Adjustable Dumbbells

Friday, July 9th, 2010 at 6:26 am

Adjustable dumbbells are a piece of equipment designed for a weight lifting program. Instead of having a rack of dumbbells each having a set weight, you have a set of ADJUSTABLE DUMBBELLS which can have the weight adjusted.
In this article I will quickly look at weight training and why dumbbells are considered to be an essential tool as part of your weight training program.

When people are told they need to start lifting weights in order to increase strength for their activity, there is a misconception that bodybuilders are the guys to look to as an example.

If you’re a soccer player it’s no good following a bodybuilders training program to build strength, as you need to build strength specifically for your sport.

It is also important that you don’t over train as you will end up damaging your muscles. It’s important that you don’t work on the same muscles each day, as your muscles need time to recover from the training.

You will need to talk with your coach and look to design the right program for you and your sport and dumbbells will lay a big part in your program.

Dumbbells have long been considered one of the best types a weight equipment to help you reach your goals. Whereas weight machines are designed to specifically to work one muscle groups, dumbbells can be used to give a full body workout.

They are free weights therefore when you lift dumbbells you use your stabilizing muscles which has a much greater effect on your strength, balance and posture. The downside to dumbbells is that they are set weights e.g. 5 pounds, 10 pounds, and you will need a rack full of weights, as you will need to vary the weight between the different muscle groups.

This is where adjustable dumbbells hold the advantage over normal dumbbells, as the weight can be adjusted quickly and easily. They take up less space which avoids your gym room becoming cluttered.
They are also far more portable than lugging around a rack of dumbbells, when you take a trip.

The cost can vary but if you shop around online I’ve no doubt there will be some discounted adjustable dumbbells you can find. Two of the most popular of brands that supply adjustable dumbbells are Powerblock and Bowflex, if you can find these in your price range it will be a great bit of equipment to add to your personal gym.

Hopefully you will have found something useful in this article to help you when buying your adjustable dumbbells.

I have written some more information regarding Adjustable Dumbells, so maybe it will benefit you and help you learn more about this fantastic piece of equipment.

Or maybe you want to buy a Dumbbell Set either way dumbbells are a must for any home gym.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_A_Elliot

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I need your help making a new workout!?

Thursday, October 7th, 2010 at 1:53 am

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Alright, I need some help making a new workout, because I’m somewhat loss as to the direction and what routine I should be doing.

A short summary of my situations is that now that I’m finished with High School, I no longer have to train to be a Linebacker for football any longer, I don’t do any of the Bench, Squat, Deadlift, and lots of sprints. I’ve already lossed 25 pounds of fat and muscle from when I had all that artificial football weight, and now I’m roughly 185 pounds.

Now I’m going into the military, so my fitness goals are to be as capable as possible in pullups, situps, pushups and cardio. While at the same time not losing any mass from just doing nothing but bodywieght.

Currently at my home (where I plan to workout), I own Powerblock dumbbells (adjustable to 130 pounds per hand), a roman chair, one medicine ball, a bench, a punching bag, and most importantly an outdoor pullup bar.

My stats so far is I can do about 12 good pullups maxout
38-40 pushups in 2 mintues
and cardio wise not so good, I get tired jogging for 15 minutes straight.

Time restraint wise is that I’m free everyday to work out for about an hour to an hour and a half.

I’ve tried searching around the internet, but I get workout plans ranging from what I classically did during High School weightlifting (3-4 sets for 8-14 reps of xx workout with xx weight). To those 300 circuits where you jump from one bodyweight exercise to the next.

And please don’t just recommend crossfit, I need you to elaborate, for I really still don’t have any idea what it is or how you do it.

If you could make me some elaborate ass workout for me from what I got, you’d be an angel, but if you want to recommend some workout style or routine that would work well with what I’ve got and what i want, that be great to.

Any advice appreciated!

You have a ton of good equipment to accomplish your goals. For the military you need both strength and endurance. Your cardio needs work so do more jogging and push yourself to new limits. Vary your running to jogging and then sprints and job some more.

Focus on flexibility as you will need that for the military too. Be sure your as flexible as you can be so to prevent injury at basic and later.

For weight lifting try combination exercises. Pull-ups, push-ups, dips, lunges, squats, etc. If you can involve multiple muscle groups in each exercise it will save you time.

There are a variety of body parts you can use the dumbbells in for the shoulders, arms, biceps, triceps, chest, back, neck. Dumbbells can also be used to a limited basis for the quads/hamstrings/gastroc. Punching bag is good for cardio too if you do it right.

Stick to 8-10 reps, 3 sets. That is how you will build strength and size of the muscle. You must fatigue the muscle and make microscopic tears that will heal and make the muscle stronger and bigger. Go at least 48 hours between working the muscle. Watch your diet and drink lots of water. Try to increase proteins in your diet and avoid fats/carbs. Get tons of rest.

There are a lot of correct ways to do things so the confusion is from all the possibilities out there.

PowerBlock 5.0 Sport (and 5.5) Stage 2 Dumbbell Expansion

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

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A quick overview of the elusive Sport 5.0 (also works with 5.5) Stage II Kit for PowerBlocks. I grabbed this in March 2010 on clearance for $79. Allows my Sport 5.5 model to go from the previous maximum weight of 55 pounds up to a new max of 85 pounds. Each of the new plates is a 10 pound plate, and it comes with three of them.

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Review Of The SelectTech 552 Dumbbells

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 6:54 am

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A comprehensive review of the SelectTech 552 Weights system.
The pros and cons of using the 552 dumbbells.

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Gold’s Gym Adjustable Dumbbell Set

Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 4:35 pm

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Just a look at this awesome dumbbell set.

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Ironmaster Adjustable Kettlebell System

Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 3:40 pm

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The Ironmaster Adjustable Kettlebell System is the perfect addition to the Quick Lock Dumbbell system. Kettlebell training will add great variety to your weights regime.
The Ironmaster Kettlebell Handle can be purchased separately. With the addition of the 57.5lbs and 80lbs kits you can have a great range of kettlebells at your disposal.

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Bowflex 1090 Dumbbells Review

Saturday, July 24th, 2010 at 6:09 am

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One of the first names that come to mind when you think about exercise equipment is the Bowflex. A lot of it has to do with the unique designs available compared to other exercise machines. Back in 1986 it was the patented power rod designed by Tessema Dosho Shifferaw that helped bring forth its popularity. Today, the machines are considered to be used for strength and cardio training and were first introduced as infomercial products years ago. The funny thing is they still get most of their sales from these commercial options today. It’s safe to say most of the equipment they sell is either some sort of home gym or tread climber. However, they also sell the Bowflex 1090 dumbbells.

You will find that the Bowflex 1090 Dumbbells fit anywhere, especially if you’re crunched for space. They adjust easily, which allows them to do the work of multiple dumbbells at your local gym. The weights will be anywhere from 10lbs. to 90lbs. and are set for 5lb. increments. Most of the individuals who use this in their home do so for strength exercising, leg lifts or just toning. It’s also extremely durable so you will have them for many years to come. If you are worried about not having a proper exercise routine, the Bowflex 1090 dumbbells also comes with a DVD that has 30 different exercises.

When you look at the dial mechanism you will notice the single handle is a part of it. When you turn up the dial you can see that the weight plate is attached to the handle. It’s an extremely easy display to see, and very helpful if you need to know how much weight is on there at the present time. If you want to tone up a bit you can use the lighter weights. Strength exercises would include curls and raises if you plan on going this route. Oh and if you need more demanding training you can add extra weight for lunges or shrugs. The most important part is you will save money since you don’t have to purchase additional dumbbells in order to gain strength. Then of course everyone loves when there is a warranty present, and the Bowflex 1090 dumbbells offer a 2 year warranty on all parts and 5 years on the weight plates.

We always recommend looking at the reviews, and in this case they are quite positive. The only drawback we found through our extensive research is that the Bowflex 1090 dumbbells are a bit cumbersome to lift off the floor. In order to overcome this you can always purchase the weight stand which makes it much easier. You will also notice that the handle is a bit awkward at first since it’s not round, but a rectangular shape. Some individuals don’t like the texture on the palm side either. You can fix this by taping the handle.

Another thing to remember is that it’s not a “one size fits all” setup. Just remember that if you tape the handle of the dumbbells it will feel more comfortable. If you’re looking to save money it’s a huge alternative to purchasing several different dumbbells. If you don’t want to purchase a weight stand you can always use sturdy boxes or crates as an alternative. This will alleviate the chance of you straining your back while picking them up off the floor. Then again, just use the proper technique to pick the Bowflex 1090 dumbbells and this won’t be a problem either.

Hanif Furqan helps with a Bowflex 1090 dumbbells Review Site that educates consumers about different types of Bowflex 1090 Dumbbells and much more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hanif_Furqan

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Chest Workout: Dumbbell Flys

Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 11:57 pm

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How do you get a massive chest? Most bodybuilders say “do lots of heavy bench press” – I disagree. There are two types of chest exercises, pushing exercisees (like bench press and pushups) and squeezing exercises (like pec deck and dumbbell flys). You need to do both to maximize your chest development. For me personally, the squeezing chest exercises have given me much better mass and strength gains than the pushing type exerciess.

The king of the squeezing exercises is the dumbbell fly and its easy to do at home with just a used set of dumbbells. Heres how you do it.:

lay on floor
together)
knees up, abs flexed (lower back support)
shoulder back, shoulder blades together
arms perpendicular to sides
elbows slightly bent
go sloooooly up and slooooowly down
flex you chest at top of rep

Warning straight armed is much more difficlut than elbows bent because of leverage. Decrease your weight till you can do these with your arms almost straight. Many times you will see people doing WAY more than they should and they do them like this (demo). No, use less weight. Why? Because then you can spot yourself. At about rep 6 when you cant do another straight armed one, bend your elbows slightly. This increases your leverage and makes it easier on your pecs, now you can do 2 or 3 more. When you cant do any more reps, bend your elbows a bit more. This way, you can do forced reps safely.

The reason I do this on the floor is for safety, please see this video for more info:

This video is in preparartion for my advanced killer chest workout video where dumbbell flys will have a prominent role.

Anyone can be healthier, have more energy, sleep better, and feel better about themselves through bodybuilding. Bodybuilding doesn’t have to be expensive or take a lot of time, gyms are great but home workouts can save you time and money. A cheap dumbbell set from a garage sale or walmart is all it takes to get started with your home workouts.

For more information on home workouts, please see my free website (no advertising either):

http://fitness.scoobysworkshop.com

Nutrition is key to being able to add muscle! I cover nutrition on my website, if thats not detailed enough for you I have reviewed and recommended some excellent books:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/goodfitnessbooks.htm

Limitation of Liability: Consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program! I am not a medical professional. It is your responsibility to critically evaluate this information and with the help of your physician decide if it is appropriate for you.

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