Muscle tone is not only sexy, but it also helps burn calories by boosting the metabolism. To increase your muscle tone, you can do a full-body workout using free weights. These exercises can be done at home with an inexpensive set of weights or at a gym using dumbbells and barbells. The best part about free-weight workouts is they help tone the core and other secondary muscles by using the stabilizer muscles. Many free-weight exercises can be done from the seated position.
Sets and Reps
Depending on whether the desired results are for muscle strength or endurance and body sculpting, each exercise needs to be performed for 3 sets of 15 repetitions for toning and firming (or 8 repetitions for muscle strength) with 30 to 60 second breaks between sets (2 to 4 minutes for strength training), according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
Dumbbell Arnold Press
The Arnold press is a seated shoulder press. The front part of the shoulder (deltoid, anterior) is the area of focus, with the trapezius, triceps and levator muscles used as stabilizer muscles. This easy seated free-weight exercise will give the shoulders a sculpted look.
Sit with the back straight with the feet together. Position the arms with the dumbbells in front of the shoulders with the palms facing the shoulders and the elbows under the wrists. Raise the arms overhead, rotating them so the palms face away from the body. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Dumbbell Concentration Curl
Concentration curls are easy and work the long head of the biceps. These shape the upper arm and can be done anywhere.
Sit on a bench, chair, stool or anything high enough to get full extension on the arm. Hold the dumbbell between the feet with the back of the upper arm resting against the inner thigh. Lean into the leg slightly and curl the forearm to the front of the shoulder. Lower the arm so it is fully extended. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Dumbbell Triceps Extension
This is a good exercise for women who want to firm the skin on the back of the arms or for men who want defined triceps to balance out sculpted biceps. Triceps extensions are an easy free-weight exercise that gets maximum results.
Sit on a bench or chair with one dumbbell held with both hands overhead. The grip should be in the inner side of the plate. Holding the elbows overhead, lower the forearms behind the head. Avoid hitting the head by flexing the wrists at the bottom of the movement. Do not hyperextend the elbows, as this puts stress on the joints. Return and repeat.
About this Author
Caroline Thompson has been a professional photojournalist since 1999. She combines writing and photography in her stories. Thompson’s work has appeared in the “Sacramento Bee,” “People Magazine,” “Newsweek” and other publications. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in photojournalism from California State University Hayward (CSUH) and a personal trainer certification from the Health and Fitness Institute out of CSUH.
