Get fit with our free weights

Are you looking to get in shape? Free weights, bars, kettlebells, and dumbbells are excellent for toning your body, developing strength, and helping you lose weight. At vidaXL, we offer a wide range of different free weights, and we are sure, we have something that suits you as well. Whether you are a complete beginner or you have been lifting weights for years, you will find free weights that fit you in our wide range. Browse our full selection online at vidaXL.

What are free weights?

You might be wondering what free weights are. Free weights are essentially a term for any weight, where you have complete control over the movement, pace, and purpose while you use it. So it is more or less anything that is not a machine or a cable. Free weights include kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, sandbells, and weight plates. 

Now that we are all clear on what free weights are, we can take a deeper look into the benefits. For example: 

• They help boost bone density.

• They help build lean muscles.

• They can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

• They can help improve hormone health.

• They are very adaptable and can be used for both cardio workouts and resistance training.

• They can help improve muscular imbalances.

• They can help improve your metabolic rate.

• They are relatively easy to use and can be used by all levels by either using more or less weight.

As you can see there are quite a few benefits to using free weights, so if you haven’t already jumped on the free weight train, now might be a good time to jump on. 

Who shouldn’t use free weights?

For most people using free weights is beneficial and comes with a whole range of benefits as mentioned above. However, just like with everything else, there are some people that may need to either adapt their exercises with free weights or skip them altogether.

• If you have back, neck, joint or muscular issues, it is recommended that you seek advice from a professional to ensure that you do the appropriate exercises for your body. 

• If you are pregnant or postnatal you also need to consult either your doctor or another professional that can give you appropriate exercises, as not every exercise is advised when pregnant or postnatal.

• If you are recovering from an operation, illness or injury it is also advised that you consult a professional so you know exactly what you can do and what you should avoid doing.

Generally, free weights are fine for the majority of people, but it is always recommended that you seek advice from a professional before beginning your journey with free weights.

What weight should you use when working out with free weights?

Many people wonder how heavy their free weights should be, and there is no definite answer to that question. At the end of the day, it is totally dependent on your fitness level, the purpose of your workout and your training history. However, there are a few questions that you can ask yourself to help determine how heavy your free weights should be:

• Can you feel the actual weight of the free weight or is it extremely easy?

• Can you move through the entire exercise with the correct form? If not, you are using too much weight.

• Can you move through all the repetitions in your workout session? Again, if the answer is no, you are using too much weight.

• Do you feel that you are being challenged with the weight? You should be challenged, however, it should not be too heavy as this can lead to injury.

It is much better to start with too little weight and then level up than the other way around.

Our favourite exercises with free weights

Now that you have your weights and the correct weight you are ready to start doing some exercises. Allow us to share some of our favourite exercises with free weights with you. 

• Single arm row. This is a wonderful exercise for targeting your back and biceps.

• Split squat. A great exercise for your quads and glutes. 

• Shoulder press. As the name suggests, this exercise does wonders for your shoulders.

• Dumbbell chest press. A fantastic exercise for your chest and arms.

• Hip thrusts. This exercise really targets the glutes.

• Dumbbell deadlift. Fantastic for your back, hamstrings and glutes.

• Bicep curls. Amazing for your, you guessed it, biceps.

• Step-ups. This exercise targets your legs and glutes.

• Sit-ups with free weights. This movement targets your abs. Simply carry a free weight and do the sit-ups, as you would otherwise do.

Happy training!