How heavy should dumbbells be for a beginner toning arms?

[Onetwothreefourgo]

I haven’t really used weights before. Need to time my arms up so want to get some dumbbells…but how heavy do I buy? Any help appreciated…!

This lady has lots of small, just a couple of mins, exercises. You can string a few together, or just do two mins so you don’t get overwhelmed, so are more likely to continue. 3lb is a good starting weight, but start as low as you need to. Better to build up than start too heavy and feel defeated!

Link to starter video below.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNR4xyepU/

I would maybe start off on 4kg and build up from this. You really need to be lifting fairly heavy weights to build muscle to be honest. Light weights with lots of reps won’t make a difference. Caroline Girvan has loads of weights classes on YouTube (free) and a paid for app. This would be a great place to start.

@sociableintrovert123 is right - it's hard to build muscle. What do you mean by "toning"? If you want visible muscle that could be about diet. Or it could be about growing muscle.

To grow muscles, you need to be lifting as heavily as you can: mostly low reps, high weights. You need to lift to failure as that stress on your muscles stimulates them to respond and grow, so the next time you lift the same weight it's a bit easier.

You also need to programme in rest, and probably up your protein intake.

And you probably should look at all over muscle development, not just your arms.

The Carline Girvan vids are OK, but she tends to programme for a more aerobic effect. She programmes for women who prefer low weights & high reps.

Can you try some out first? Any friends have them.

I would've found 4 kg too heavy at the beginning. 3 kg would be better. You can obviously build up to the exercise but it depends what you're doing.

You maybe someone who does lots of heavy work normally or you may be someone who has more natural strength than I do

Weights are expensive, so it's a good idea to try some out I think or getting an adjustable set where you can add on

also, you may want to do light weights and high reps
You might want to do heavy weights and a low number of reps

Do you know what your starting point is in that way?

Sally Gunnell on Insta has some excellent advice on strength exercises to do at home, and high protein eating, aimed at middle aged women.

Yes it absolutely depends how strong you are to start with. Also depends on how tall you are / how long your arms are. If you’re doing lots of side or front lifts and you have longer arms you’ll find it harder

Scientific testing has shown that as long as you exercise to nearly failure it doesn't matter if you do multiples of lower weights or less reps of heavier weights so it really depends on what you prefer. I'd rather do fewer reps and be done with! At my gym the really strong women have a range of weights around them and change depending on the exercise so there's no hard and fast number.

I started on 6kg for overhead shoulder press. I've slowly progressed to 14kg.
But if I'm doing a bicep curl, I currently need 9kg.

So, it just depends on the excercise you are doing. This is why home weights don't work for me as I need a large variety and the adjustable dumbells are very uncomfortable for me.

I started off with a set of 1, 2 & 3kg dumbbells. I've since progressed and had to get 4 and 5kg too. I use them all in various ways for different exercises. Start as light as you can would be my advice, as you don't want to hurt yourself.

Thanks all. I’m quite short and a beginner so my arms are quite weak! Think I’ll start with 3. Just want to lose the flab on my arms…Maybe do a home workout too along with the weights.

I found I needed two different weights, so 5kg for biceps and 3kg for triceps. Now I've added 8kg and 10kg kettle bells for other exercises. So a range of weights is good. You might want a 1kg weight alongside the 3kg, especially for exercises with your arms extended.

It doesn't really matter. I'm just doing it until you can't quite finish it at the end of your set.
Whatever people are reflecting saying they've moved to is utterly irrelevant for you

I started weights a few weeks ago and have a beginner set of 1, 1.5 and 2.5.

1 was too light, 2.5 would have caused an injury!

1.5 felt like good resistance and was doable, so I started there.

3 kg is a good starting weight for most women, but be prepared to up the weights fairly quickly: 5, 8, 10, 12 kg.

Some people get adjustable dumbbells but they can be bulky or unwieldy. I buy individual dumbbells from places like Factory Weights online and consider it a very worthwhile investment. I gave my initial 3 kg to a friend and I still use the 5 kg for HIIT type workouts, alongside the heavier ones for proper weight training.

Caroline Girvan is excellent but may be too strenuous for some beginners - though perfectly feasible if you are committed and take it slow.

Growingannanas has many HIIT based workouts, including lots of short Tabata type sessions. Very good if you want to get some cardio in as well.

Heather Robertson is an excellent, very professional all-round trainer and I really like her style.

You can't lose fat by exercising a specific area. However if you build some muscle whilst losing some fat you'll have better looking arms.

as other posters have said, you have to have different weights, as some muscles are already stronger than others.

or so you’re pulling or pushing, one is harder than the other.

i wouldn’t go under 3Kg, unless the OP has a very small frame and not much strength.

i would only use something like 1.5kg if you’re doing pilates and will be doing tons of repetitions.

remember the aim is to really struggle with the last two repetitions in a set of usually 8-10 reps.

decathlon or many online retailers have very affordable weights.

I do a sequence of seven movements of several fast reps (anything from 10-15 each arm depending on which one) using 2.5kg. I know it’s pretty pathetic but my arms always feel tired and stretched at the end of each sequence of seven. I’ll then go on to do it twice more, and I do them 3-4 times a week, from home.

I started at the beginning of the year and I would definitely say that my arms, shoulders and chest look and feel stronger and more toned. My aim isn’t for bulk though, just tone and more sinewy definition.

I’ll probably get some heavier weights soon, as the 2.5s are starting to feel quite comfortable.

Is this the best way to get better looking arms? Alongside diet? I’ve got an event this summer and really need to get mine in shape 😳

I agree that you need to challenge yourself, but if you go too heavy at first you will end up with bad form.

As a PP has said, there is no such thing as 'toning' muscles - they either grow (hypertrophy) or shrink (atrophy). The 'toned' look comes from having sufficient muscle mass and low enough body fat for them to show. You cannot melt fat from certain parts of the body by doing weights on that one area. If you are beginning, you can get pretty strong and build your muscles by doing body weight exercises such as press ups, tricep dips, planks, lunges, squats etc - no equipment needed. This will start to engage your muscles and make them stronger. But for them to show up, you need to lose fat, through cardio and eating cleaner / in a calorie deficit.

You started well! I started at 2.5kgs on shoulder press machine and bicep curl 😂. I have NO upper body strength. After 2x visits a week I moved up to 5kg on both but lower reps. Have now (8 weeks in) got up to 10 reps on both so will try going up again next visit!

Ive found using dumbbells over machines so much better for all over body condition, not just the target body part

I like machines but I do have an all over body programme so get a rounded workout.

I have never had much upper body strength. Do take it easy this. I read that the time to increase is when you can easily add 2 more reps

Agreed, it's better to be too light and develop good form with many reps than too heavy and struggle risking injury.

The good news is lighter weights start of quite cheaply so there's less risk of wasting ££ on a light weight that is used then grown out of than with a weight that's heavier, less attractive to get used to gathering dust.

I started on 2-3kg and now tend to use 5-8kg for upper body. Legs can take more weight. I find my greatest limiter is grip; both my actual strength and physically getting small hands around chunky, heavier weights.