They have tried to sell us that to achieve an aesthetic body we have to be doing a thousand different exercises in which we include exercises with bars, dumbbells, pulleys and machines.
But really, to get a good body, an aesthetic body, all we need is mechanical tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage; All in perspective.
Is it possible to lose body fat and/or gain muscle mass with a dumbbell?
Both to lose fat and gain muscle mass, a single dumbbell is more than enough for us to generate adaptations that allow us achieve our goals.
As for losing body fat, the basis of everything is to eat less than what you are really spending and there are many strategies to be able to reach the deficit. So if you eat less you’re going to start losing fat.
It is important that you understand that this deficit has to be mandatory for you to lose fatbut also understand that when we are making this deficit through exercise without restricting the diet too much, the results are much more sustainable and interesting.
As for gaining muscle mass, it is important to know that for there to be an increase in muscle mass, you need two factors.
The first is that there is a caloric surplus, that is, consume more calories than are being expended. For example, if a person maintains his weight with 2,500 kcal, the most logical thing would be add to those 2,500 kcal between 15-20% to gain muscle mass, so you would have to be consuming between 2,875 kcal and 3,000 kcal.
Finally, both to lose body fat and gain muscle mass, you must have a high protein intake but not to the extreme, so if you are in a range of 1.8-2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, it is enough.
What are the exercises that allow me to achieve my goals with a dumbbell
One of the advantages of working with a single dumbbell, that is, working unilaterally, is that we are going to work the core much more due to the need to stabilize our torso.
Bench press on the floor with dumbbell
With this exercise, what we will have to do is lie down on the bench and do a push motion from the height of the nipples to above the head. With this exercise we will work the pectoralis, triceps and anterior deltoids.
Opening with a dumbbell
To perform this exercise, we’ll lie on the bench, which may or may not be tilted. We will flex the elbow a little and we will do a work of adduction and abduction with the pectoralis. With this exercise we will also work the pectoral, deltoid and core.
Dumbbell Seal Row
To perform this exercise, we will tilt the bench up to about 45º and rest our chest on it. Next we will carry out a traction work flexextending both shoulders and elbows to work our entire back correctly.
Pull-Over
Although the pull over can work both the chest and the back, Depending on how we do it, we will involve more one muscle group or another. What we have to do is lie face up on the bench and flex and extend the shoulder to a certain point to emphasize the dorsal.
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
To perform this exercise, what we have to do is stand or sit on a bench and, while we have our back straight andelbows slightly flexed, abduct the shoulder in order to work the lateral head of the shoulder.
Spider curl with a dumbbell
The bench must always be inclined, because the angle to be followed in the exercise will be greater. For its execution we will place ourselves face down with the chest resting on the back of the benchso that the legs are back and supported on the ground by the tips of the feet and the arms loosely forward, which will be the ones with which we will grab the dumbbell that we are going to raise throughout the exercise.
Overhead triceps extension
To perform this exercise, what we have to do is, standing or sitting on the bench, fully flex the shoulder and flex and extend the elbow behind the head.
Unilateral Dumbbell Deadlift
To properly activate our hamstrings, it is best to perform a hip hinge exercise, and what better than a good deadlift. To do this we will take the dumbbell with both hands, we will advance one leg and we will perform a hip flexion and extension in order to work both the hamstrings and the gluteus.
Pistol Squat
The pistol squat is a great exercise. to work the knee extensors, that is, the quadriceps. It can be worked in two ways, with or without support. If you are a beginner, we recommend that you do this exercise with support to avoid falling. We will also work the glutes and hamstrings, although the recruitment will be less.
How many sets and reps to do?
To perform this routine that includes all muscle groups, what we have to try, first of all, is to be close to failure in the series that are effective, that is, that they have a high effort character, staying between one and three repetitions of the muscle failure.
We recommend doing this workout 3 times a week. For example, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For exercises that require more muscle mass, such as bench press, seal row, pistol squats and deadliftswe recommend performing a total of 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps each with a 2-minute rest between sets. For the exercises for shoulders and armswe recommend performing a total of 4 series between 12-15 repetitions each with a 1-minute rest between sets.
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