last month i bought some dumbells with 22lbs (10kg) each. i was doing twenty reps or so but after a while it was way too easy, so i upgraded them to 33lbs (15kg). i don't know much about that stuff, can you give some advice on training with dumbells - how many reps are ideal, is it good using much weight or doing more reps etc. thanks guys!
Dumbells are mainly good for toning since they have such a wide range of movement you can hit your muscles in ways a bar can't. I mean you CAN get strength off them, and bigger, but I see this as tools for toning. Whenever a person first starts to lift weights they say you should do about 10 reps to build a foundation. This gets your body used to weights. If your just starting out, your body isn't ready for it, and you just do Single lifts (1) heavy as you could your gonna hurt your damn self! If you do to many reps (let's say 20) your definitely not going to get any size off that...You'll get some muscle endurance, and some toning, but that's way to much. I personally go for both size, and toning. I'll do dumbbells one week, and do 10 reps of everything (toning), and the next week I'll only do 5 reps of everything (size). That's only dumbbells though. Right now I'm lifting to get big mainly so if I use the bar I only do 5 reps one week, and only 3 the next. It's winter..So, I'm mainly trying to get bigger. I use the bar (more compound exercises) for physichal growth, I use DB's/ cables for toning.
What would you define "toning" as? A muscle can get bigger or smaller and you can increase (less definition) or decrease your bodyfat (more definition). I never understand what people mean by toning. If you mean muscle density you'll be much better off lifting heavy weights for fewer reps.
mainly just curls with both arms and hammer curls. sometimes pressing while laying on the ground, and lateral raises.
Toning=Cutting your body up. Doing 3-5 reps you aren't gonna sculp your body, but doing say 10 will cut you up. MUSCULARITY basically. Yeah, you need to do more than just curls. There's soooo much you can do with dumbbells. If I were only planning on doing arms I wouldn't bother buying any dumbbells, and just go to the gym. Speaking of that...Why don't you just join a local gym instead of even wasting $ on weights? Gym is so much better as it keeps you motivated, you learn from other people, etc.
i don't think the 40 euros i invested in the dumbells are a waste of money. a gym subscription costs much more. i just wanted something to stay in shape, unfortunately my boxing class at the university is overbooked this semester, which would have been a good workout. so i bought the dumbells instead. i have checked some guides on the internet about the different exercises you can do with dumbells, so that i can do other things than just curls.
You could do any rep range but if your body fat is too high nothing will "cut you up". Low body fat = definition.