curling exercises, you can develop your biceps femoris. You can also do dumbbell scissor squats (pictured)

　　10. Abdomen: Lie on your back, put the dumbbells behind your head and do sit-ups, which can exercise the upper abdominal muscles; do abdominal exercises and raise your legs (without moving the upper body) to exercise the lower abdominal muscles.

　　Strengthen yourself at home-Dumbbell home training plan

　　Building a physique that can only be achieved in the gym at home is as easy to implement as buying dumbbells and stools. Just refer to the three-day-a-week training plan we introduce below.

　　Visiting a fitness center near where you live can be an exasperating experience: gathering supplies before heading out, fighting traffic before arriving, and then waiting at the front desk for your membership card to be scanned for more than half an hour before your warm-up has even begun. This does not take into account whether your training partner may have the same problem and be late, in which case your training will be delayed. What if you include the time waiting in front of the Smith machine?……

　　As a result, you haven't had as much time as you would have liked to start your training program. But chances are, you'll be at your best when no one is around to disturb you. Just yourself, four familiar walls, a training bench, some dumbbells and a burning passion for fitness.

　　We've planned a three-day-a-week training program for you that only requires the necessary equipment: a pair of adjustable dumbbells and an adjustable bench. In the first two weeks of training, focus on strength, maintain each set of 6-8 times and control the rest time to 1 and a half to 2 minutes. In subsequent phases, you'll want to increase the rep count to 12 to maximize muscle growth, so rest for no more than 1 minute.

　　Don’t have a lat pull-down machine at home? no problem. Don’t have a seated calf raise machine? We've got you covered. We've thought more about it, you just charge a membership fee to the guests that come in (just kidding).

　　One-arm incline dumbbell curl

　　(Alternative movement: bent bar lift)

　　Start: Adjust the bench to 45 degrees or higher. Holding a dumbbell in your hand, place your armpits at the top of the bench and your upper arms right on the backrest. Elbows are slightly bent.

　　Action: Contract your biceps to lift the dumbbell as high as possible, taking care to avoid leaving your elbows off the backrest. Squeeze your biceps at the highest point and slowly return to the starting position. Extend your arms fully for a moment.

　　Wide Grip Dumbbell Upright Row

　　(Alternative exercise: Wide-grip barbell upright row)

　　Start: Stand upright, hold dumbbells with both hands wide, with the dumbbells on both sides of the front of your body, chest up, and shoulders back.

　　Action: Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height, elbows higher than hands, and contract at the top to return to the starting position.

　　Seated Dumbbell Heel Raises

　　(Alternative exercise: Seated calf raise machine)

　　Start: Sit on the end of a stool with your knees bent, and place your toes on a piece of wood (or some object that can provide stability) about 4 to 6 cm high to ensure that your knee joints can move up and down freely. Place the dumbbells on your lower thighs, maintaining a light grip on the dumbbells.

　　Action: Slowly lower your knees toward the ground until you feel the stretch on your calf muscles, lift the dumbbell upwards, and squeeze the calf muscles for peak contraction before returning.

　　straight arm pull back

　　(Alternative action: Straight arm pull-down)

　　Start: Hold the dumbbell with your palms back, straighten your back, bend your knees, keep your arms perpendicular to the ground, and hold your thigh with your other hand for support.

　　Action: Keep your arms as straight as possible, contract the latissimus dorsi back and up as much as possible, hold for a moment and then slowly return to the original position along the original path. The same goes for the opposite side.