One dumbbell possibilities

So here's my situation. I am trying to get into the best physical shape possible, after a few years of college, illness, and injuries. I don't have the time nor money for a gym membership nor professional training.

Can anybody with the appropriate give me an informed, realistic idea of what I can and need to do to make the most of one 25lb dumbbell?

There are many exercises that target specific muscles or muscle groups that Dumbbells can work for. Just do the exercise on one side then the other switching between sets. I'll try to find some links; but arm curls; tricep extensions; lunges; (resistance) for all ab exercises; back extensions; push ups; sit ups;etc.

That should get you started.

Go very slow around recently healed injuries; don't work out injured muscles unless okay'd by a physician or physical therapist.

Good luck.

Heya!

So, you're totally in luck. The human body is awesome, and you don't even need weights, just the weight of your own body. But having that dumbbell is a plus!

Start with one of the arguably best cardio programs out there, Couch to 5k, aka c25k. Done this myself, it takes you slowly from not being able to run at all, to running a full 5k. One of the best feelings in my life completing it. The NHS has a podcast series complete with audio instructions and music.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k.aspx

Then, look into bodyweight training. I recommend /r/bodyweightfitness on Reddit, here's their FAQ.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/faq

Finally, as always, diet is 90% of loosing weight/maintaining health. I personally use and love Keto, super tasty food and it works well for my body, if you'd like to look into it Reddit has a great Keto section as well, FAQ below.

https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq

Let me know if you have any questions, love to help!

For anyone who needs a little help with ideas and such I have a Diploma of Fitness with a Cert III in Remedial massage. I didn't get it for employment reasons, after all my injuries I grew tired of being told what I could and couldn't do and decided I'd learn and do it all for myself.
It's been a while since I've actually used any of it but all my text books are still on the shelf so if anyone needs anything in particular just yell out and I'll tailor programs for specific results.
Before discussing a program though I would need to ask some serious questions about health and lifestyle things because things can go very wrong when giving the wrong person the wrong program, but even from a distance we can go through it all and do things safely.

Just food for thought anyways!

Is it one of the those single piece cast metal or plastic ones, or do you just have a dumbell bar and 2x 12.5lb plates?

If you have an assortment of lighter plates then you can always just start with the bar itself to exercise in the full range of arm exercises using repetitions alone (to reach target muscle exhaustion) to develop some baseline muscle tone and letting the local nervous, cardiovascular and connective tissues adapt to the new activities..... before adding some of the lightest plates incrementally over time for the larger muscle groups which can really benefit from a well prepared regime and associated food & rest support.

If it's just the single piece 25lb device, then would depend on your existing fitness as it might be too heavy to start off for some movements which focus on the smaller muscles or put pressure on particular joints.

Heck, there are plenty of ways to move that weight through space You could try a some things with just a single dumbbell:

-Goblet Deadlift
-Goblet Squat
-Biceps curl (if too weak with single arm, put both hands on both ends of the weight and curl with both arms at the same time)
-Two-handed dumbbell overhead press
-One-arm dumbbell row
-Two-handed dumbbell row (grip with one hand, placing the other hand on top for support; switch every set)
-Dumbbell lunge and rotation

The list can go on because it's really limited to your imagination.

The list can go on because it's really limited to your imagination.

Luthien is right, there are lots of things one can do with a dumbell -- those that are already mentioned are the ones that I thought of too ...

The thing is, although it is only limited to your imagination, people imagine some pretty grisly ways of injuring themselves with way less than 25 pounds. I would suggest you look up some of those exercises on the internet for images of how to practise with good form.

... good luck !

there is a lot you can do with one dumbbell - but - if you want to get in to "the best physical shape possible" then imo either focus on body weight workouts and "hight intensity interval training" (and forget about the dumbbell) or buy another dumbbell - or a weight bench

if youre going to do dumbbells, imo the adjustables are the best because they are more versatile - and you can get more weights as needed, and you can get weights that will also fit on a weight bench

if money is too tight even for dumbbells then do body weight workouts and HIIT http://www.menshealth.co.uk/fitness/cardio-exercise/what-is-HIIT

do HIIT regardless - the results you get with HIIT will be better than what you get without it no matter what else you do

imo doing all of these is the best - ive always favored body weight workouts and high intensity intervals in the past because in the kinds of gyms i would go to thats what was done, but ive started weight training recently and i am super impressed and happy with the results i am getting both aesthetically and especially in terms of functional strength - again, i recommend doing it all and especially doing it all in a deliberate, planned way

there are three youtube channels i suggest

athlean x

buff dudes

elliot hulse

the first two have specific body weight workouts/exercises to get you started and they are all super fit, very well educated on their subjects, and good at explaining and demonstrating so that it makes sense

and if you are able to get your hands on some weights, check out mark rippetoes starting strength

http://www.nobsbb.com/starting-strength-workout-routine-program-results/


EDIT

and this, definitely look at this

http://www.pdfarchive.info/pdf/L/La/Lauren_Mark_-_You_are_your_own_gym.pdf

OB1Shinobi wrote: there is a lot you can do with one dumbbell - but - if you want to get in to "the best physical shape possible" then imo either focus on body weight workouts and "hight intensity interval training" (and forget about the dumbbell) or buy another dumbbell - or a weight bench

if youre going to do dumbbells, imo the adjustables are the best because they are more versatile - and you can get more weights as needed, and you can get weights that will also fit on a weight bench

if money is too tight even for dumbbells then do body weight workouts and HIIT http://www.menshealth.co.uk/fitness/cardio-exercise/what-is-HIIT

do HIIT regardless - the results you get with HIIT will be better than what you get without it no matter what else you do

imo doing all of these is the best - ive always favored body weight workouts and high intensity intervals in the past because in the kinds of gyms i would go to thats what was done, but ive started weight training recently and i am super impressed and happy with the results i am getting both aesthetically and especially in terms of functional strength - again, i recommend doing it all and especially doing it all in a deliberate, planned way

there are three youtube channels i suggest

athlean x

buff dudes

elliot hulse

the first two have specific body weight workouts/exercises to get you started and they are all super fit, very well educated on their subjects, and good at explaining and demonstrating so that it makes sense

and if you are able to get your hands on some weights, check out mark rippetoes starting strength

http://www.nobsbb.com/starting-strength-workout-routine-program-results/


EDIT

and this, definitely look at this

http://www.pdfarchive.info/pdf/L/La/Lauren_Mark_-_You_are_your_own_gym.pdf

i just want to clarify; there are several excellent dumbbell resources online - the youtube channels i posted i think all have full body dumbbell workouts, and in the "starting strength" program all of the barbell exercises all have dumbbell alternatives - my suggestion to "forget about the dumbbell" was not because i dont think dumbbells work - actually i can tell you that they are awesome, i use them and imo dumbbell chest presses are better than the bench pres (at least up until youre able to lift weight beyond what the dumbbells offer, which i am nowhere near to being able to do) since they force each arm to stabilize the weight independently (which also is hella good for core strenght)

my position here is that one single 25 lbs dumbbell is just not going to be enough for very long

it may be useful now, at the beginning, and so i say use it for all its worth, but you will quickly reach the point where to make further progress i.e. continued significant gains in strength and size and performance capability, you'll either have to get more weight, or branch out to other exercises

Star Forge wrote: So here's my situation. I am trying to get into the best physical shape possible, after a few years of college, illness, and injuries. I don't have the time nor money for a gym membership nor professional training.

Can anybody with the appropriate give me an informed, realistic idea of what I can and need to do to make the most of one 25lb dumbbell?

There is this.

And one of my favorites - on your stomach, place the dumbbell between your feet (with shoes on) and curl it up and down with your knees. ( Hamstring Curl )