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What dumbbell weight should I lift

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Feb 10, 2020 9:00:00 AM

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What dumbbell weight should I lift

 
This is an overview of how to pick your dumbbell from different angles as this question pops up quite often when I talk to people. It all hinges on the exercise, your age, experience, and training goals.
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What dumbbell weight is good for toning

 
For toning purposes, you want to work in the fat burning heart rate area for a prolonged period of time. The ideal fat burning heart rate is slightly lower than you might expect. You should be able to have a conversation with someone else while breaking a sweat. Based on these lower weights are ideal. For most people, this means to use a dumbbell which is no heavier than 12kg. 
 
Be aware that toning is more dependent on your diet than your training regime. So focus on your diet mainly to get the desired results. 
 

What dumbbell weight is right for me

 
What dumbbell weight is right for you depends on your age, training history, weight, goals and the exercise you are doing. Most women will work somewhere between 4kg to 12kg while most men will work between 8kg to 20kg. The fewer muscle groups you use in the exercise the lighter the weight should be. If you are considering to buy a set err on the side of caution. You can always make the exercises harder by doing them slower if this getting too easy. 
 

What dumbbell weight is good for triceps

 
It depends on which exercise you are doing for the triceps. You can do tricep extensions while standing or with both hands lying on a bench. Most likely you will use somewhere between 8kg to 20kg for these exercises. The standing variation usually needs lower weights than the lying one where you hold onto the weight with both hands. 
 

What dumbbell weight is considered heavy

 
Again it depends on whom you ask. You might get a different response from Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall, and Thor than from your local yoga instructor. Most dumbbell racks go up to 50kg. If you can do dumbbell bench presses and rows with them you are probably using heavy weights. If you step into a gym that has 100kg dumbbells you know you have stepped into a place that is serious about strength. 
 

What dumbbell weight should I lift

 

Start out slowly with small dumbbells under 10kg for most exercises. Feel out what the right weight for each exercise is according to your goals. From there keep notes and steadily increase.
 

What dumbbell should I use

 
There are different types of dumbbells out there. You can use rubber, metal or a plate loadable system. If available, use round rubber in a commercial gym. These are the easiest to handle and can also be dropped without too many problems. For your home gym, you might want to consider a loadable dumbbell if you are serious about lifting. 
 

What dumbbell weight to build muscle

 
If your main interest is to build muscle you should pick a weight on any given exercise which is challenging for you to lift 10-12 times per set. Aim to get three to five sets across before you go up in weight. 
 
Always remember that building mass is a function of diet first and training second. Improve your diet game first and get it under control. That is usually the harder and more beneficial feat to accomplish. 
 

What dumbbell weight should I start with

 
Women should start with 4kg and men with 8kg. If you are super fit and feel this is a child’s play you can always go up. Starting too heavy might result in injury.
 

Summary

 
Start low and work your way up. Keep pushing and emphasize control over weight. This way you will progress and wing the 50kg dumbbells around in a few years.
 

Topics: Dumbbell