Exercising with dumbbells can amp up your strength once you've mastered the basics of body-weight exercises. Depending on your fitness level and goals, adding 10-pound weights can make your at-home workouts more efficient and effective (though your ideal dumbbell weight may differ).
In general, your bigger muscles (legs, glutes, back) can handle heavier weights than 10lbs. However, 10 pounds might be perfect (or even too heavy) for biceps, shoulders, or triceps.
In general, your bigger muscles (legs, glutes, back) can handle heavier weights than 10lbs. However, 10 pounds might be perfect (or even too heavy) for biceps, shoulders, or triceps.
Generally: Expect it to take 6 months to 2 years to gain 10 pounds of muscle, depending on several factors we'll discuss below.
Water and glycogen retention. Freshly damaged muscle really likes to soak up and store more glycogen and water and 5-10 pounds of sudden ``scale weight'' is absolutely normal.
Medium vs. Heavy Weights. 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.
While six to ten pounds may not sound like very much, an increase of ten pounds of muscle would be noticeable on anyone's physique. More experienced lifters may gain anywhere from two to four pounds of muscle within a year.
Training. You know those people who, no matter how hard they train or eat, just can't seem to put on muscle? They tend to have long limbs, a “quick metabolism” and are colloquially known as “hard gainers”.
In order to maximize hypertrophic gains, you should use a weight that you can do for 8 to 12 reps. That may mean 10 lbs.
I recommend starting with 5-pound weights. Halfway through the month, do a check-in with your body to see if they feel too light. If so, you can move up to 7.5- or 8-pound weights. If you notice you are building muscle too quickly, or bulking instead of toning, I recommend staying lighter with your weights.
Rest between set durations should be based on sets/exercise (volume), and not load or training goal. General recommendations include moderate (2 min) rest between sets if performing 2 sets/exercise, long rest (3 min) if performing 3 sets/exercise, and very long rest (> 4 min) if performing 4 sets or more/exercise.
Is it OK to do light weights every day? In short, yes. But, Savage says “it all depends on what your personal goals are for your fitness journey. If your primary goal is to maintain strength and muscular definition, then sticking to lighter weights and higher repetitions is perfect for your routine.
Downtime between workouts (whether you're lifting, doing cardio or training for a sport) is when our bodies have a chance to actually build muscle. Strenuous workouts cause muscle breakdown, while rest allows our bodies to build it back up.
Build Strength and Tone Muscles
Durable 10 lb dumbbells provide the perfect amount of resistance to help you build strength and tone your muscles effectively. Whether you're targeting your arms, shoulders, or even your core, these dumbbells offer the versatility to work multiple muscle groups.
It's no myth that weight gain can be more pronounced in the face for some people, and several factors contribute to this. Genetics, hormonal changes, and water retention can all make the face appear fuller, even if the rest of the body doesn't. Some individuals are predisposed to store fat more visibly in their face.
“If you're aiming for strength and muscle mass, I'd recommend prioritising heavier weights, but if you're looking for endurance and definition (if you're training for a marathon, for example) you should probably lean towards higher rep ranges with lighter weights.” FYI: if your goal is weight loss, studies have found ...
A moderate repetition scheme with moderate loads (from 8 to 12 repetitions per set with 60% to 80% of 1RM) optimizes hypertrophic gains. A high repetition scheme with light loads (15+ repetitions per set with loads below 60% of 1RM) optimizes local muscular endurance improvements.
Muscle is denser (meaning a lot less fluffy) than fat, says Dr. Calabrese. Put another way, 10 pounds of muscle takes up a lot less space than 10 pounds of fat. So, as you start working out regularly and building strength, the new muscle you build may eventually weigh more than the fat you've burnt off.