Dumbbells

Dumbbells, A Necessary Addition to Your Home Gym

Marcy has the selection you need to get results with your home gym workout. Young and old, novice or expert, everyone benefits from adding a single dumbbell set to their daily home gym routine. Simple and effective, exercises with these weights are ideal for joint isolation, full-body workouts, and compound movement multiplanar exercises.

Dumbbell weights create both inter- and intramuscular coordination. Intramuscular coordination is the efficient coordination of muscle fibers, whereas inter-muscular coordination defines the efficient coordination of a group of muscles with other muscles. Essentially both define the way muscles activate, either individually or with other groups of muscles. The more efficient the activation, the more energy is conserved.

Benefits of Working out with a Dumbbell Set

The IDEA Health and Fitness Association reports that some of the benefits of weight training, including the use of dumbbell weights, help women lose more fat than those who just did cardio. Additionally, the muscle gained from strength training increases resting metabolism rates. In fact, each pound of muscle gained burns up to 50 more calories per day! But you don’t have to curl 50 pounds to see results.

Lighter weights are great for toning and increasing your aerobic heart-rate when combined with walking. You’ll get tremendous benefits from using lighter weight lifting, as do bodybuilders who rely on heavy dumbbells to increase muscle mass. The more you workout, the more familiar you’ll be with your weight options and your weight range.

Dumbbell Exercise Basics

How do dumbbell weights work? According to the American Council on Exercise, weighted exercises increase both mechanic and metabolic overload which cause muscle fibers to increase in size. The increase in muscle fiber is a result of the repair process that occurs during mechanic overload. 

An adjustable dumbbell set, such as the ADS-42, can help in exercising both the upper and lower body, as well. ADS-42 is easy to adjust; just choose how many cast iron weight plates (or any 1 inch plate) and add them to your dumbbell handle. 

Here’s just a short list of the exercises you can perform with a set:

Upper Body

Dumbbells are an excellent way to train your upper body. They allow you to isolate different muscle groups, including your biceps, triceps, forearms, and traps. When performing upper body exercises, pick a lighter weight. Perform each rep slowly to keep your muscles under tension for longer. If you want to tone your muscles, perform more reps at a lighter weight. If it’s all about building muscle, choose a challenging weight and perform fewer reps during each set.

• Curls – bicep, tricep, hammer
• Rows – upright, one-arm, bent-over
• Presses – bench, overhead
• Lateral Raises – front, side
• Flys – seated, lying, standing

Lower Body

Think dumbbells are only for getting buff arms? Think again. Dumbbells are also a great addition to your leg day exercises. By holding a weight in each hand you naturally increase the amount of weight (resistance) you must move when performing lower body exercises.

Experiment with holding dumbbells at your sides, on your shoulders, or in the front rack position to bring different muscle groups into play. You can even hold them overhead on certain movements to add in some shoulder activation to your set.

• Lunges – stationery, walking
• Step-ups
• Squats – goblet, front rack
• Stiff leg Deadlift

Core

By adding dumbbells to core-oriented movements, you increase the resistance your body must work against to complete the rep. This will give your abs and obliques a greater challenge during each rep. For example, if sit-ups have become too easy, try holding one or two dumbbells against your chest as you perform them.

Start light when adding dumbbells to your core exercises. Focus on performing the reps correctly before adding heavier weights. You may find that performing core exercises with dumbbells requires more coordination and balance.

• Russian twist
• Turkish get up
• Farmer’s carry
• Sit-ups
• Side bends

The Best Dumbbells for Your Home Gym

When purchasing a dumbbell set, choose a set that’s made from durable materials that will stand up to the test of time. Cast iron dumbbells with features like rubber coated exteriors for easy handling and chrome plating to prevent corrosion from daily wear and impact are ideal for your home gym.

Top Dumbbells for Sale

At Marcy, we offer a wide selection of dumbbells for sale to meet your training needs. Some of our best include:

Marcy 8lb Neoprene Dumbbell – Just getting started on your fitness journey? This 8lb neoprene weight is a great first dumbbell to add to your home gym. Its durable neoprene coating makes this weight easy to hold and safe to drop if necessary.

The lighter weight can also help you learn to perform movements safely and effectively. You can even improve your cardio workout by grabbing a pair of these and taking them with you on your next walk around the neighborhood or down the local trail.

Marcy 30lb Rubber Hex Dumbbell – If it’s time to get serious about your workout, then add this 30lb rubber hex dumbbell to your collection. This is a great option if lighter fixed weight dumbbells are starting to feel a little too easy or if you want to tackle your larger muscle groups like your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Heft a pair of these on your shoulders and start squatting and lunging your way to leg-topia. Exercisers will also appreciate that this dumbbell is durable, and rust resistant.

Marcy’s complete line of weights, benches, cardio equipment, and accessory equipment is designed for lasting durability. Contact us today to learn more about Marcy’s incredible line of high quality and accessibly priced home exercise equipment.