Yes, you can definitely build muscle with 20 pound dumbbells, especially if you are just starting out or if you are targeting smaller muscle groups such as your arms, shoulders, or upper back.
For beginners, Ben recommends trying five to 10 pounds for light weights, 10 to 20 pounds for medium weights, and 15 to 30 pounds for heavy weights—or simply starting with five-pound weights for each exercise and working up from there.
Slow Tempo Curls
Curling 20-lb. dumbbells will build your biceps if you stay within this range of repetitions. However, if you perform biceps curls using a four-second count during the upward and downward phase of the movement, you will change the intensity and build bigger biceps.
If you are looking to build strength and increase muscle mass, you may want to consider a weight that is 15-20 pounds or more, depending on your current fitness level. If you are looking to tone and define muscles, a weight in the 10-15 pound range might be more appropriate.
Or, to increase the intensity, you can perform supersets that only target one muscle. This will vastly increase the burn you feel from the 20 pound dumbbells. An example is bicep curls, hammer curls, and then concentration curls. Try to keep each set in the range of 8–12 reps.
Dumbbell exercises are ideal for creating hypertrophy if you want to put on size. This is done by overloading muscles with rep ranges 8, 10 or 12. If you want to focus on just building muscle and strength, focus on 8-12 rep.
For most types of biceps exercises, however, the whole 5-30 rep range is highly effective. When constructing a weekly training plan, it's probably a good idea to train the heavy ranges before the lighter ranges.
Can I build muscle with just dumbbells? Yes, so long as you increase the weight over time. You can absolutely bulk up with dumbbells, but you're going to hit a wall if you don't keep adding weight. Every few weeks, increase the amount of weight you're lifting by 5–10 lb (2.3–4.5 kg) or so to keep those gains going.
They sometimes think they can't train hard anymore, but if they just go lighter and do more reps, they can build muscle too.” Bottom line: “It's the effort you put in that matters most,” Hyson says. “Lifting heavier builds more strength, but lifting to failure with any weight can build bigger, more aesthetic muscles.”
On the flip side, lifting heavy weights can increase muscle mass and strength. If you are someone who doesn't feel stressed out by fitness and loves a challenge, heavier weights may be a good choice for you.
Benefits of dumbbell exercises for weight loss
A 2021 study published in the journal Sports Medicine found that resistance training or weightlifting can help reduce body fat percentage, body fat mass and visceral fat in healthy adults. Dumbbell exercises may not only help you lose weight, but gain muscle too.
Strong biceps help with lifting, holding, and carrying heavy objects. The old-school curl is still the best exercise for building biceps. Use a pair of light dumbbells (about 10 pounds each). You also can use soup cans, full plastic water bottles, or any other easy-to-hold item that feels like an appropriate weight.
It's not necessary to lift weights every day, and if you do, you increase your risk for overuse injuries and overtraining syndrome. For most people, strength training two to three times a week is sufficient, but if you prefer to split training different muscle groups, then you can train up to five days a week.
Research suggests lifting smaller weights and doing more repetitions (or, in gym parlance, “reps”) can have a role to play – but it all depends on your goals. In short: if your goal is to build serious strength and bone density, lifting heavy is an efficient way to do it.
Pay Attention to Progressive Overload
The body doesn't like building muscle – it's not efficient. If you're naturally skinny, this applies even more. Which is why you need to force your muscles to adapt with increased overload. You need to focus on either adding weight or doing more reps with the same weight.
The beauty of dumbbells, especially a moderate weight like 20 lbs, is their versatility. You can train almost every muscle in your body, and by adjusting reps, form, and tempo, you can still achieve progressive overload (the magic behind building strength).
The average Dumbbell Curl weight for a female lifter is 30 lb (1RM). This makes you Intermediate on Strength Level and is a very impressive lift.
Building a decent body with dumbbells is not only possible but highly attainable. The key to muscle growth and true transformation is consistency. And with the unlimited possibilities of dumbbell-only workouts, there's no excuse to skip a good sweat sesh.
This holds that regardless of whether you're trying to build muscle, strength, power, or endurance, performing three sets of 10 reps per exercise is a good place to start. The scheme mostly works, especially if you're just starting out with strength training—because everything works in the beginning.
The biceps and triceps should be trained using rep ranges between 5-20 reps to best maximize strength, muscle growth, and overall development of the muscles. In this article, we will explore the various rep ranges for biceps and triceps training so that you can maximize your arm workouts AND minimize injury.
A more optimal training frequency
A training frequency of once a week will get you bigger muscles, but research as highlighted below shows that a training frequency of 2-3 times per week is more effective in reaching this goal.