As an engineering student with a part time job on top of it, I’m pressed for time most days. I’ve been working on getting in shape and so far have dropped about 10 lbs and put on some muscle but I’ve got a ways to go still (6’ 3" 215 lbs). I typically don’t have time to get to the gym but the apartment complex I live in has a small one. It has a treadmill, elliptical, lat pulldown/leg extension/bench press machine, and dumbbells. Well, they technically have two bars and a handful of plates but they are more or less useless.
If you were limited to only that equipment, what would you say is the best workout for building functional strength?
Far as the machines go use them all, it is what they are there for. Comes to dumbells plenty of exercises you can do.
Here are some you can do either isolated, alternating, don’t remember what to call it but hold one up (static) while pressing the other for a set amount of reps then switch, or done together. These are; shoulder presses, military presses, chest presses, lateral & isolateral raises, shoulder shrugs, hammer curls, preacher curls, regular curls(name?), lat rows, tricep extensions, chest flys, plus more.
You can also do these exercises; Grasp a pair of dumbells and do pushups for more arm extension (you can also position them in different angles, elivate your feet and even throw on a plate carrier). Hold a dumbell in front of you and squat. Do iron mikes while holding dumbells or stationary lunges (make it difficult add a plate carrier as well). Do various core and ab work outs with one like russian twists or standard sit ups. Another push up and lat exercise, place two dumbells shoulder with apart vertically and grasp them, go down then up. At the top do a lat row, then go back down and up and a lat row at the top with the other arm (that is one count). There are so many exercises you can do with dumbells it is almost endless.
REMEMBER proper form over repitition. Lower weights accordingly.
I forgot these; grasp a dumbell in each hand and do calf raises, you can also get a peice of wood and stand on the edge and get more extension. You can do seated iso calf raises, put a real heavy dumbell or some plates on your knee and do it that way. Don’t forget incline and decline with applicable above exercises.
There are lots of mofication you can do to more conventional exercises.
Instead of a pushup, turn your hands inward, so your fingers are pointed towards your head. Put your body in a V position, so your butt is sticking up in the air. Do a pushup like this, you will find it is more of a military press motion, working your shoulders.
Pullups and chinups are great too, if you have one of the bars that fits in the top of a doorway. Try a wide grip and go to exhaustion/ failure every set. Remember the negative is just as (if not more) important than the positive. In other words, if you’re doing a pullup, do slow and controlled as you let yourself down.
laying flat on your back with your dumbell in one hand. Raise your arm straight up and keeping your upper arm still, let the weight down towards your head, so its almost touching your forehead. These are called skull crushers and they isolate your triceps pretty well. Try doing these with your palm facing different directions, towards your feet, head, and torso.
I call these spider crawls. Grab the dumbells and get in the pushup position. Do a pushup, then pull one of the dumbells up like a row, and return it to the ground but out in front of you. Crawl across the room, dragging your feet as you go. It’s a great chest and core workout. Good luck going the whole way across the room a few times!
If you want to smoke your legs, do step ups on a bench (chair or couch, whatever). Hold the dumbells down and step up with one leg. With the other leg, raise your knee up as high as you can, like you are knee striking the ceiling. Return back to the ground and repeat a bunch of times. Alternate legs or do the same leg a bunch of times in a row. It’ll smoke you!
There are lots more of these type of exercise online if you look around for “dumbell only workouts” or something like that. I would do these because all I have is dumbells at home, but I am way more motivated if there are some chicks watching me struggle at the gym :D… Which is usually my wife laughing at me from an elliptical.
Dont forget to put those dumbells in a backpack every time you exercise outside run/walk. Just remember to wrap dumbells in a towel (padding) if running.