When you work on your arms through a dumbbell workout, there’s a major reason behind it, and no, it has nothing to do with wanting to be able to lift objects that are absolutely heavy – although, of course, that comes as a very agreeable side-effect to having muscular arms.
Dumbbell arm exercises can give that to you.
No argument about that.
But the thing is, for most guys, arm workouts are done to look more attractive. Becoming strong is secondary. That’s because well-developed arms speak of power and strength, endurance and reliability.
Think of long haul truck drivers and lumberjacks. Don’t their muscular arms make you feel that their having physically taxing jobs is more than compensated for by gaining the kind of physique that some of them have?
Now, look at your own arms.
What comes to mind when you see them?
Well, the great news is, you don’t have to drive around cross-country hauling an 18 wheeler. Nor do you have to be like Paul Bunyan swinging your axe all around the country to get the kind of arms that you want! These dumbbell arm exercises can help you achieve your arm development goals right in your own home.
Well-developed forearms make women regard men as competent and knight-ish. It’s a no-brainer. Guys who have muscular arms can defend women more easily when she is under attack. Guys with muscular arms can help women move heavy objects around more easily. To hunt, work, provide, take care of; It’s in our human genes and more capable is more desirable without question.
Wait. Does this mean that a dumbbell workout is only good for men?
Of course not. Dumbbell exercises, in particular dumbbell arm exercises, are also important to women, because no woman in her right mind enjoys having arms that are flabby and… jiggly.
Flabby, jiggling arms are a turn-off. They make the owner of those arms look old and uncaring about how she looks. When a woman does not care about how she looks, what are the chances that other people will care?
Women who don’t have flabby arms, or “bat-wings” as they are sometimes called, are seen as more desirable by most men. The reason being that flab on the arms, jiggling this way and that, can remind men of older women that are off-limits to them in terms of romantic intimacy… you know, like their mother, or their aunts. (Let’s not go there, okay?)
Of course, nothing great happens overnight (unless you win the lotto, which is another story), so you would need to really put in some dedication into your dumbbell workout. But it will be worth it, you’ll see. More chances for men or women hooking up with hotties – can someone really be foolish enough to pass those up?
Focusing on the Arms
Why should you focus on your arms? Here are several very practical reasons:
- Our arms are designed in such a way as to be utilitarian. They don’t just hang around like some limp appendages. Arms are used for lifting, for carrying, for moving things about, for writing, for painting, for using technology… the list can go on and on. Therefore, the stronger and more developed your arms are, the more efficient they will be in carrying out such activities.
- When you develop your arms, say through a variety of dumbbell exercises, such as dumbbell curls, dumbbell bicep exercises, or a dumbbell hammer curl, you actually prepare your upper body or trunk to get chiseled. This is because you can’t do any serious weight lifting or even ab crunching if you have weak and undeveloped arms to begin with.
- Doing a dumbbell workout is very, very helpful to boosting your confidence, such that you can go on to perform harder tasks related to bodybuilding. No one turns into a weightlifter overnight. You need to start with simpler, lighter things. Seated dumbbell curls, dumbbell tricep exercises, and dumbbell kickbacks, among other dumbbell exercises, can lead the way towards lifting heavier weights, once your arm muscles have gotten used to the initial lifting stages. In short, lift something not so heavy at the start, then progress on to bigger and grander things.
Doing the Dumbbell Arm Exercises
Let me go ahead and point out to you which parts of the body would benefit from certain dumbbell arm exercises:
- Dumbbell curls – these are great for developing the biceps or upper arm, the lower arm, and the upper and outer forearm. They are also beneficial to the front shoulders or deltoids, the upper shoulders, the upper back, the rear of the neck, the inner forearm, and the wrist flexors.
Example of Dumbbell Curls:
- Incline dumbbell curl – also known as the dumbbell incline curl, this exercise targets the front of the arms or the biceps. Affected muscles include the lower biceps or sides of the arms, the upper and outer forearm, the front shoulders, the inner forearm and the hand flexors. Doing this exercise repeatedly can give you a strong grip.
Example of Incline Dumbbell Curls:
- Dumbbell hammer curl – this targets the upper-outer forearm. Muscles that are developed secondarily include the lower biceps, the front of the arms, the front of the shoulders, the upper shoulders, the upper back, the rear of the neck, the inner forearm, the hand flexors, and the outer or back forearms.
Example of Dumbbell Hammer Curls:
- Dumbbell kickbacks – these target the triceps. Perfect for ladies who want to do away with the jiggling Jell-O at the back of their arms. Also developed are the rear shoulders, the middle and outer back, the upper back, the middle back, the outer forearm, and the wrist flexors.
Example of Dumbbell Kickbacks:
With the exercise videos which are part of this article, you will find step by step directions on the best method and style for performing the dumbbell arm exercises, and these include specific instructions for chiseling your arms through dumbbell bicep exercises and dumbbell tricep exercises (aka tricep dumbbell exercises).
Conditioning the Body and the Mind With Dumbbell Arm Exercises
The good thing about doing arm workouts is that you not only condition your arms and the rest of your body, you also condition the way you think, which is actually more important.
Working out lets the mind see things from a different perspective. When you start working out, even if it’s only your arms at first, your mind will tell you to avoid eating the pig-out foods that you may have been fond of (sweets, fried foods, junk food, etc.) because it is counter-productive to what you are trying to achieve.
That’s why when you do dumbbell exercises to tone your arms, or build more muscle mass, you also learn to gradually develop an abiding fondness for exercise. That means, you won’t be backing off at the thought of doing cardio workouts, or lifting heavier weights, or even doing calisthenics because you have already experienced the benefits that come from doing something as simple as dumbbell arm exercises.
In the next article I’ll be discussing Dumbbell Back Exercises so keep on reading!
Remember, you can always go to MyFitnessNut.com (top of the page), subscribe to the My Fitness Nut Newsletter and get the full set of “follow-along” dumbbell workout videos. Included are the dumbbell arm exercises videos mentioned earlier so there’s no cost to help you get your arms in the best shape of your life.
