Dumbbell Squat Exercise

Series Summary

The first weightlifting World Championship occurred in London on March 28th , 1891 but weightlifting traces back in history to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians where we find weightlifting used to judge human strength. In the Twenty-First Century weightlifting is as popular as ever, with many events in the Olympics and thousands of gyms all across the world where people exercise for weight loss and strength training. There are many exercises for almost every muscle you can name and a correct and an incorrect way to workout those muscles. Learn dumbbell exercises that strengthen lower body muscles and tendons in this free video series featuring personal trainer Carol Childers. She will demonstrate how to use free weights for exercises such as lunges, squats, and hamstring curls. Leg Extensions, leg curls, and dead lifts are just a few of the exercises that Childers will walk you through, step by step. She will explain how they are effective, and which muscles they specifically target. So grab some dumbbells and get training!

Video Transcript

"In this clip, we're going to show how to do a squat with dumbbells or free wights. So, you've mastered your squat form, without any resistance, because it's dynamic movement. So, you want to make sure that you've got that down pat, before you go at it, in any type of resistance, to defy gravity. I'm going to show you from a side view, feet are going to be hip width apart. Our goal is to keep a neutral posture, lift the chest and draw that derriere back into the chest. The dumbbells can attach, either hanging right down here, alongside your legs, so resistance is an opposition to the movement. If it doesn't bother your shoulders, you can bring them up here, as well. Take a big inhale down, sitting back in that chair, where we got the knee stacked behind the ankle, or behind the toe in-line with the ankle, and exhale, when we push up, leaning with the chest. Sitting back in that chair, inhale, exhale, up. Again, if it bothers your shoulders, you can have your weight hanging here. You want to square that weight in all four corners of the feet. Make sure your primary mover is the glute, then you'll feel the hams and quads and lower part of the leg kick in as you get that little balance challenge, on the way back up, with your contraction. Big inhale up, exhale, resist all the way up, keeping a soft knee joint, never locking out the knee. If you get fatigued with the weight, on your way to ten to fifteen reps, take the weight out, finish without the weight. Try to work in ten to fifteen rep range, three sets."