Dumbbell work out questions

[pinkyponkyplink]

please can someone help me with some answers?

how many times a week should I be doing weights? I’m working out at home

can I do full body work outs with 3kg weights every time or does it need to be a leg day, an arm day etc and be split? I’ve tried following CarolineG and I prefer full body work outs

how long should I be exercising? I’ve started following some 20 min full body work outs with so many moves and repeated 3-4 times. Will these work?

I appreciate any help.

Bicep curls, farmers carry, boat , goblet squat and overhead I’m on 6kg. Weighted bridge and dead lift I use 8kg . I also use bands.

How long have you been training at those weights? They're still pretty light. I'm training Farmer's carry at 2 x 32 kg dumbbells (and I'm in my mid-60s) - carrying for a minute. It's really tough and my grip slips, but if I don't try, my grip would be even weaker. It's taken about 5 years to get to that sort of weight, but you don't get there without trying the heavy hard stuff.

At 80, I want to be able to get myself up off the ground - that's why I'm training carrying my body weight in kettle bells. I was doing frog glute bridge pumps yesterday with a 20 k kettlebell. It's good for my glutes and we can generally hold, lift, and carry FAR more than we think we're capable of. And in a deadlift on a barbell, the bar weighs 20 kilos, so that should be a minimum weight so you learn correct form.

Take it slowly, but don't limit yourself.

Have a look at MegSquats free programme for those new to weights called "Before the Bar"

Mine's not show off muscle! It's just everyday strength, which translates into good energy, balance and posture. The general good practice is either thinking about training to failure (that's for advanced lifters) or thinking about RiR - reps in reserve.

So you could work on your lifts using the principle of having just 2 RiRs - that is by your last rep, you only have one or two more in you to do. Stop at that point, rest for at least a minute, but preferably two minutes, and go again.

I’m going to increase my weights from 3kg. Do you think I should buy 5kg, 6kg or 7kg?

I’d just go to the next weight, then the next and so on.

I started a few years ago and now have a range as I’ve slowly added heavier and heavier weights. I have 2 x 18kg as my heaviest now but I’m never going to be curling those, my arms stopped at 7kg curls but I press 9kgs, so different moves can take different weights. I use 9kg for lunges, 18kg sumo squat. It needs to be consistent and a slow build.

Remember you have the rest of your life, so take your time and don’t injure yourself.

How is the 3kg feeling to you, are you finding your current workouts easy, do-able or challenging? Unless you're finding the 3kg easy I think I would stick to 5kg as your next one, you definitely don't want to overdo it but you do want to be able to gradually increase over time...

I would say it is easy/doable on 3kg. My breath has increased and I’ve noticed my heart rate moves to around 140 during a work out. Do you think stay at 3kg or move to 5kg?

A range of weights are what you need. I use between 6kg and 30kg depending on what I'm doing.

You can also do bodyweight exercises if you only have very light weights and are waiting to get more.

How big are 30kg dumbbells. I’ve got a 40lb (it’s old) kettle and that’s big enough, that’s only 18kg!

I understand your preference for full body workouts, but I would urge you to persevere with one of Caroline Girvan’s programmes, e.g. EPIC Heat or EPIC 3. I promise you it’ll all fall into place and you’ll have a thorough grounding on what to do.

I have done most of her YouTube programmes, but these days I mostly pick different full body workouts from her various programmes. I’m in my 70s and have been doing this since 2020 - it has been life changing.

Obviously progressively overload and up your weights. I started out with 3 kg, but quite quickly moved to 5 kg. These days I mostly use 8 and 10 kg, but I also have a 12 kg set that I use for leg work mostly.

I now use my 5 kg dumbbells for HIIT. I do at least two cardio/HIIT sessions a week - mostly Growingannanas, both with light weights and without. I also do 3-4 minutes of plank variations every day, which has helped tremendously with strengthening my core.

These are such supportive comments again. Thank you. Wow @Enrichettai am so impressed. You’ve inspired me