Dumbbell exercises

How to train with dumbbells

Dumbbells are the most versatile free weight. Each arm or leg carries its own load, so a stronger side cannot take over, and your hands can turn and move freely through the lift. Presses and rows often get a longer range of motion than with a bar.

They are also the basis of a home gym. When you train at home with dumbbells, Muscla builds the plan around four exercises: the goblet squat, the dumbbell bench press, the one-arm row and the dumbbell Romanian deadlift. Add lunges, curls and lateral raises and you cover every major muscle.

In the gym, dumbbells are the easier start for some patterns: Muscla gives beginners the dumbbell bench press and the dumbbell Romanian deadlift before the barbell versions. Later they are good second variations and the natural choice for isolation exercises such as raises and curls.

The one limit is the jump between weights. Dumbbells come in fixed steps, and on a light dumbbell one step is a big jump. Muscla rounds every increase to the steps of your dumbbells, and you can enter the steps of your own set.