Lifting weights for most teenagers means going to a weight room in school or joining a club and lifting in a room full of expensive equipment. There is no problem with that and lifting in these advanced facilities will give you the maximum benefit from your workout. However, how about those days when your school weight room is not open or you don't have a ride to your club? What do you do then? Sit back on the couch and turn your muscles back into mush? For those of you who do not have a home facility for lifting, which is probably the majority of teens, a simple invention found in most weight rooms can be made available for home use. It is the dumbbell, preferably a weight that you can get a good work-out with. Dumbbells, depending on what weight you buy them, most likely ranging from 20 to 40 lbs, can be purchased at a sports store for around $30 to $40. They're cheap, easy to put away, and best of all, you can do many exercises with them.

Working Your Quads and Hamstring
Would you like to increase your jumping ability or quickness in your legs? A simple workout with a dumbbell can help you to lose unwanted fat from your thighs and make it rock hard. This exercise, called lunges, requires you to hold a dumbbell in each hand next to your waist. You then step one leg forward and bend your knees to a 90 degree position facing outward while with the hind leg, you bend your knees 90 degrees facing the ground. From this position, use your legs to bring yourself back into a standing position and do the same except alternate the legs this time. Switch back and forth so that you do about 10 for each leg. Doing three or four sets of these three times a week should help to boost your leg strength.

Working Your Triceps
Triceps, the region of your arm that faces the outside when your arms are at your waist and is most frequently used to  throw or pull down, can get a nice workout with triceps extensions. In this exercise, you take one dumbbell, grabbing right underneath the head of the dumbbell as it is vertical, and place it over the back of your head. Stand up straight or sit straight when you do this. Bend up and down with your elbows to maximum range about ten times for three sets. You will notice a significant difference in your arm after doing this consistently every two days for a month.

Pumping Up Your Biceps
Want very noticeable muscles to impress people at the beach? Then these bicep exercises are for you. The first is an isolated bicep curl. Take a dumbbell and hold it vertically across your stomach. Lift the dumbbell up and down so that it goes slightly under your waist and past your chest. The second is a bent curl. Grab a dumbbell with your palms facing up and place the elbows of the dumbbell arm to your stomach. Bring the dumbbell up and down to the point of almost locking your elbows under and to your chin. Have your body slightly bent while sitting down.

Bigger and Wider Shoulders
Want to have a strong throw? Standing up, take two dumbbells and have them by your waist. Bring up the dumbbells over your shoulders with your hands facing outward. Extend your arms as far as you can so that the dumbbells will go over your head. Slowly bring back the dumbbells down to your waist and repeat again. It is recommended that if you are using heavier weights, you should use a lifting belt. This exercise works the full range of your arms and shoulder.

There are many other exercises with dumbbells, such as butterflies for the chest on a bench or forearm curls. You can experiment with different exercises if you have a dumbbell, but if anything does not feel right, keep from doing it because it may cause injury. Dumbbells are a cheap and efficient way to work out when you do not have access to better equipment. Working hard with them may even produce the same results a bench or shoulder press can. Keep the workout intense and see impressive results.