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Whether you're a budding athlete or a pro sports performer, incorporating dumbbell exercises into your everyday fitness routine is a must to keep your physique in top condition.
Dumbbells are incredibly versatile and allow you to train all the muscles or specific ones. They can be used in place of kettlebells and barbells and can help boost your athletic performance. Dumbbells can also help you achieve your fitness goals, be it building strength, developing muscle mass, or just a more sculpted-looking body.
Not sure where to start? Well, here's a sequence of some of the best dumbbell exercises you must include in your workout routine if you're an athlete.
Dumbbell Exercises for Athletes
Check out the six best dumbbell exercises below:
1) Dumbbell Goblet Squat
Goblet squats are one of the best exercises that train the glutes and enhance thoracic and hip mobility.
To do this exercise, stand tall with your feet wider than shoulder width, and grab a dumbbell with both hands. Place the dumbbell in front of your chest, and slowly sit back into a squat position.
Maintaining the position of the dumbbells, drive back up through your feet, and repeat the exercise a few times.
2) Dumbbell Push Press
The dumbbell push press is one of the best dumbbell exercises; it involves an explosive overhead lift movement. As the exercise involves explosive motion, you will need to move the dumbbell fast, which helps in improving overall motor unit recruitment.
To do this exercise, stand upright with dumbbells in each hand at shoulder height. Quickly move into a quarter squat position, and reverse by bringing the dumbbells over your head explosively.
Lock the press over your head, and slowly lower the weight back to the initial position.
3) Farmer’s Carry
The farmer’s carry is among the best dumbbell exercises that enhance dynamic stability in the core and boost spine health so that you can perform underloading activities such as landing on jumps and squats easily.
To do this exercise, grab dumbbells in each hand, and stand up straight. Keeping your shoulder blades upright and slightly shrugged, start to walk, and take a few steps forward.
Make sure to maintain the tallest position possible, and do not sway your hands to your sides. Walk a few steps, and return to the starting position.
4) Arnold Press
The Arnold press is a very beneficial upper body exercise that targets all three areas of the deltoid. This exercise helps add width and thickness and stabilizes the joints.
To do this exercise, sit tall on a bench, and grab a dumbbell in each hand in front of you, with your palms facing the shoulders. Slowly push the weights over your head, and rotate your arms till your palms get away from you.
Extend your arms to straighten them, and reverse the movement. Repeat a few times.
5) Dumbbell Kickback
Dumbbell kickbacks are one of the best dumbbell exercises to target the lateral head on the triceps and make for sleeve-filling arm muscles.
To do this exercise, hold a dumbbell with your left hand, and put your right hand and right knee on the bench. Keep your upper arm bent, and move the dumbbell towards your chest so that the upper arm gets parallel to the floor.
Straighten your arm using your forearm, and slowly return the weight to the starting position. Repeat.
6) Dumbbell Step-up
Dumbbell step-ups are among some of the most effective dumbbell exercises that target and strengthen the gluteus maximus.
It's the primary muscle responsible for rotating, abducting, adducting, and extending the lower body from the hips. Additionally, this exercise also enhances the stabilizer strength of the muscles surrounding the joints while protecting you against muscle or joint injury.
To do this exercise, put your left foot onto an elevated platform, such as a plyo box, step, or bench. Push your body up through your heel to raise yourself, and place your right foot on the platform.
Slowly step back down with your right foot, focusing on flexing your left knee and hip. Repeat on the other side.
Takeaway
Now that you know some of the best dumbbell exercises, add them to your fitness routine, and try them out to avail all the benefits.
If you're new to strength training, just make sure to go slow and not increase the reps too quickly. Be mindful of your posture, and work under a certified trainer if you are unsure about doing the poses correctly.
