How to tone with dumbbells?

I have no muscles & want to build some.. is 3kg dumbbells too light?

• I have very little arm strength so I purchased 3kg dumbbells. They're fairly alright for me to work with, not too easy but not TOO difficult either. I want to tone up my biceps & triceps, & see a good amount of muscle there. I've also been eating clean & upping my protein intake for the past 2 months, so yeah (: Is 3kg dumbbells too light to build muscle & strengthen my arms? Do I have to lift 'heavy' to get a toned, muscular figure? Also, how long/how often do you suggest training? :)

• Answer:

  I just read a study that shows light weights can be effective for building muscle if you take them to failure. Heavy weights are easier because you can hit failure with a lower number of reps. In your case using what you've got, 3 sets to failure for each exercise you want to do with 1 minute of rest in between sets. One day of rest between workouts, workouts should take 30-45 minutes.