Think light weights are easy? Try adding this as a finisher to your workout

Many people focus on building strength with exercise, but muscular endurance is just as important. While you need strong muscles to lift, push and pull things, endurance keeps muscles going for longer without fatigue and with less risk of injury—helpful when you’re carrying shopping bags across town or going for a long walk or hike.

One way to improve muscular endurance is to do workouts using lighter dumbbells for a higher number of repetitions and minimal rest, like the one I’ve created below.

You can do this arms workout with light weights as a standalone circuit or as a finisher. All you need is a pair of 3kg dumbbells like these ones from Amazon.

How to do the light weights arms workout

Do this workout as a circuit, completing 15-20 repetitions of each exercise one after the other taking as little rest as possible. That’s one round. Rest for 20 seconds, then start the next round, completing three rounds in total.

The moves:

1. Rainbow raise
2. Two-way raise
3. Dumb waiter to Y-raise
4. Triceps extension
5. Hammer curl to overhead press
6. Chest press to narrow press

Exercise guides

1. Rainbow raise

• Start standing with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in both hands by one shoulder.
• Lift the dumbbell over your head to the other shoulder.
• Continue, moving the dumbbell from shoulder to shoulder.

2. Two-way raise

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells in front of your thighs, with your palms facing you.
• Keeping your torso still, raise your right arm in front of you to shoulder height and your left arm out to the left side to shoulder height.
• Pause, then lower both with control.
• Repeat but bring your left arm up in front of you and your right arm out to the right side.
• Continue, alternating directions with each rep.

3. Dumb waiter to Y-raise

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells.
• Bend your elbows to 90° and tuck them into your waist, with your forearms pointing forward and palms facing up.
• Keeping your elbows tucked to your waist, rotate your forearms so they point out to the sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
• Extend both arms up and out to the sides, so you form a Y shape.
• Reverse the movements to the start.

4. Triceps extension

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms extended overhead and holding one dumbbell in both hands.
• Keeping your upper arms still, bend your elbows to slowly lower the weight behind your head.
• Extend your arms to lift the weight back overhead.

5. Hammer curl to overhead press

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells by your thighs, palms facing.
• Keeping your upper arms still against your torso, bend your elbows to lift the weights to your shoulders
• Extend your arms overhead to lift the weights straight up.
• Slowly lower the weights back to your shoulders with control, keeping your elbows pointing forward.
• Extend your arms and lower the dumbbells to the starting position.

6. Chest press to narrow press

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor, and your elbows bent, upper arms on the floor and dumbbells held just below your shoulders.
• Engage your core and push your lower back into the floor. Make sure your back doesn’t arch during the exercise.
• Extend your arms to push the dumbbells straight up.
• Rotate your arms so your palms face, then lower the dumbbells, tucking your elbows into your torso.
• Extend your arms to push the dumbbells straight up.
• Rotate your arms so your palms forward, then lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
• Continue, alternating between chest and narrow press with each rep.