It’s a misconception that you need heavy weights to tone your arms. You can absolutely build upper-body muscle with lighter dumbbells, especially when targeting smaller muscles like your biceps and triceps.
Certified personal trainer Heidi Neal has created an eight-move circuit using light weights to sculpt your arms and shoulders. She recommends doing each move for 30 seconds and then repeating the routine. Scroll down to see the exercises.
How to do Heidi Neal’s arms workout
New to exercise? I’d recommend starting with six to eight repetitions of each move instead of 30 seconds as Neal suggests. When six to eight feels too easy, you can increase it to eight to 10, then 10-12. When 12 repetitions feel comfortable, it’s time to go up with the weight and back down to six to eight repetitions. Aim for a 2.5 pound increase when you're ready.
How to use lighter weights to build muscle
Neal's workout targets small muscles like the biceps, triceps and deltoids (shoulder muscles). Her exercises often isolate these muscles, forcing them to take on all of the load. This means you only need a light weight to challenge them.
Even if you're targeting larger muscles you can still use light weights to improve your muscle mass; you just need to increase the number of repetitions of an exercise to get a sufficient challenge.
As a personal trainer, I always tell my clients the most important thing for muscle growth is to follow the principle of progressive overload. This simply means increasing the intensity, volume or frequency of your workouts to continually challenge your muscles. That could mean lifting heavier weights, doing more repetitions or working out more frequently as you get stronger.
Shop adjustable dumbbells
If you're trying to get stronger, it's worth investing in the right equipment. The best adjustable dumbbells will save on space, as they're designed to be compact, but they also allow you to gradually increase your lifting load so that your muscles continue to be challenged.
