Dumbbell Workout for Women: The Two Pairs to Get and How to Use Them

A squat works the big muscles of your hips and legs. An overhead press works your shoulders and arms. Give them the same dumbbells and one of them gets the wrong weight: either the squat barely notices, or the press falls apart halfway up.

Solin creators plan for this. Here's what two of them ask you to have:

• Ash Meredith, The Lean Body Reset: Triple A: "1 lighter pair 4-6kg, 1 heavier pair 8-15kg". That's about 9 to 13 pounds and 18 to 33 pounds.
• Isabel Reynard, Lean Body: Full Body Reset: "1 lighter pair 3-6kg, 1 heavier pair 8-12kg". That's about 7 to 13 pounds and 18 to 26 pounds.

Already own one pair? Start with it. Our guide to strength training over 40 shows how far a light pair goes. But if you're buying, buy two.

The heavier pair goes to the moves that use your hips, legs and back. The lighter pair goes to the presses, which use your chest, shoulders and arms.

Lunges are the odd one out. They're a leg move, but start them on the lighter pair: your balance gives out before your legs do. Once you're steady, move them to the heavier pair.

The dead bug is for your core, and done slowly it's hard enough with no weight at all.

Test each pair on one move, with real dumbbells in your hands: ones you already have, the rack at a gym, or the display at a store.

• Heavier pair: hold one dumbbell at your chest and do 10 goblet squats.
• Lighter pair: do 10 overhead presses.

The right weight makes the last few reps hard while your form holds, and you've still got 2 or 3 more in you. The American College of Sports Medicine sets the same target: stop with 2 to 3 reps left. You don't need to go until you can't do another. Could you have done 5 more? Go heavier. Couldn't finish 10 with good form? Go lighter. Stuck between two sizes? Take the lighter one and let your reps climb.

If you can't test before you buy, start near the low end of the creators' lists above. If you already lift, put a set you've done into our one rep max calculator. It gives the weight for 5 to 12 reps, rounded down to your dumbbells.

This is one full-body workout. Do it 2 or 3 days a week, with a rest day between. Two days already meets the US guideline of strength work on 2 or more days a week.

Do 2 sets of 8 to 12 reps of each move, stopping with 2 or 3 reps left. Rest about a minute between sets. The big moves go first, while you're fresh, and you only switch pairs once.

Want a plan that changes week by week? Our 6-week workout plan for women uses moves like these in two workouts you alternate. Short on time? Try our 30-minute workouts at home.

Expect your squat, deadlift and bridge to outgrow the heavier pair before your presses outgrow the lighter one. To know when a move is ready for more, use the 2-for-2 rule from our 6-week plan: when you can do 2 more reps than your target, two workouts in a row, go up in weight.

When your squat or bridge is ready, buy one heavy dumbbell, not a whole pair. Both creators list one for the hip move: "optional - 1 heavy for glute bridges 20kg" for Isabel, and "optional - 1 heavy for hip thrusts 20-25kg" for Ash. That's about 44 to 55 pounds, and it covers your goblet squats too. Deadlifts and rows stay on the heavier pair until it gets too easy for your deadlift. Then buy the next pair up.

Keep the lighter pair for presses. They climb slowly, and that's fine.

Write down which dumbbell each move uses. One reviewer put it this way in a review on Solin: "The first week I was adding up my dumbbells so now I am putting which weight dumbbell I am using and that is helping me keep track!"