Health2wealthclub

Health2wealthclub The trick, then, is to manipulate the stress of exercise often enough to keep the adaptation rate at an optimal level while avoiding becoming over trained. While there are a number of variables (e.g., rest times, sets and reps, training speed, training intensity) you can manipulate to keep the stress of resistance training elevated, one of the most significant variables to manipulate is exercise selection. By providing exercise variation each workout, and then adjusting the specific exercises performed every 4-6 weeks, the body will continually be faced with an elevated level of training stress. For the lower body there are the typical barbell lower body exercises (squats, deadlifts, and straight leg deadlifts) that can be performed along with various exercise machines (leg press, hack squat, leg extensions, etc.). However, one variation that isn't often considered is performing lower body training with dumbbells. I've been using dumbbell lower body exercises to supplement the barbell lower body exercises we perform with my collegiate athletes with great success for a number of years now. Some of you might be thinking that it will be impossible to overload the musculature of the lower body using dumbbells, but I guarantee that


 if you perform these exercises with strict technique and high intensity, you'll be fully aware of your training the next day. Training with dumbbells also provides some specific advantages: Variety. Dumbbells obviously add variety to the training program, and we just Health2wealthclub  the benefit that provides. Safety. Dumbbells provide a safer way to train when performing certain exercises. For example, one-legged squats are a great muscle-building exercise that also challenges your balance. When done with a barbell on your back, though, it can create a potential injury opportunity. However, when performing one-legged squats with dumbbells, the lifter can simply drop the dumbbells and eliminate the injury concern. Novelty. Dumbbells provide a unique training stimulus simply because the load placement differs compared to performing the same exercises with a barbell. When performing barbell squats or lunges, the bar is placed on the back. In contrast, when performing these exercises with dumbbells, the load is held in the hands. Even when performing an exercise that requires the barbell to be held in the hands, such as a straight leg deadlift (SLDL),

Health 2 Wealth Club  the load placement still differs because the barbell is held in front of the legs, in contrast to performing SLDL's with dumbbells where the dumbbells are held to the sides of the legs. When the load placement differs the muscle recruitment pattern, by necessity, also changes. This variation in muscle recruitment helps keep both the stress of exercise and thus the rate of adaption elevated. The following are some of my favorite dumbbell variations of the classic lower body barbell exercises. In terms of programming, use the same training protocol on dumbbell days as barbell days. For example, if in a hypertrophy training cycle, do these dumbbell lower body exercises for 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions with 60 seconds of rest between sets. If in a strength cycle, perform 5 sets of 3-6 repetitions with 2 minutes rest between sets. To assist you, exercise technique instructions are provided as well as common mistakes to avoid. Video demonstrations are also included, so that you can see the exercises performed correctly. Dumbbell Squat Instructions Grasp a dumbbell in each hand with the arms fully extended. Hold the dumbbells along the sides of the body. Assume a shoulder-width stance. Arch the back, keep the head up.