help a lifting newbie with home dumbbell use
 

I'm 5'11" and weigh near 175lbs (don't own/use scales).

Looking to add some lifting to my workout routine which I do at home. My current means of exercise is 30-40 min of cardio 4x a week playing Dance Dance Revolution. I try to use a rough form of the HIIT method by alternating my super intense songs with less intense.

Anyway, I've never touched a weight in my life, as I didn't play any sports in school or have any reason to lift. I think I would benefit though, and had a few questions.

1) Can you get a good home lifting workout with just dumbbells? Or should I invest in a bench? I'm just looking to lift enough to get more toned and stronger, but I'm not looking to be ripped by any means.

2) What should I be looking for in terms of equipment & add-on weights? I don't even know what I could lift weight-wise right now, so I have no idea what I should be looking to buy. Anyone know of a specific good brand or anything or does it not matter?

3) Any good ideas for like a 3x/week routine? Should I be targeting different groups each session? I think that's the standard method but again, I'm a newb. I've found lots of dumbbell exercises to do but I'm unsure how best to consolidate them into an effective routine.

Thanks for any additional input.

Re: help a lifting newbie with home dumbbell use
 

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1) Can you get a good home lifting workout with just dumbbells?


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Yes, definitely.

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I'm just looking to lift enough to get more toned and stronger, but I'm not looking to be ripped by any means.


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To get ripped you need to lose weight. Toned isn't something you get by training a certain way, it's just a combination of less fat, more muscle. I think you just want to lose the chubby look and replace it with some muscle, right? You don't want to be huge I'm guessing. Just focus on getting stronger and the tone/muscle/slight fat loss will follow.

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2) What should I be looking for in terms of equipment & add-on weights?

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This depends on how much you want to spend or if you don't mind joinging a gym. If you get adjustable dumbells, a set of dumbells, or even a few kettlebells you can get a good workout and do several of the major lifts. I'm not sure what your home is like though. Do you have a garage to put a power rack in? Can you put a pullup bar on a doorway or something? How much space do you have?

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3) Any good ideas for like a 3x/week routine? Should I be targeting different groups each session? I think that's the standard method but again, I'm a newb. I've found lots of dumbbell exercises to do but I'm unsure how best to consolidate them into an effective routine.

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Check the sticky. Also do a search for dumbells in this forum, as I know several posters have recommended programs to follow specifically for dumbell only users.

Re: help a lifting newbie with home dumbbell use
 

You don't even "need" dumbells to get good workout at home, though you might need to be a bit inventive.

Pushups can be done anyway, body weight dips can be done on the kitchen counter or in between 2 chairs (this takes practice [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]), chinups can be done off any tree branch or strong roof support (also can do parrallel chin ups, ie you are laying on the ground and pull yourself up to the bar which stresses different back muscles then a regular chin up), squats are duh (and you can hold on to heavy stuff + put stuff in a back pack) then theirs the usual $ab work.

Re: help a lifting newbie with home dumbbell use
 

A basic workout consisting of push ups, sit ups, chin ups and using your dumbbells should be more than sufficient if your goals are exactly what you outlined