Intense Dumbbell Workout (CRUSHED BY 30 LBS!)

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Dumbbell workouts are one of the most effective ways to build muscle and get jacked. What happens if you only have light dumbbells to work out with however? Not a problem. In this video, I’m going to give you a complete dumbbell workout that you can do to build serious muscle even if you only have a pair of thirty pounders to train with.
You see, the key to building muscle is to stop simply counting the numbers written on the side of the dumbbell and instead learn how to make whatever dumbbell you have feel much heavier. The three intensity techniques covered here will help you to do just that. Depending on the exercise you are doing and the weight you normally use on that exercise will dictate which of the three intensifying techniques you will use.
I’m covering the chest, back, legs, shoulders and arms in this total body dumbbell workout. Each muscle group tends to have a weight range that is capable of being lifted with the legs and back handling the heaviest in general. The biceps and triceps tend to be able to handle the lightest loads. Realizing that, we can change the technique that is used in the dumbbell workout to help make the weights feel heavier.
In the case of the biceps and triceps you would likely be closer to the weight you would normally use. Here you would use the one and a half reps lifting technique to make the dumbbells feel heavier by virtue of an increased time under tension. On a biceps wall dumbbell curl, you eliminate the momentum of the exercise and then force the muscle to contract twice on the same rep. Lower down just half way and reinitiate the contraction before lowering. The same thing can be applied to a dumbbell lying triceps extension.
Next, moving onto the chest and shoulders we find that the dumbbells used are likely about half as much as what would normally be used to train these muscles. Again, not a problem. Here you can use the pre-exhaustion technique with slow motion reps to make those dumbbells feel heavy again. Perform the pushup variation shown here to failure and then immediately go into the pressing dumbbell press to take your chest to the edge. Same thing can be done with dumbbell L raises and the wide arc shoulder press.
Finally, finish out this dumbbell workout with just 30 pounds by making your legs and back work harder then they would be used to with such a light weight. Use the stop ladder technique here on bulgarian landmine plyos and dumbbell incline rows. Perform a rep and then squeeze the dumbbells (in the case of the rows) or hold them at the bottom of the squat (in the bulgarian plyos) for a second. Perform the second rep and hold for two seconds. Repeat until you can no longer complete any more reps.
It is intensity techniques and exercises like this that make any dumbbell workout infinitely harder. Never use the excuse that you don’t have heavy enough weights to get a good workout in ever again. For a complete workout program that eliminates the excuses and helps you to get the best muscle growth possible by training like an athlete, head to and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System.
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