What do dumbbells do

Dumbbell pressing allows you to externally or internally rotate your shoulders or bring the dumbbells lower down or higher up your body to specifically target muscles and press pain free. A high percentage of accidents at gyms occur near the dumbbell rack.

This is usually a result of a lack of focus. In the long term, greater degrees of freedom in a more natural range of motion will result in fewer injuries. Further, by identifying and eliminating imbalances , the probability of injury greatly decreases. Your body's tight, stiff, and a total mess? Here's how to take care of those rough spots. Not every ache requires a trip to the ER. Instead of waiting for your hammies to go "pop," add some pop to your explosiveness.

Grab a pair of dumbbells and take advantage of these benefits today. Read article. Increased Stabilization and Muscle Activation One study compared the EMG activity of the chest, triceps, and biceps when performing a barbell bench press, smith machine bench press and a dumbbell bench press. Identifies and Eliminates Strength Imbalances Dumbbells force limbs to work unilaterally. Create your story as an ACE Specialist.

Limited time! Talk with an Advisor. Strength Training. Filter By Category. View All Categories. Karp, Ph. Wendy Sweet, Ph. Michael J. Norwood, Ph. Brian Tabor Dr. Marty Miller Jan Schroeder, Ph.

To help you select the best equipment for your needs, here are five benefits of dumbbells: Dumbbells can provide the two types of overload that lead to muscle growth: mechanic and metabolic. Mechanic overload is the result of damaged caused by muscle contractions, which stimulates the repair process and leads to an increase in muscle size. Metabolic overload occurs when a muscle is worked to fatigue, which leads to the adaptation of muscle cells being able to store more glycogen which can cause muscles to increase in size.

Heavy dumbbells can generate mechanical overload, while moderate-weight dumbbells combined with high reps to fatigue can produce metabolic overload. Dumbbell exercises can create both inter- and intramuscular coordination, leading to greater levels of muscle activation. Intermuscular coordination is the ability of a number of different muscles to work together to produce and stabilize joint motion.

Intramuscular coordination is the amount of muscle motor units and their attached muscle fibers that are activated within a specific muscle. Using lighter dumbbells for compound, multijoint or multiplanar movement patterns improves coordination between different body segments.

Scroll on for our pick of the best dumbbell exercises for building muscle — all 25 of them. Muscles worked: Quads, calves, glutes, abs, arms and grip strength. How: Stand with feet set wider than shoulder-width and hold a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest. Sit back into a squat, then drive back up and repeat.

Why: Are you a nervous newbie or a long-time hard gainer? Push the dumbbells up over your head while rotating your arms until your palms face away from you. Straighten your arms, pause, then reverse the movement. How: Flip your wrists so they face forwards and bring the weights to your shoulders, slightly jumping as you do.

Slowly straighten your legs to stand. Then lower the weights down to your thigh before moving into squat position and repeating. This move also rushes blood to your glutes, hamstrings, shoulders and arms to maximise your muscle-growing power. Muscles worked: Traps, lats, rhomboids, delts, abs, obliques, biceps, triceps, forearms. How: Get into a press-up position with your hands on the handles of two dumbbells. Keeping your core tensed, row the right dumbbell up to your abs then return to the start position.

Repeat with the left dumbbell to complete one rep. Why: Build a strong back, ignite your abs, and develop anti-rotational core strength in one fell swoop. Muscles worked: Upper back, shoulders, triceps and biceps, forearms, abs, glutes, hamstrings, quads, adductors, abductors and calf muscles. How: Walk forward taking short, quick steps. Go for the given distance, as fast as possible. Always brace your core. Additionally, this move fortifies your rotator cuffs, protecting your shoulders from injury during bigger lifts.

Muscles worked: Delts, pecs, rhomboids, serratus anterior, rotator cuffs, biceps. How: Lie down on a flat bench holding two dumbbells at your shoulders with your palms facing inwards. Press the dumbbells up until your arms are almost fully extended. This is your starting position. From here, with a slight bend in your arms, arc the weights down to your sides until you feel a stretch across your chest. Squeeze your pecs to return the weights to the start position by reversing the movement.

Muscles worked: Lats, shoulders, forearms, biceps, spinal erectors, hamstrings, glutes. How: Keep your core tight and your back straight as you row the weights up to your chest.

Lower and repeat. How: Stand holding two dumbbells at shoulder height with an underhand grip. Adopt a fighting stance and punch upwards with your right arm, pivoting on your right foot as you do so.

Return to the start position and repeat on the other side. Aside from the potent cardio hit, it builds power and push-strength. The emphasis might be on your guns, but pay attention to your boxing stance and posture. How: Lower the dumbbells to the top of your feet, as far as you can go by extending through your waist, then slowly return to the starting position. Why: It shreds your legs into powerful pins by targeting your fast-twitch lower-body muscles. When you're pressing two dumbbells overhead, however, each side of your body has to work independently—and each side gets the same amount of exercise.

Exercise machines are calibrated to target one muscle exclusively to maximize growth. That's fine if your only daily activity is flexing, but on a practical level, it's important to strengthen the small muscles, ligaments, and tendons that act to stabilize the joints.

Machines may miss these secondary muscles and supporting tissues, which can set you up for an injury. Dumbbells, on the other hand, strengthen you everywhere and protect your body from harm. Weight Loss. United States.

Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Taraji P.