These dumbbell workouts make me confused

[Leego]

OK, so I wanted to stop being that guy who lurks the forums and keeps asking questions instead of doing things, so I picked up and am currently following a dumbbell training routine. I am also learning how to swim, which I now really enjoy!

 

I got this one from some site called Muscle & Strength: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html

 

So far, I enjoy most of the exercises, but I am a bit concerned about whether or not if I'm pushing myself too hard and too often. I workout on a 3-day split on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I have swimming class, which often really works my entire legs, but especially my calves and knee areas. ON top of the that, I have to ride a bike and carry a heavy backpack every day. I've been making sure to stretch, but I feel like either I'm not stretching enough, or I'm not stretching properly.

 

OK, so this is going to be a long list documenting my experiences with the program so far, so skip over the bold stuff to get to the rest of my post.

 

 

 

 

My workout routine experience (as of my last training session) is this:

 

Monday:

 

DB Squats: No problem with this exercise, and it's actually a really good workout that gets my heart rate up. I'm not too keen on going too heavy with them, since I have had knee injuries in the past. I'd rather just do higher reps in bodyweight squats.

 

DB Bench Press: Hitting max reps with ease, working with 22.5 lbs dumbbells. Oddly enough, it doesn't feel like it's working my chest at all, so either I'm using too light of weights, or I'm not using proper form.

 

One Arm Dumbbell Row: Either I'm doing these too fast, or I am having no problems with hitting max reps on these sets with 22.5 lbs dumbbells.

 

Standing DB Curl: One of my favorites. Again, a nice struggle that gets my heart rate up. Currently, I'm up to 22.5 lbs, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm starting all my lifts at 20 lbs to be safe.

 

Two Arm Seated Dumbbell Extension (ugh): Honestly, I hate this exercise. It feels clunky and awkward, and not too nice on my elbows, but I'm hitting reps on them.

 

Sit Ups: For some reason, I've always enjoyed sit ups, even though they're not considered good by some. Something about doing them that makes me feel athletic.

 

Wednesday:

 

Dumbbell Step Up: I was actually concerned about how my knees would handle this exercise with 22.5 lbs dumbbells, but my knees held out well, and it turned out to be great cardio, when done fast. The only times I didn't hit 12 reps was when I got fatigued.

 

Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift: I enjoy it as much as I do barbell deadlifting, and it's a pretty nice alternative to the barbell deadlift, since the gym I go to at school lacks a proper deadlift setup. I still feel like it doesn't work my a-glutes well enough, though. I guess I gotta squeeze.

 

Seated Dumbbell press: I enjoy it, and hit 12 reps every time with 22.5 lbs dumbbells.

 

Standing One Leg Dumbbell Calf Raise: This was a hard one, until I learned how to do it properly, but I sometimes question doing it since I already get a calf workout from swimming.

 

Dumbbell Shrug: I can't help but to make a funny face every time I do these, I seriously can't even. They're fine, though.

 

Dumbbell Side Bends: This one always feels weird, and I sometimes wonder if I'm doing it wrong. Nothing about it feels right or proper, but I do feel a burn in my rib areas.

 

Friday:

 

Dumbbell Lunge: I've skipped this one twice in a row already. I can get into a lunge position, but when doing it with just 20 lbs dumbbells, I have a hard time going down on my left knee, and when I go down on my right knee, I feel like I'm about to slip a knee cap. Honestly, I've never liked any lunges in general, which is a shame. I'm willing to do lunges without weights, though.

 

Dumbbell Floor Press: Another move I don't entirely like, but I guess it works. It just feels weird lifting with my arms having such limited movement. And it's supposed to work the chest.

 

Wide Grip Pull Ups: Can't do pull-ups yet, but my gym has a "pull up machine" I can use to sort of simulate this...it's fun. Otherwise, I'd just do jumping pull ups and arm hangs. I actually prefer to do those.

 

Standing Hammer Curl: It's like the Standing Dumbbell curl, but much harder for some reason. I tried doing it with proper form, and I could barely lift up a 17.5 lbs dumbbell. It was a bit frustrating and daunting, and according to the website, it works the same muscles as the dumbbell curl-thingie.

 

Lying Dumbbell Extension: I really hate this one. Nothing about it feels right. I got to hoist some dumbbells over my head, and lean them back using nothing but my forearms, which feels like the perfect way to injure my elbows. At least I can take loads off my knees and can still walk, but I need to be able to use my arms. I could barely even work with 17.5 lbs dumbbells on this one.

 

Lying Floor Leg Raise: It's fun. I also do flutterkicks along with these.

 

 

 

 

I wish there was a strength training routine I could follow that:

 

Uses simple movements

Uses few movements

Is high intensity (burns more calories)

Maximizes strength gain

Has minimal risk of causing knee injuries

Works the full body

Does not strictly use barbells (since there aren't many barbell racks ever open at my gym)

Works well with strength imbalances

Helps Anterior Pelvic Tilt

 

I know it's impossible for a workout to have all of these qualities, but if I had to choose two, for what my goals are right now (lose weight, build general strength & stamina), it would be works the full body, and low risk of knee injury. I'd like for it to also be high intensity but that doesn't sound realistic, as I'd imagine higher intensity = more strain on body, which = more strain in joints, which = higher risk of injury. If I could add an extra thing, it would be to solve the Anterior Pelvic Tilt, as I get the feeling that it negatively impacts my form when doing exercises.

 

I'm tempted to try CrossFit for it's intensity and variety, but I also hear that a lot of injuries happen in CrossFit, which is what I'm trying to avoid, unless it makes my injured joints and muscles stronger after they recover. There used to be CrossFit classes at my gym, but they don't have them anymore.

 

It was my intention to just do the dumbbell exercises that build upper body strength, and then work everything else with bodyweight training, but then I decided "why not try the entire program?" Now I'm thinking, "why not go back to bodyweight training?"

[Rocker3722]

That does look like a lot to me, considering your goals and what i can tell about your general fitness. I'd say take out the bicep, tricep, and calf isolation work, if you enjoy it maybe just one variation per week. Also, you should look into yoga for your anterior pelvic tilit. There are probably good poses/stretches for it and if yoga isn't your thing you can just learn the relevant poses and do them at the end of your workouts. You can also stretch throughout the day if your legs feel tight. What do you do for a warm up?

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[Grandkai_NL]

I see we have the same goals with workouts (full body, few movements, maximize strength). I checked out the workout and if i look at a few of your goals for a workout i would change it to this:

Day A:

DB Squat

DB Bench Press

DB Row

 

Day B:

DB Lunge (without weights)

DB Stiff Legged Deadlift

Standing DB Press

Pull-ups/Lat Pulldown

You keep alternating these 2 workouts through the week. So on Tuesday A, Thursday B, Saturday A. Next Tuesday B, Thursday A, Saturday B and so on...
This template is a lot like the Starting Strength temple from Mark Rippetoe except with DB instead of Barbells. You can keep the sets and reps the same as you have right now. 

 

As for your Anterior Pelvic Tilt (had to look it up on internet) the internet talks a lot about stretching and focus on ab work. So...i would follow Rocker3722 advice about doing yoga or doing stretches throughout the day.

[Leego]

@Rocker3722, I do cycle intervals for 15-30 minutes to warm up. I took a yoga class, but I don't remember how to do any of the movements, but maybe i can find something online.

 

I might try your workout routine, Grandkai_NL. Is that what you're doing?

[Hyperion]

warnamon i'll

 

 

I wish there was a strength training routine I could follow that:

 

Uses simple movements

Uses few movements

Is high intensity (burns more calories)

Maximizes strength gain

Has minimal risk of causing knee injuries

Works the full body

Does not strictly use barbells (since there aren't many barbell racks ever open at my gym)

Works well with strength imbalances

Helps Anterior Pelvic Tilt

 

I know it's impossible for a workout to have all of these qualities, but if I had to choose two, for what my goals are right now (lose weight, build general strength & stamina), it would be works the full body, and low risk of knee injury. I'd like for it to also be high intensity but that doesn't sound realistic, as I'd imagine higher intensity = more strain on body, which = more strain in joints, which = higher risk of injury. If I could add an extra thing, it would be to solve the Anterior Pelvic Tilt, as I get the feeling that it negatively impacts my form when doing exercises.

 

I'm tempted to try CrossFit for it's intensity and variety, but I also hear that a lot of injuries happen in CrossFit, which is what I'm trying to avoid, unless it makes my injured joints and muscles stronger after they recover. There used to be CrossFit classes at my gym, but they don't have them anymore.

 

It was my intention to just do the dumbbell exercises that build upper body strength, and then work everything else with bodyweight training, but then I decided "why not try the entire program?" Now I'm thinking, "why not go back to bodyweight training?"

i can send you my workout for examination. it works great on maximising strength gains, can be tweaked into more volume phased high intensity training quite easily, has very limited amount of moves (around 15 to be exact) and most of them can be done with barbell or dbells.

[Machete]

I'm tempted to try CrossFit for it's intensity and variety, but I also hear that a lot of injuries happen in CrossFit, which is what I'm trying to avoid, unless it makes my injured joints and muscles stronger after they recover. There used to be CrossFit classes at my gym, but they don't have them anymore.

 

It was my intention to just do the dumbbell exercises that build upper body strength, and then work everything else with bodyweight training, but then I decided "why not try the entire program?" Now I'm thinking, "why not go back to bodyweight training?"

 

There are a lot of injuries in the CrossFit Games. (That's like saying you want to try boxing but you're afraid of fighting Klitschko.) There are also a lot of injuries in running.

 

Weren't you training to join the service? Also, weren't you on Starting Strength?