5 Best Free Weight Exercises for Women
Free weight exercises allow you to add variations to your workout routine. Additionally, these weights ensure that you improve your muscle endurance, strength, and physique.
1) Dumbbell Squat
Squats are extremely important in any workout routine. These exercises boost the entire lower body, especially the quadriceps.
To do dumbbell squats, either take a dumbbell in each hand, or hold a heavier one with both hands.
Hold the dumbbell(s) close to your sides, and proceed to do squats. You should push through with your heels when you’re doing squats to ensure the pressure is on your quadriceps.
2) Lunge
Lunges are another great free weight exercise. You can do walking lunges or standing lunges using dumbbells.
Ideally, when you’re doing lunges, your knee shouldn’t cross your toes, and your front leg should be the one getting worked out.
The back leg is primarily for balance and support. Do not push with the toes of your back leg instead of the heels of your front leg.
3) Glute Bridge
As your lower body is made up of large muscle groups, working those muscles requires more effort. That helps the body burn additional calories to generate the fuel for the extra effort.
Moreover, the glute bridge allows the muscle fibers to grow back stronger and thicker. Similarly, glutes are an important muscle group in the lower body.
To do a glute bridge, place your back against the side of a bench. Fold your legs from the knees, and place a dumbbell on your hips. You should use a mat when placing the dumbbell to avoid hurting your hip bones.
Lower your glutes (make sure they do not touch the floor). Push them up using your glute muscles, with help from your quadriceps. You should start this exercise using lighter weights initially.
4) Deadlift
Deadlifts are another free weight exercise that focuses on your lower back, but they also help boost posture, mobility, and strength.
Ideally, you should begin with dumbbell deadlifts, as it allows you to understand the form and which muscle groups to engage during the exercise.
Deadlift helps with creating a strong muscle-mind connection when you use lighter weights to do compound movements. That way, you can move to heavier weights. An established muscle-mind connection can help engage the correct muscle groups.
To do deadlifts, make sure you’re bending from the hips while keeping your back straight. Moreover, keep your core engaged to maintain balance and stability during the exercise.
5) Bent-over Dumbbell Row
The bent-over dumbbell row is a great free weight exercise for your rear delts, lats, and biceps.
It helps with activating the smaller muscles and affecting the bigger muscles. It’s a great exercise to shape your lats and focus on building a strong set of back muscles.
A strong set of back muscles is important for stability for a series of other compound movements.