Contrary to popular belief, you don't need heavy dumbbells to strengthen your upper body. Light weights are sufficient to challenge smaller muscles, like those around your shoulders.
This upper-body session from Sweat trainer Britany Williams is a great example of a lightweight routine. It's a barre-inspired shoulder workout, designed to improve muscular endurance (your muscles' ability to repeat a particular exercise or movement).
You can do this eight-move circuit standing, but Williams recommends making a simple tweak to your upper-body workouts to make them more effective: do them on your knees.
Responding to a comment on her Instagram post, the trainer explained: "As we get tired and we are standing, it’s easier to push the weights up with our legs a little bit—more reliance on momentum. So I do [the exercises] on my knees to focus on my arms solely, and it’s harder for the core that way too!"
How to do Britany Williams’ shoulder workout
As this is a barre-inspired routine focused on muscular endurance, Williams says you should use light weights. The trainer is using 5lb dumbbells in her video.
She recommends doing ten repetitions of each exercise with minimal rest. Take one minute of recovery time in between sets and aim for two rounds in total.
Benefits of lightweight dumbbell workouts
Using light weights makes it easier to concentrate on your form, which is important as proper form helps you target the right muscles and reduces the risk of injury. When a weight is easier to lift, you can move comfortably through a greater range of motion too, which can improve flexibility and strength.
And when this routine starts to feel too easy, you can always increase your load to make it more challenging.
Shop light dumbbells
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