Dumbbell workouts are a fantastic way to build strength. You can do them at home or in a quiet corner of the gym, and you can adjust the weights you use to suit your fitness level.
Personal trainer Britany Williams recently shared a dumbbell workout on Instagram designed to target the upper body, working muscles in your core, arms, shoulders and back.
There are seven exercises to pick from and Williams suggests choosing between five to six to include in a workout. This means you can pick the exercises you need depending on your fitness goals.
How to do Britany Williams’ upper-body dumbbell workout
Aim to complete 10-12 repetitions (reps) of five or six movements for three sets in total. If it’s a unilateral exercise, complete the same amount of reps on both sides of the body.
Williams recommends that beginners use an 8-10 lbs load for this workout. Read up on which dumbbell weight you should choose if you need more guidance.
Benefits of this workout
You’ll be moving through a moderate amount of reps for this workout while handling a modest weight, which means this routine will improve your muscular endurance.
Alasdair Nicholl, personal trainer at The Fitness Group, shared some information on the benefits of exercises for muscular endurance, explaining: “Muscular endurance is defined as our muscle’s ability to contract under force for extended periods.”
This means that muscular endurance isn’t just about how heavy you can lift, but how long you can do a particular exercise or movement.
Improving the muscular endurance of your upper body and core muscles can boost your posture, too, according to the American Council on Exercise. That’s because the postural muscles in this area, which are responsible for things like stabilizing your hips and protecting your spine, can support your posture for longer if you’ve trained them to ‘work’ for extended periods.
Another benefit of this workout is that it will improve your joint health, as the exercises move the shoulder through a wide range of angles, effectively mobilizing and strengthening the joint. Maintaining joint health is especially important as we age, as having limited mobility can impact our ability to do everyday tasks like storing a suitcase overhead or bending down to tie our shoes.
If you’re looking for more upper-body workouts, try this resistance band arm workout or read up on the best core strengthening exercises.