There is maybe no piece of hardware more inseparable from the rec centre than the hand weight. Contingent upon how frequently you’ve done arm day, you might have a specific measure of experience with these pervasive little blighters. You might discover them alarming and you may simply be growing a bit exhausted with them and need to track down some better approaches to benefit as much as possible from them.
In any case, we get it: once in a while the least difficult piece of hardware presents the best puzzle of how to enhance utilization and here and there all that exercise can get somewhat redundant. In case you’re searching for some motivation at one or the flip side of the range, have no dread.
According to, we addressed probably the best personalities in English wellness to discover how to change everything around. Their proposals range from free weight 101 to exercises that will push you as far as possible.
An underrated exercise that is thought to work just your upper body, however, go heavy on your press and feel your whole body burn. Trust yourself to pick challenging weights and get your poker face at the ready.
Begin with weights on shoulders (before moving them anywhere get your set upright). Cushion your knees (slight bend) and squeeze your glutes. Using your legs to help the movement drive weights over your head, get your biceps to your ear so the weights finish directly above your head, not in front of your forehead. Resist gravity and lower the dumbbells slowly down to your shoulders and reset ready for the next rep.
Top tip: If you can’t feel your abs working, try doing some ab activation (plank/bear crawls) to fire up your core.
Exercise two: Walking lunges
Use dumbbells or kettlebells for this one, a secret cardio burner. Aim for ten reps minimum on each side. This can also be done on the spot, but adding travel to the lunge will challenge your balance and creep your heart rate up a little further.
Keeping kettlebells or dumbbells by your side at all times, keep your shoulders rotated backwards to engage your back muscles. Step forward, creating a 90-degree angle at both your knees, get your back knee as close to the ground as you can and drive out of that lunge, stand tall and then step forward with the next leg.
Top tip: Superset a smaller muscle group (upper body) with these to keep your heart rate elevated and increase the burn.
Exercise three: Dumbbell renegade rows
A stability killer, while creating the strongest back you have ever had and strengthening your core. Using two dumbbells, begin in a plank position with your hands on the dumbbells, keeping shoulders directly in line with your hands, balancing on your toes. Ensure you can keep a straight line from the back of your head to your heels. If struggling to balance, drop to your knees but keep the “straight line” from the back of your head to your knees. Squeeze your shoulders down towards your heels; don’t let your hips drop. Drive one dumbbell towards your waist, keeping your elbow in line with your back as you bring the dumbbell up. Slowly return the dumbbells back to the floor, underneath shoulders and continue on the other side.
Top tip: Keep your hips still so they don’t move side to side, to help take your feet wider to give you more stability.
