I went to Target yesterday and, because they were on sale and I’m a sucker for a bargain, I picked up a pair of dumbbells.  They’re 10 lbs each, coated, and made by Reebok.

At the gym, I use the bicep freemotion machine (cables and handles), the tricep freemotion and tricep press machines, and occassionally the preacher curl bicep machine.  I don’t like to use the preacher curl machine because my arms are short and I can’t position them comfortably on the pad while reaching for the bar.  Anyway, I can do about 25 - 30 lbs on each arm for the bicep stuff on those machines.  Not so for free weights.

I picked up a 12-lb dumbbell and started doing bicep curls in the aisle.  My arm was burning after only a few reps.   Egads!  Because you’re balancing the weight (and not a machine bolted to the ground), there’s a lot more involvment from your muscles.  I reach muscle fatigued much earlier with a free weight versus a machine.

At the gym, I’m reluctant to go into the free weights room.  It’s often filled with a lot of intimidating-looking men and I’m not yet comfortable with the attention I garner whenever I enter this testosterone-filled room.  So until I reach that point, I will be starting off by doing dumbbell exercises at home.

I’ve found three interesting sites so far that I’ll probably use as guidelines:

Dumbbell Exercises Complete with Animated Diagrams

Dumbbell Workout Routine

The 18-Minute Home Dumbbell Workout
*I just read through the last one and some of the moves require the use of an incline bench.  How many people have one at home? Grrr…