Most gyms such as Powerhouse and Planet Fitness offer rows of cardio equipment, weight-training machines, endless stacks of free weights to help its members achieve individual fitness goals.
If your goal is related to strength training, you’ll find lots of equipment that can help you build lean muscle including traditional weight machines, dumbbells and barbells. There are also a variety of specialized equipment like medicine balls, kettlebells, sandbags and yes, giant tires.
Dumbbells usually used for joint-isolation exercises such as chest flyes biceps curls and shoulder raises. Using dumbbells provide a variety of different strength results and at the same time, aids in cardiorespiratory fitness and flexibility.
Dumbbell exercises can create both intramuscular and intermuscular coordination. Intramuscular coordination refers to the amount of muscle motor units and muscle fibers that are activated. Intermuscular coordination, on the other hand, is the ability of a number of different muscles to work together to produce joint motion.
Using lighter dumbbells for compound movement patterns improves coordination between different segments of the body. Using heavier dumbbells increases the number of muscle fibers that are activated within the muscle.
Dumbbells can be used for many kinds of exercises. It allows you to focus on one leg or arm at a time, which initiate strength gains by using a heavy overload. But one other thing it can also be used for is for toning your abs.
Yes, you read that correctly. You can use dumbbells not only to activate the muscle in your arms and abs.
Developing a strong core can be useful for just about anyone. From something as mundane as standing up from a chair to dynamic range motions, a strong core is essential – and looks great on you too!
Small dumbbells can be used in many exercises. Here are exercises using dumbbells that will give your abs a good workout.
5 Dumbbell Exercises for the Abs
Using dumbbells in your ab workouts has the advantage of amplifying the effect of each exercise. By adding extra resistance, your body will be forced to mobilize more muscles.
1. Side Plank
First you need to stand on one side and support yourself on one foot and one forearm. Keep your whole body straight. Hold the dumbbell in front of you with your free hand and raise it as high as possible. Bring it towards your chest. Repeat 10-12x.
2. Alternating Squat and Pullover
Lie on the floor with knees bent and feet flat as if doing a crunch. Raise the dumbbell at the back of your head using both hands. Bring it as far down to your belly. Rise up to a squat position. Hold for a few seconds and lower back to the floor. Do this movement in two sets of 12.
3. V-Up
Like the classic V-up, start from a lying position and form a V using core muscles to try to reach your outstretched legs with your arms. Do this with dumbbells in hand. Repeat 12x.
4. Oblique Twist
Sit on the floor with one leg straight and bend the other so that the sole of your foot is in the same level as the knee of the outstretched leg. Using both hands, hold your dumbbell in front of you. Lie down with legs in the same position and then stand up to return to your starting position. To challenge your obliques, rotate your pelvis (the famous twist) and then do the opposite movement. Alternate and repeat 12x.
5. Crunches
Hold a dumbbell at arm’s length above you as you do your crunches. Repeat 12x.
Once you’ve mastered these ab exercises, you can increase the weight of your dumbbells! The more endurance you build, the stronger your core will become.