Resistance training or weight lifting has been a popular workout to burn fat and build muscle. The reason is just because it really works. A high intensity and short duration resistance training will burn some calories during the workout and you will burn a lot more during the following hours. A recent study from the prestigious Journal of Applied Physiology showed strength training also doubled post-exercise fat burning.

There are many ways to do resistance training. However, before purchasing any equipment to start resistance training, there are some factors you should keep in mind. If you want to use a barbell with weights, you should find a partner and do the workout with him. Just imagine what will happen when you are lying down on a weight bench pushing hard to get that last repetition and you hit a sticking point, you could be in serious trouble, which can cause a strain or pulled muscle. However, if you insist to use barbells but you don’t have a partner, consider going to gym. There are lots of people there can come to rescue if any troubles occur.

A better alternative for you just might be a set of dumbbells. It is said that dumbbells are the most important piece of equipment for your home gym. It is possible to get a complete body workout with dumbbells alone. They can mimic the actual mechanics of movement in real life applications making dumbbells the superior choice when compared to the machine type of exercise equipment. Besides, they are much safer than using barbells. If you do lose balance, it is much easier to toss aside the dumbbells than it is to toss aside the barbell.

There are numerous exercises you can do using dumbbells and you can do them at home, gym or office; with or without a training partner. Example of exercises that you can do by using dumbbells are front squat, bench press, dumbbell rows, overhead press, shrugs, and others which can work all the muscle groups effectively. You’ll just need a solid surface, enough space, and bench for some exercises.

Dumbbells are not very expensive and may just be one of the best pieces of exercise equipment you own. However, in order to get nice toned body, you will need some discipline as well as maintain a healthy and balance diet.