Functional Dumbbell Core Exercises Kevin Yates. Introduction To Functional Dumbbell Core Exercises

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1 Introduction To Functional Dumbbell Core Exercises Today we live in a technology driven market. This is especially true in the fitness industry. If you take a look inside just about any gym you ll notice the evidence of this trend manifesting itself by the growing number of exercise machines. In fact, people are conditioned to determine a health club s potential value by how much machine based equipment it has. The more equipment the more perceived value. The human body has approximately 700 muscles, 206 bones and moves in multiple planes of motion. Unfortunately, machine based training cannot effectively train the human body in a functional manner. In fact, since the number and popularity of exercise machines has grown we have seen a rise in injuries. One of the main reasons this is happening is due to the reliance on machine based training which has been shown to decrease core strength, stability, balance and coordination. In other words, the body loses its ability to effectively function resulting in injuries while participating in activities outside of the gym such as picking up objects around the house, walking up and down stairs, getting in and out of the car, overhead lifting and reaching, twisting and turning, recreational sports like tennis, golf and running and others. However, many leaders in the fitness industry are using functional training methods because they know how effective functional training is for developing core strength, balance, speed, power and improving performance. Functional training incorporates a number of tools such as bodyweight, stability balls, resistance bands, medicine balls, balance boards/pads, foam rollers and other equipment including dumbbells. Dumbbell training is one of the most effective ways to improve functional strength because they require more stabilization and control to perform, are effective for correcting muscular imbalances between dominant and non dominant limbs, allow more freedom of movement versus barbell exercises, and permit training all planes of motion and at any speed. 1

2 The type of training options that dumbbells provide are extremely effective for improving athleticism, better performance, injury prevention and faster post injury rehabilitation. I have broken down functional movements into 5 basic categories: Squatting Pulling Pushing Lunging (Single Leg) Rotation Most of the time we are moving we are using a combination of these categories and moving in multiple planes of motion simultaneously. Total body movements are made effective when a sufficient level of core strength and stability are developed. And since the core is the origin of movement it is the most important component of training. I put together this manual to get you started with some basic functional dumbbell exercises that will improve core strength and stability. You can perform them in any order and rep scheme but to keep things simple I ve grouped them into their proper category. 2

3 Bent Over Row (Pulling & Squatting) Keep your back straight and slightly arched. Pull the DB s by pulling your shoulder blades together toward the spine and downward. Front Squat (Squatting & Pushing) Keep your trunk up and hold the DB s on the front of the shoulder where you have the most muscle. Let them rest on your shoulders and scoop your elbows up as shown in the photo on the left below. Keep the elbows up as you squat and stay back on the heels at all times. Use your glutes and hamstrings to perform the exercise. Deadlift (Squatting & Pulling) Keep your trunk up and hold the DB s at your sides. Stay back on the heels at all times and keep your toes pointed straight ahead not out to the sides. Keep your shoulder blades back tight at all times. Use your glutes and hamstrings not just your quadriceps. 3

4 DB To Chest Squat (Squatting & Pushing) Keep your trunk up and hold the DB s at your chest. Stay back on the heels at all times and keep your toes pointed straight ahead not out to the sides. Keep your shoulder blades back tight at all times. Use your glutes and hamstrings not just your quadriceps. Squat Press (Squatting & Pushing) Keep your trunk up and hold the DB s at your chest. Stay back on the heels at all times and keep your toes pointed straight ahead not out to the sides. Keep your shoulder blades back tight at all times. Use your glutes and hamstrings not just your quadriceps. Descend into the squat 4

5 under control then explosively drive back up and push the DB s overhead at the same time. The hips should drive the weights up. Standing T (Pulling) Keep your chest tall with your lower back slightly arched. Keep arms straight in front of your body at mid chest height. Pull arms out wide to the sides without the DB s moving behind your body. When viewed from the front you ll resemble a letter T. Pull the arms using your shoulder blades by pulling them toward your spine and downward. Do not allow your trunk to swing back and forth. Try to keep it from moving. This is also a great abdominal exercise. Developing core strength and stability is essential to performing speed or power based movements safely and effectively. For a comprehensive core stabilization program take a look at my Core Stabilization Training For Muscular Imbalances program. 5

6 Arm Swings (Pushing & Pulling) Keep your chest tall with your lower back slightly arched. Begin with elbows bent and one DB at your ear and the other at your opposite side hip. Keeping elbows bent switch positions so that the DB at your hip is now at your ear and vice versa. Stay back on your heels and move back and forth as if you re running. Move as fast as you can for seconds. Use light DB s for this and try not to let your upper body twist and lean. Keep it stable. This is super intense! Power Curl (Squatting & Pulling) Perform this exercise the same as the deadlift with the difference being to explosively drive back up using your hips while pulling the DB s to your chest at the same time. The hips should drive the weights up not your arms. Lunges/Single Leg Squats (Lunging) 6

7 You can perform a variety of different lunging and single leg squats using DB s. For example, the single leg squat shown in the photo below can be loaded holding DB s at your sides like during the deadlift: Or you can substitute using DB s instead of a medicine ball for lateral lunges shown below: Give yourself time to learn to master each of these exercises. There are an almost infinite number of functional exercises and movements that can be performed with dumbbells, medicine balls, stability balls, resistance bands and more 7

8 And it s easy to get any of these awesome training tools at easily affordable prices. Feel free to e mail me your feedback about this course and always remember train functional to stay functional. Sincerely, Kevin Yates Do You Know There Are Core Stability Exercises Most Fitness Professionals Don t Know About That Can Help Your Clients Eliminate Chronic Pain And Quickly Recover From Injuries? On the next page there are 5 core training facts you must understand if you want to help your clients finally overcome the nagging injuries and physical limitations that are holding them back from achieving their fitness goals 8

9 Fact #1: The most effective core stabilization exercises aren t taught in personal training certification courses Fact #2: The majority of core and rehabilitation exercises only address symptoms but not the actual cause of pain Fact #3: Many of the most popular core exercises are only minimally effective at best Fact #4: Exercises like stability ball crunches and back extensions are some of the least effective core exercises and can make pain worse Fact #5: Avoiding functional movements like squatting, lunging and twisting often results in loss of core strength and creates muscle imbalances that lead to a growing list of injuries over time If you want to help your clients eliminate chronic pain, recover from injuries or maximize performance with simple, result proven exercises that aren t taught in certification courses and most fitness professionals don t know about (read more at About Kevin Yates Kevin Yates is a fitness professional who has combined his work and hands on experience as a personal trainer, sports performance coach and in the field of physical rehabilitation to develop unique methods for eliminating muscle imbalances, recovering from injuries and improving performance. For nearly a decade Kevin has performed thousands of personal and group training sessions, helping injury sufferers, athletes and everyone in between. He is an expert author for ezinearticles.com and has a passion for empowering fitness professionals through his courses on muscle imbalances and functional exercise techniques. To contact Kevin visit: 9