I’m not surprised people are confused. Walk into any gym today and you’ll be overwhelmed by the shiny machines and fancy equipment. It is easy to start believing you need all this equipment to meet your fitness, fat loss and physique building goals. But in my opinion, a full body dumbbell workout can do everything those expensive machines do, better!

Just so we’re on the same page, let me start by saying you don’t need a gym full of fancy equipment to get fit, burn fat and build the type of body that turns heads. You don’t even need to join a gym at all. A full body dumbbell workout, dedication and consistency are all you need.

First of all, did you know you can get an excellent full body workout using only dumbbells?

Yes, that’s right. You can use dumbbells for more than curls and flies! I know it sounds crazy, but if I hand someone a dumbbell, the first thing they do is try to curl it. I hand it to them, and without thinking, the curling motion begins. But these limited motion exercises using small muscle groups are not the only reason to use dumbbells. As a matter of fact, if you are only using dumbbells for a limited amount of exercises, you’re missing out on their true potential.

When I say, “full body dumbbell workout”, here is what I mean:

- Dumbbells are the only piece of equipment used.

- Upper body, core and lower body are all worked.

- The heart and lungs are also involved

With dumbbells, you can perform workouts that involve all the big, major muscle groups AND the cardiorespiratory system. You can train both muscles and the heart and lungs at the same time. So when I say “full body” I mean full body.

Compare this to “bodybuilding” style workouts that split the body into small muscles and focuses on training each muscle separately. And forget about getting a heart and lung workout. You’ll have to do that separately!

The truth is, there are many different types of dumbbell exercises. There are grinding strength exercises, explosive power exercises and rhythmic exercises requiring both incredible strength and endurance. Each type of exercise can be arranged into a full body dumbbell workout that simultaneously improves fitness, burns fat and builds strong muscles.

The secret to reaching your goals is to get the most out of your training equipment and training time. So, don’t overlook the power of full body dumbbell workouts. If you have access to a set of dumbbells, you have everything you need to get a great workout. And you don’t even need to drive to the gym!

Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Extreme Dumbbell Fitness, invites you to learn the hidden secrets of dumbbell workouts. A full body dumbbell workout awaits you!

A properly structured dumbbell routine is a powerful tool to help you reach your fitness, fat loss and physique building goals. Just make sure you don’t take the word “routine” too literally. There should be nothing routine about your dumbbell routine.

Getting in shape, improving fitness and changing the way we look (for the better) are all reasons people begin to exercise. And many people settle on a dumbbell routine to get the results they want. I can understand why. Dumbbells are an excellent tool for building muscle, burning fat and improving cardiorespiratory endurance.

However, I have one suggestion.

Don’t make your dumbbell routine TOO routine!

You see, your body adapts. In order to get your body to improve you place stress on the body. This is what a dumbbell routine is designed to do, stress your body and force it to adapt. But once the body makes the necessary adaptations, you must increase or change the stress for further improvement to occur.

Anyone who has worked out before knows you body starts to change quickly when you start a new workout program. But then the improvements slow down, and eventually you reach a plateau where it seems all improvements have stopped forever. This is a very dangerous time in your exercise journey, because the lack of improvements often leads to quitting all together.

So, when you start a dumbbell routine, or any workout routine for that matter, keep in mind that the effectiveness of the routine is short lived. In order to progress, you must plan ahead and know how you are going to change the workout routine to keep the improvements coming. Do it right, and your fitness, fat loss and physique building goals are just around the corner. Do it wrong, and you’ll be wasting your dumbbell training time and miss out on all the benefits.

Here are some ideas to keep your dumbbell routine fresh and effective:

1) Use different types of dumbbell exercises.

Not all dumbbell exercises are created equal. There are grinding “slow” lifts great for building strength. There are explosive “quick” lifts great for boosting power and burning fat. And there are combo dumbbell matrixes which are great for full body strength and conditioning, fat loss and mental toughness. Make sure your dumbbell routine uses all of these different dumbbell lifts and keep switching exercises every so often.

There are a lot more you can do with dumbbells than curls, flys and triceps extensions!

2) Use different types of dumbbell routines.

Dumbbells are one of the most versatile pieces of training equipment in existence. Don’t limit their use to the typical 3 sets of 10 reps, rest for 1 minute between sets routine. How about doing a super-set dumbbell routine? How about timed circuits? There are many different ways to structure your dumbbell routine.

Don’t just do the same routine over and over again and miss out on the creative dumbbell workouts you can do!

Sadly, I see men and women do dumbbell routines made up of the same old exercises and performed in the same way every time. While this may be fine when you first start, you’ll soon discover the results of your training soon dwindles.

And I don’t know about you, but I want to get RESULTS from my training. I want to improve the way my body looks, feels and performs by building muscle, burning fat and increasing heart and lung power. So, break out of the routine of your dumbbell routine and keep the results coming!

Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Extreme Dumbbell Fitness, invites you to explore the body transforming power of a proper dumbbell routine and learn the hidden secrets of dumbbell workouts.

I’m going to share with you a dumbbell exercise you can use for combined strength, endurance and fat loss. For most of you, the concept of using one exercise for multiple effects is foreign. This is because most people take a SINGULAR approach to training.

- Lifting weights is for strength

- Running on the treadmill is for cardiorespiratory endurance

- Stretching is for flexibility

- And so on

While using the dumbbell for strength or muscle building is commonplace, using the dumbbell to get a great cardio boosting workout, or for burning off large amounts of unwanted fat probably hasn’t occurred to most of you. This is unfortunate, because combining strength, cardio and fat loss into one quick workout involving dumbbells produces fitness improvements you can USE in everyday life, and physical changes you can SEE in a short amount of time!

Dumbbells can be using for two arm exercises, one arm exercises or in a alternating manner. (By the way, many real world activities are performed this way!) This improves your ability to perform a great variety of sport, work and life activities with excellence.

Combining strength, cardio and fat loss into one dumbbell workout teaches the body to perform as one complete unit while performing strength movements that require the back up of a strong heart and lungs. This creates a more resilient body able to perform a variety of activities stronger, better and longer. Isn’t this why you train?

How many of you have been on a fitness program of some sort, only to become tired and winded when performing an unrelated life activity? While you may be able to run on the treadmill for 10 minutes with ease, lifting a box and climbing a flight of stairs wipes you out! Could it be that your fitness efforts are not translating into real world benefits you can use to improve your ability to live life to the fullest?

Time for an example:

No matter how much I try to explain that dumbbell exercise can be used for cardiorespiratory improvement and fat loss, or how much better this form of training is to prepare for real world activities… some people just won’t get it!

So try this… Do 10 minutes of this dumbbell exercise: 2 Handed Dumbbell Swings.

*** Disclaimer***

This and any form of exercise should only be attempted if you are given clearance by your doctor. Do not attempt this if you have a history of heart problems. Immediately stop the exercise if you feel feint, lightheaded or feel any pain or tightness in the chest. Above all else, use common sense. Coach Eddie Lomax, the Optimum Fitness Network LLC, or anyone associated with them are not responsible for any injuries or damage resulting from attempting anything in this article. Attempt at your own risk.

DB Two Handed Swing

Starting Position: Grasp one dumbbell with both hands and squat down with a wide stance so the dumbbell hangs between your legs. Keep your chest out, head up and the natural curve of your lower back.

Action: Swing the dumbbell back through your legs and reverse the direction by forcibly extending the knees and thrusting with the hips to swing the dumbbell outwards. The movement of the dumbbell comes from the explosion and snapping of the legs and hips, not arm strength. Your arms just guide the dumbbell in an arching motion.

When the dumbbell reaches about shoulder height, guide the dumbbell back along the same path to the Starting Position, immediately letting the dumbbell swing back through the legs in preparation for the next repetition. Remember, you are squatting down by lowering your hips and bending at the knees, you are NOT bending over.

Breathing: Keep your core tight throughout the entire exercise, exhaling through pursed lips on the way up and inhaling through the nose on the way down.

Directions: Set a timer for 10 minutes. Pick a dumbbell that you can swing with good form, but that provides some resistance. Start swinging the dumbbell, stopping to rest only when needed. Try to get as many repetitions done with good form in the 10 minute time period.

What will happen?

If you chose the correct weight, performed the exercise correctly and rested as little as possible, what you’ll have figured out is that you just got a full body workout that used a wide variety of muscles, got your heart pounding and your chest heaving and burned off a huge amount of calories. You see… you got your heart rate and breathing rates up using a strength exercise! And that was just with ONE exercise!

Just imagine what you can do with a full dumbbell workout program designed for simultaneous strength, endurance and fat loss?

Coach Eddie Lomax reveals the hidden secrets of dumbbell training on Extreme Dumbbell Fitness. See what you’ve been missing and start getting the most from your dumbbell workouts. Build you best body with dumbbells now.

Everyone is looking for the piece of fitness equipment that will produce fast, consistent results.

But don’t let fantastic claims and flashy marketing fool you… this miracle training device is common to most gyms and home workout areas alike.

So what is this wonderful training tool that can simultaneously improve all the physical abilities needed for exceptional fitness, increase total body strength and blast off unwanted fat?

It is the dumbbell!

You see, somewhere in the long history as one of the most effective and versatile fitness strength training tools… the dumbbell took a wrong turn.

By being reduced down to pretty pink and blue, light (extremely light) dumbbells, and marketed as “toning”, “shaping” and “sculpting” tools… the dumbbell has lost its true VALUE in a well rounded dumbbell fitness, strength and physique training program.

And even when a full rack of dumbbells are available, (as they are in most gyms), the heavier dumbbells are rarely, if ever, used. (When was the last time you had to wait for a set of 100 lb. dumbbells?)

It’s a shame really… you’ve had the dumbbell at your disposal all this time, and never took full advantage of it!

Let’s look at a couple of rules to help you start using the dumbbell to it’s full potential…

Dumbbell Fitness, Strength And Physique Training Rule #1…
It’s About Fitness!

The very design of the dumbbell make them extremely versatile… you can use them for two arm movements, single arm movements and alternating movements.

The different weights available, (ranging from moderately light to extremely heavy), make them accessible for a wide variety of full range strength exercises… and provides for a systematic progression of improvement.

This makes them uniquely capable tools for the improvement of a great many physical abilities needed for exceptional fitness.

The problem is… no one knows what FITNESS is!

The fitness world has been infiltrated with bodybuilding practices for so long, people have lost the ability to distinguish between fitness and muscle building.

My Definition Of Fitness…

The acceptable and deliberate compromise of competence and ability to perform in all the areas of cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy and toughness to produce optimum performance results under the greatest amount of circumstances.

Dumbbell fitness, strength and physique training can improve all the abilities needed for all-around fitness… as well as develop rock solid muscle in all the right places!

But only if they are used to their full potential… and not as some “light weight – high rep” toning gadget.

Dumbbell Fitness, Strength And Physique Training Rule #2…
Lift Heavy For Strength!

While heavy barbell training is the method of choice for those seeking incredible strength… heavy dumbbell exercise can add a dynamic to strength training that barbells can’t.

By performing a variety of two arm lifts, one arm lifts and alternating lifts, you will create strength directly related to many of the activities of sport, work and life… meaning strength you can use to perform those activities better. (Isn’t that one of the driving forces that encourages us to work out in the first place?)

Your core muscles will be positively effected, stabilizing the body and allowing great strength to be exerted from the extremities.

By using a combination of grinding “slow” lifts, explosive “quick” lifts and dumbbell combo matrixes, you can improve strength and power… while SIMULTANEOUSLY improving heart and lung function and burning off large quantities of fat.

So don’t be afraid to go heavy with your dumbbell training… the RESULTS are just too good to pass up!

Dumbbell Fitness, Strength And Physique Training Rule #3…
Combine Strength Training & Cardio For Fast Physique Transformation!

It’s true… dumbbell training can and will “tone”, “shape” and “sculpt” your muscles into the lean, muscular, athletic body without unwanted fat you’ve always wanted!

Dumbbells can do all the things people say about them, just not by using the “light weight – high repetition” method most people use.

As a matter of fact, by using heavier dumbbells for strength and explosive power and reducing the rest periods between exercises… you will blast heart and lung power through the roof AND burn off more fat than the “traditional” resistence exercise + aerobic exercise method.

This means you can improve every aspect of fitness, create a muscular physique and burn off ugly fat ALL IN THE SAME SHORT WORKOUT!

Dumbbell fitness, strength and physique training enables you to get fantastic fitness results you can USE and noticeable physique changes you can SEE… in the shortest time possible!

In Conclusion…

Isn’t it time you took another look at dumbbell training?

Stop looking a dumbbell exercises as “secondary” exercises to be performed as an afterthought to your barbell or machine workout… and you might just discover the answer to your fitness, strength and physique improvement goals.

By combining grinding “slow” lifts, explosive “quick” lifts and dumbbell combo matrixes… you too can discover the true power of dumbbells.

In one short workout session, you will be able to improve all the physical abilities necessary for elevated fitness, build usable strength to improve everyday life and create the solid, shapely body void of fat you’ve always wanted.

The dumbbell… now that’s one great piece of equipment!

Coach Lomax, founder and president of the Optimum Fitness Network LLC, has gained a reputation for creating and recommending fitness resourses that get results.  His best selling ebook, Extreme Dumbbell Fitness shows you how to SIMULTANEOUSLY improve fitness, build a strong, athletic physique and blast off unwanted fat… only using dumbbells! If you’ve got dumbbells, you’ve got everything you need to build your best performance body that looks great!

In my opinion, a full body dumbbell workout is the best exercise program for developing six pack abs. Unfortunately, hardly anyone uses dumbbells to develop strong abdominals you can see. In this article, I’ll show you the error of your ways.

Carving out six pack abs you can see is a strong motivating force for many a man and woman. But the problem is, the desire is so strong people often don’t think rationally when putting a plan into action. They want six pack abs, and they want them yesterday. This leads to making poor decisions, which often lead to a lot of wasted time and money.

I’ll be honest with you…

- Those gadgets you see on late night television don’t work

- “Isolating” your abs are ineffective for your goal and a waste of time

- Anything that claims to be “fast and easy” is a waste of money

Getting a six pack is just like any other goal. Stop letting emotion drive your decisions. Let’s take a deep breath and look at this logically. I’m sure once we do this, you’ll conclude that a full body dumbbell workout is your best bet for a six pack you can see, as I have.

There are three things you must do if you want to see your six pack:

1) You must build muscle all over your body

2) You must strengthen your core muscles

3) You must lose fat

If you do all three of these things, you’ll develop abdominals you can see.

Building muscle all over your body not only helps you look better, but muscle is metabolically expensive. This means your body must use more calories to maintain a higher percentage of muscle, and therefore leaves less calories to be converted into fat. So, you not only build an attractive body, but also create a situation where the bigger muscles help you reach your goal of a visible six pack. A full body dumbbell workout builds muscles all over your body.

Obviously, stronger and bigger abdominal muscles are necessary to achieve the abdominal look you desire. But stop relying on “isolation” exercises like crunches and leg raises to get the job done. A dumbbell workout puts emphasis on the core muscles with every exercise. This means every exercise is an ab exercise.

No matter how much muscle you put on or how strong and big your abdominal muscles, no one will ever see them if they are covered with fat. You must get rid of the fat around your middle to make the muscles underneath visible. And a dumbbell workout, done correctly, burns a lot of fat.

Think of it this way. You want to perform a workout that builds muscle, strengthens the core and burns fat at the same time. This is the most effective method for getting the result you want. If your entire workout does these three things, it is the fastest way to build abs you can see.

So, spend more time doing a full body dumbbell workout instead of doing those “isolation” exercises and you’ll build more muscle, strengthen your core and burn off more fat. This is what you need to spend your time doing if you ever hope to see your six pack. So, pick up a pair of dumbbells and get busy!