{"id":256799,"date":"2025-10-28T15:08:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/256799\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T15:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:08:15","slug":"a-fitness-instructor-says-these-are-the-three-dumbbell-exercises-you-should-prioritize-to-boost-your-longevity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/256799\/","title":{"rendered":"A fitness instructor says these are the three dumbbell exercises you should prioritize to boost your longevity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feel like it\u2019s harder to put on muscle as you get older? You\u2019re not imagining things.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaintaining muscle mass after 40 is more challenging due to hormonal changes, as well as a reduction in muscle fiber quality and muscle protein synthesis,\u201d explains yoga and fitness instructor Reena Vokoun, founder of Passion Fit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Couple this natural decline with a packed schedule of work and family duties and it suddenly becomes more difficult to keep on top of your muscle maintenance.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Strength training can help you stay strong, but if you want to feel your best, it\u2019s important to do some mobility exercises and cardiovascular workouts, too.<\/p>\n

Having an efficient workout that ticks all of these boxes is one way to keep your body moving well\u2014and Vokoun\u2019s three-move workout does just that.<\/p>\n

The compound movements will target various muscles simultaneously, while also moving your joints through a wide range of motion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese exercises work your quadriceps<\/a>, hamstrings<\/a>, core<\/a>, glutes<\/a>, triceps<\/a>, biceps<\/a>, shoulders <\/a>and lower back<\/a>,\u201d Vokoun says.<\/p>\n

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Perform it at a faster pace and it will test your cardio fitness, too.<\/p>\n

The trainer recommends beginners start with bodyweight versions of each exercise until they have their form perfected, then add resistance bands or weights.<\/p>\n

1. Squat and overhead press<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n

\"Reena(Image credit: Reena Vokoun)\"Reena(Image credit: Reena Vokoun)<\/p>\n

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12<\/p>\n

Stand with your feet facing forward, spaced shoulder-width apart.Engage your core<\/a> and hold your weights at shoulder height.Bend your knees and push your hips back to squat.Stand and straighten your arms, pushing the weights overhead.Lower the weights to your shoulders and repeat.<\/p>\n

Tip: If you have sensitive joints, don\u2019t allow your knees to come out beyond your toes when squatting.<\/p>\n

2. Reverse lunge with biceps hammer curl<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n

\"Reena(Image credit: Reena Vokoun)\"Reena(Image credit: Reena Vokoun)<\/p>\n

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12 per leg<\/p>\n

Stand with your feet together and core engaged.Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing in.Step backward to lunge, bend your elbows and raise both weights to shoulder height.Push through your front foot to return to standing and bring the weights back to your sides.Repeat on the other side.<\/p>\n

Tip: Both your back and front knees should form 90\u00b0 angles when performing the reverse lunge. If you have sensitive joints, make sure your front knee stays behind your front toe.<\/p>\n

3. Deadlift into upright row<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n

\"Reena(Image credit: Reena Vokoun)\"Reena(Image credit: Reena Vokoun)<\/p>\n

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 10-12<\/p>\n

Stand with your knees slightly bent and your feet facing forward, a little closer together than shoulder-width.Hold a dumbbell in each hand, resting on your thighs with palms facing in.Engage your core and push your hips back to bend over, bringing the weights to mid-shin.Bring your hips forward to stand and lift the weights to your collarbone, bringing your elbows out to the side.Return to the starting position and repeat.<\/p>\n

Tip: This is a hip-hinge movement, which means there should be minimal movement happening at your knee joint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feel like it\u2019s harder to put on muscle as you get older? You\u2019re not imagining things. \u201cMaintaining muscle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256800,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97],"class_list":{"0":"post-256799","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}