Home Workout Routines With Weights and Dumbbells

Home Dumbbell Workout Routines, Lower and Upper Body Workout Routines

Maximize your home workout routines with weights.

Home workout routines with weights depend on finding the right weight of dumbbell for your strength level. Workout routines to build muscle rely on finding the maximum weight you can move for a designated number of reps: Fewer reps with a higher weight build power, while more reps with a lower weight increase endurance. Workout videos by expert trainers like Tony Horton in P90X® emphasize that you have to write down how much weight and how many reps you're doing so you know where you're at and where you're going. For your home workout, set a number and try to go to that number and then try to beat it. As the workout DVDs by Tony Horton tell you: "If it feels too light, swap it out."

Home workout routines with weights, even dumbbells, are dangerous if done improperly. Your upper body workout routine could end up tearing muscles and damaging joints, causing lifelong problems. Your lower body workout could tear up your knees, and ruin your hips, crippling you. Safety first for home workout routines with weights is the rule, and safety starts with doing the dumbbell exercise routines properly. Workout videos like P90X or 10-Minute Trainer® by Tony Horton offer detailed instructions on proper form and methods for doing resistance training with dumbbells.

Home workout routines with weights can add an extra dimension to whatever aerobic exercise routine you're doing. Almost all workout routines benefit from a dumbbell in hand, making it just that much harder so you can burn some extra calories. For an extreme lower body workout routine to build muscle, hold a 10-pound dumbbell while burning through the home workouts demonstrated on the workout DVD TurboFire® by fitness master Chalene Johnson.

Home workout routines with weights may be the ideal, but sometimes the space you're in or the fact that you're on the road just doesn't allow it. Home workout routines with weights can be effectively mimicked with resistance bands (elastic cords offering different tensions to replicate different sizes of dumbbells) and your body weight. For an upper body workout routine, stand on the band while doing curls or shoulder presses. For a lower body workout routine with an extra punch, use resistance bands as you do back lunges to make it harder to stand up and easier to build your strength.