That pair of dumbbells lurking in your closet needs a bit of love – dust them off and they can become surprisingly effective muscle-strengtheners when you don’t want to build a hulking home gym, or lack time to hit the actual gym.
For golfers and anyone looking to increase muscle mass, strength and physical capability 2-3 full body workouts a week is a great place to start. Gains you make here will 100% transfer over to increased club head speed, as your body adapts to the training load and you condition it to handle greater forces going through your muscles and joints. Read on to find out how to use dumbbells to do this…
Dumbbells are consistently praised as the kings of functional training
Why Dumbbells? “Dumbbells are consistently praised as the kings of functional training,” top strength and fitness coach at Six3Nine personal training, Clint Kelly tells me. “With so much variety in their usage they can be employed in a myriad of training regimes to achieve your desired outcome, which is why they are essential pieces of equipment.” This workout will drive your larger muscle groups to exhaustion, prompting them to adapt to the training load, gaining in size and strength.
How To Do This Workout Do A and B as a single session twice per week for a whole-body training boost, or once in isolation as part of a larger exercise program. Do the number of sets and reps as indicated in the text, using a pair of dumbbells. Make sure you read and execute the form guidance from Clint Kelly to avoid injury. (If you are returning to exercise or are working out for the first time, make sure you check with your doctor first.)
THE WORKOUT
A1. Single-Arm Snatch, Sets: 4 Reps: 10 Rest: 30 seconds (keep alternating arms) “Starting with the dumbbell between your legs, grip the dumbbell with one arm while sending the other out to the side for balance.
“Once ready you’ll need to simultaneously aggressively drive the hips forward, and extend the knees and ankles, projecting the dumbbell up overhead. Catch the dumbbell in the overhead position and then safely return into the bottom position between your legs before repeating,” says Clint Kelly.
A2. Single-Leg Deadlift, Sets: 4 Reps: 8 Rest: 30 seconds (keep alternating legs) “Begin by standing with both feet together, knees soft and core braced holding the weight in the right arm. Remaining in this strong braced position, allow a crease at the hips and begin to reach your left leg back behind you.
“As the leg lifts the torso will lean forward giving the sensation of a ‘stretch’ in the back of the right leg. Control this sensation and use the muscles in the hips to reverse the trajectory of the left leg, returning it to the starting position beside the right leg.”
B1. Dumbbell Floor Press, Sets: 4 Reps: 10 Rest: 20 seconds “Laying on your back with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor, position the dumbbell over your chest. Allow the elbow to travel toward the floor at around 45° while simultaneously reaching your chest toward the ceiling. Then, using the muscles in the chest, push the dumbbell away from the floor back into the starting position.”
B2. Bent Over Row, Sets: 4 Reps: 12 Rest: 20 seconds “Starting with the dumbbell to the side, hinge the hips back ensuring a comfortable neutral position with the spine. Once balanced, begin to pull the elbows back towards the hip, squeezing the muscles towards the outside of the back into a peak contraction.
“Then simply allow the dumbbell to return into the starting position, ensuring you continue to brace the rest of the body so as not to allow any rounding of the spine.”
B3. Dumbbell Crunch, Sets: 4 Reps: 15 Rest: 60 seconds “Lay on your back with your knees over your hips. Grip the dumbbell with both hands and begin to push the lower back into the ground, creating a contraction in the abdominal muscles. Now we must keep this contraction as we attempt to reach the dumbbell and the knees away from the center.
“Ensuring the lower back never reduces its downward pressure, we move the dumbbell and knees away before returning into the starting position.”
WHAT NEXT? Check out the first part of the RSNG four-week workout series that will build the basis for golf strength.
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