Dumbbells are an effective tool for beginners and advanced trainees to use for building strength, stability, and endurance. With the flood of exercises we come across on a daily basis, Native Hawaiian Strength Specialist and Founder of The Kū Project, Daniel Aipa, wants to share 4 dumbbell exercises beginners should know how to perform properly.
“These 4 exercises create a solid foundation to build upon,” Aipa says, “too often people try an exercise they see on social media and want to try it but they haven’t built the foundation first.”
If you are looking to make sure you’ve built the proper foundation to build upon and minimize injury, here are 4 dumbbell exercises you must know first.
Dumbbell Sumo Deadlift
The Sumo Deadlift is considered a hinge movement where your hips are doing most of the motion as if they were a door hinge.
Aipa mentions that the Sumo Deadlift is a movement that works the posterior chain, the back side of your body from your feet up to your neck. The key to this movement is making sure your hips are the prime movers and your shin angle stays vertical.
DUMBBELL SINGLE ARM ROW
Working your back is essential to improve posture to stand tall and strong. “The Dumbbell Row is my favorite exercise for the back,” Aipa says, “The dumbbell row and other row variations are a staple in my training and coaching.” Aipa shares the two most common mistakes are:
- You pull with your arms and not with the back. You want feel your shoulder blades slide inward towards the midline when rowing. If you don’t feel your back working – then you need to change your position or lighten the load.
- You feel tension in your neck when rowing. This is an indication you are shrugging the weight up instead of doing a rowing motion. Try to keep your shoulders back and away from your ears.
GOBLET REVERSE LUNGE
Single Leg training is beneficial in improving muscular imbalances. The Reverse Lunge is also a movement that Aipa considers to be a bit more knee friendly in comparison to Forward or Walking lunges. “While walking lunges and forward lunges are important,” Aipa says, “the Reverse Lunge is a great single leg movement that ensures you aren’t placing any unnecessary strain on the knee joints.”
His biggest cue is to be mindful of your shin angle when performing this exercise and shared in the video above.
DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS
The dumbbell shoulder press strengthens the shoulders which play an integral row in posture particularly when you strengthen your back muscles as well. “The key to the shoulder press,” Aipa says, “is to make sure you have structural integrity.” What Aipa means by Structural Integrity, is ensuring that the load and joints are aligned properly to minimize torque on the joint. In this case, the shoulder joint while doing an overhead press.
“One of my favorite cues to use during an overhead press, is “head through the window,”” Aipa mentions, “it makes your arms come in line with your ears,” which will improve the structural integrity of the movement.
BONUS
A2. Shoulder Press x 8 Reps
B2. Single Arm Dumbbell Row x 8 Reps/arm
