With the help of my meathead best friend Julie, I’ve demonstrated and explained the most basic resistance training exercises that require dumbbells and just bodyweight. Most exercise prescriptions I provide for my clients include these fundamental moves, so it’s essential to know them! I recommend that everyone participate in some form of resistance training. Common goals include: building muscle, maintaining lean body mass, fat burn, toning and definition, injury rehabilitation, strength gains, increased athletic performance, general health, and functional lifestyle. The goal then determines the number of repetitions per set.
In general, you should perform these repetition ranges per each of these general goals:
- Strength: 1-4 reps
- Hypertrophy (increase muscle size): 6-12 reps
- Endurance: 12-20 reps
My recommendation is that if you’re somewhat seasoned in resistance training, a combination of all 3 is beneficial in your regimen. If you’re a beginner, you should always start with the endurance rep range.
Start with 1 set if you’re a beginner, gradually moving towards 3 sets as you progress in your program. If you want to challenge and truly change your body, add volume increasing the sets to 4 or 5.
