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Home Dumbbell Workouts For Building Muscle & Burning Fat

In my opinion the best piece of equipment you can have for your home workouts is a set of dumbbells.

On this page you will see why i favor dumbbells for home training and i have also put together some excellent workouts which will help you build more muscle and burn fat.

A simple set of dumbbells can provide you with a full body workout. There is almost an unlimited number of dumbbell exercises you can perform so you will never get bored.

For those of you that have been following my own muscle building transformation story you will know that i used dumbbells for my workouts and have been making fantastic gains in both muscle size and strength.

Here are the main reasons I use dumbbells

1. A set of dumbbells are cheap and you can expand them by buying extra weights.
   
   
2. Dumbbell exercises offer more natural movements for your body compared to machines.
   
   
3. Dumbbell workouts offer a greater stretch in your muscles and an increased range of motion targeting all muscle fibres.
   
   
4. There are lots of exercises you can do with a simple set of dumbbells.
   
   
5. You do not need a spotter and can do most dumbbell exercises on your own.
   
   
6. Dumbbells are easy to store and take up little space.

The above are just a few of the reasons that i choose dumbbells to workout with at home.

My own home gym started off with a weights bench and a simple set of cast iron spin lock dumbbells. You can see from the picture of the dumbbells above that these have a little star shape lock at the end of the bar. This spins on with a thread and stops the weights plate from falling off.

The most annoying thing about spin lock dumbbells is that they eventually come a little loose during some exercises. This wont make the weights fall off but the rattling can get annoying. The second and probably the MOST annoying thing about them for me is that you can to keep changing the weights to get different resistance's. If you ever perform strip sets as part of your workout you will know what i mean when i say this is a complete pain in the ass.

After a few weeks of doing my dumbbell workouts using the spin lock set, i decided to invest in a set of adjustable dumbbells. In my opinion this is the best invention i have ever seen and they make life so much easier when it comes to changing the weights between exercises.

 

Remember

Its not the equipment that builds muscle and burns fat, it is the hard work and consistent workouts which is down to you.

Dumbbells come in all shapes and sizes and the are 3 main types to choose from:

1. Fixed Weight Dumbbells
   These come fixed at a set weight and you cant change them. They usually come on a rack in a set ranging between certain weights. They are a lot more expensive then the other types of dumbbells and take up more room, but are of better quality. Theses are what you would find in a gym or health club.
   
   
2. Spin Lock Dumbbells
   With these you usually get a plain bar with a thread on either side. The weight plates of your choice are placed on each end and the locks but on either side. A simple adjustable dumbbell set is a great starter option for most dumbbell workouts and are a lot cheaper then the other types.
   
   
3. Adjustable Dumbbells
   These are often refereed to as Bowled and there are some other makes available. They are basically one big dumbbell that you can 'select' the weight you want to use. When you lift them from their stands the remaining weight stays behind and you are just lifting the weight you selected. I have a pair of these and they are great but a little longer then a normal dumbbell.

There are many workouts you can do from just a simple set of dumbbells, fat burning, strength training and muscle building is all possible depending on how you use the dumbbells.

 

Some Great Home Dumbbell Workouts

 

4 Minute Fat Burner Workout

A simple little dumbbell circuit that uses 4 exercises with each one done for 1 minute.

Goals: Fat Loss and Muscle Definition

Duration: 4 sessions per week for 6-8 weeks

Rating:

This is a very effective workout which uses just a bench and some dumbbells. The workout is in 2 parts and demonstrated on video.

Part 1 4 Minute Home Workout

Part 2 4 Minute Home Workout

 

Dumbbell Shoulder Workout

Get bigger rounder shoulder muscles with this complete shoulder workout.

Goals: Build Muscle and Strength

Duration: 1-2 session's per week

Rating:

Personally i love this home workout routine as its simple to do and gets fast results.

Complete Shoulder Workout Routine

 

Dumbbell Chest Workout

A couple of great routines for building and developing your chest muscles.

Goals: Build Muscle and Strength

Duration: 1-2 session's per week

Rating:

Chest exercises are my favorite and all you need for this great home workout is a set of dumbbells.

Home Chest Workout

 

Dumbbell Triceps Workout

My favourite tricpes home dumbbell routine.

Goals: Build Muscle and Strength

Duration: 1-2 session's per week for 6 weeks

Rating:

A fantastic way to trian triceps at home with dumbbells and a bench.

Dumbbell Triceps Workout

 

Full Body Dumbbell Routine

A complete workout that hits all major muscle groups in just 1 day.

Goals: Build Muscle and Strength

Duration: 2-3 session's per week for 6-12 weeks

Rating:

A great workout for the beginner and people with limited time to workout.

Full Body Dumbbell Routine

 

If you struggle to find time to train then i have been recently trying a home workout which is a basic 4 week muscle building workout which can be done in as little as 15minutes. You should be able to gain around 5lbs of new muscle in just 4 weeks with this easy home workout.

 

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