Dumbell Workouts
 

I got a couple of 25lb dumbells and want to work out some at home.

I currently walk/run an hour at the gym every day and working to lose weight. I plan on starting weight training after I get closer to my target weight.

What would be a good dumbell routine to start? or what's a good website that may have a routine? I'm new to weight training, but I'm thinking of working upperbody one day lower body the next...

There's a lot of great exercises you can do with dumbs - one legged squats, lunges, rows, shoulder presses, curls of various types, flyes and bench presses (if heavy enough), tricep extensions - you can do a good beginner routine just using dumbbells and your own bodyweight.

I think he's talking more about what kind of exercises to do.

If that is the case, it really depends on what part of your body you want to do or if you want to do your whole body.

I work my entire body using free weights. A barbell is nice, but not strictly necessary.

I can give you a dumbell exercise for any muscle group you care to name, but it all depends on what you want to emphasize. Also, are the weights adjustable. If you're just starting out you're not going to want to go much higher than 25 lbs, but for certain muscle groups it may be too much weight. Bench presses and butterflys you'll probably use the full weight because chest muscles are usually pretty strong, but if you're doing kick backs or something on triceps you may find it's too much weight. Overworking means you'll hit exhaustion in 2-3 reps, but it also greatly increases your chances of a muscle tear or hyperextension, which is bad news.

And finally, remember that exercise is only half of the diet an exercise puzzle. Start on a multivitamin and try to eat healthier. Cut processed foods out of your diet and remember 40-30-30 (40% of calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 30% from lipids).

I think I have the an upper body reg I'm gonna start today, what are some good lower body, not bulk by any means just to "shape up", like to helpo get rid of my gut...

I've completely changed my diet around, I havent had anything fried or soft drinks since July. I try and consume only good carbs like fiber, lay off anything with processed sugars, so far I'm down 40 lbs and eating about 500-1000 calories less than I should and exercising. I'm still in fat burn mode, but wanting to start moving to more cardio intensive workouts soon..

start weight training now... lifting will add more muscle mass which will raise your metabolism and increase the speed that you're losing weight

Outstanding advice. Porcessed foods - and trans fats - are the devil! That hydrogenated stuff is one molecule away from plastic.

On another note, you'll need more than just 25 lbs. of dumb bells. A company called Powerblock http://powerblock.com/frame.html has a great system I happen to use at home to supplement things when getting to the gym doesn't work in my schedule. You can purchase three different sized setups and even bars if you like.

Good luck!

Watch out for high-fructose corn syrup, too -- the sweetener currently used in most U.S. processed food and soft drinks. It's made from corn starch through some complex chemical process; by no stretch of the imagination is it a "natural" food. A fair number of nutritionists suspect if it's one of the culprits in the current U.S. obesity trend, as it's not exactly metabolized in the same way as "natural" sugar, and was introduced about 25-30 years ago. There's no smoking gun, though.

What I find grim is this: you'll find HFCS in lots and lots of processed foods that call themselves "natural" or even "organic." There is nothing natural about high fructose corn syrup.

Damn good point on the corn syrup. About the only processeed food I find I can eat are Triskets. They are made from whole grain wheat,salt and regular oil. Actually rye as well as that's the kind I like.