Ultimate Year Long Dumbbell Training Plan & Workouts – Consider This Your Dumbbell Bible
This is the Men’s Health Dumbbell Club, your weekly plan for a fitter, stronger body, using just two dumbbells.
With three weekly workouts lasting from 20-40 minutes, designed to add lean muscle, build fitness and increase strength, your weekly dose of dumbbell goodness drops each week, or start from week one and enjoy over a years worth of progressive, muscle and fitness building workouts, using only dumbbells.
Across the weeks and months we'll explore different methods, principles and techniques, targeting different capacities and honing in on different areas of your physique and fitness, all with nothing but your trusted dumbbells.
All previous workout weeks can be found below, or you can click here to go straight to this week's drop.
What Do I Need For a Full Body Dumbbell Training Plan?
As the name suggests, all you need for this plan is a pair of dumbbells and a small space to train.
If you can, you'll need somewhere to record the weights you use, as well as the sets and reps you achieve in each workout. Using a simple pen and pad or the notes app on your phone will allow you to track your progress in your training, ensuring you’re consistently making gains. Recording what’s happening in your training sessions is a sure fire way to guarantee you see changes in your physique and fitness levels outside of them.
What Weight Dumbbells Should I Use?
If you’re training in a gym, simply post yourself up in front of the dumbbell rack and choose weights that challenge you, whatever the exercise. Each movement has a prescribed rep range, so pick weights that present a challenge at the higher end of the range, but don’t cause you to drop below the lower end.
This is where making notes can be crucial, allowing you to properly select your weights from week to week to ensure you’re constantly seeing progress, both on paper and in the mirror.
If you’re working out from home and buying a single pair of dumbbells for the first time, then aim for a pair of dumbbells you can’t press overhead with strict form for more than 5-10 reps. Much heavier than this and you’ll have a hard time training your shoulders. Go too light land you’ll struggle to challenge your bigger muscle groups such as your quads, hamstrings and back. This training programme focusses primarily on big, muscle building compound movements, meaning light weight dumbbells aren’t an absolute necessity, so erring on the side of ‘heavier’ is a safer bet.
These are the best adjustable dumbbells to buy in 2023.
If you already have a pair of dumbbells, and worry they might be on the lighter side, there are lots of tips and tricks you can employ to make lighter dumbbells feel heavier. We’ll cover those in this article as well as in the individual workouts. Conversely, you can always switch to using just a single dumbbell with both hands if your ‘bells feel too heavy for any given movement.
If you’re purchasing 2-3 pairs of dumbbells, then give yourself a decent range. A decent three dumbbell solution would be:
A pair of weights that are ideal for lighter, accessory movements such as dumbbell curls and lateral raises (8-12kg).
A ‘medium’ pair of dumbbells, suited to overhead pressing, high rep rows and more explosive movements like cleans and snatches (15- 25kg).
A heavy pair, dedicated to deadlifting, goblet squats, carries and other movements that allow you to shift serious tin. (25-30kg and above).
Of course, a handy, space saving solution that will optimise your dumbbell training experience is to purchase a pair of ‘selectorised’ dumbbells. These adjustable dumbbells allow you to quickly transition from light to heavy weights, across small increments, and take up the same amount of storage space as just a single set of heavy ‘bells. Perfect in a home gym setting, this option will allow you to endlessly progress your training, without breaking the bank (and filling your garage) with endless rows of dumbbells.
What Are The Benefits of Training With Dumbbells?
Whether you’re training at home, in the gym or even whilst travelling, there’s no denying the versatility of the humble dumbbell. But unlike other fitness solutions, that versatility doesn’t come at the expense of effectiveness.
First up, let's discuss the freedom and range of motion that dumbbells offer. Unlike barbells, which require a fixed grip and often limit your movement patterns, dumbbells allow for greater flexibility and independence. Each arm works individually, eliminating the possibility of muscle imbalances and ensuring that both sides of your body receive equal attention. This freedom of movement engages stabiliser muscles, promoting better balance and coordination throughout your workouts.
Whether it's a chest press, shoulder press, or a simple bicep curl, dumbbells provide a more natural and functional range of motion, more closely mimicking real-life movements.
In contrast, machines can lock you into a predetermined motion, restricting the full engagement of supporting muscle groups. While machines have their place in certain scenarios, such as rehabilitation or isolating specific muscles, they lack the ability to activate the full potential of your body.
Dumbbells, on the other hand, allow for dynamic movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, resulting in a more ‘real world’ workout experience.
Next, let's address the versatility of dumbbells. With nothing but a few pairs of humble ‘bells, you can unlock a vast repertoire of exercises, targeting any and every muscle group across your entire body. Whether you're looking to build strength, increase muscle mass, or improve muscular endurance and stamina, dumbbells have you covered. From big compound exercises like squats, presses, and deadlifts, to lighter isolation exercises such as lateral raises and tricep extensions, the versatility of a few pairs of dumbbells ensures that your workouts can be tailored to any goal.
Importantly though, dumbbells facilitate ‘unilateral' training, essentially training one side of the body at a time. This can be a vital component for building a balanced physique and helping to avoid injury. By working each side independently, you can identify and address any strength or muscle imbalances that may be lurking beneath the surface. This asymmetrical training not only promotes aesthetic symmetry but also improves overall functional strength, which translates to enhanced performance not just in the gym, but in sports and everyday activities.
But how does the dumbbell match up against the undisputed heavyweight king of the gym, the barbell? While barbells may excel in heavy compound lifts and allow you to shift some serious weight, they can easily over prioritise larger muscle groups, neglecting the engagement of smaller stabilising muscles. The more ‘free moving’ nature of the dumbbell, however, offers you endless opportunities to target those overlooked muscles. The constant balancing act required during dumbbell exercises activates your core and other stabiliser muscles, which can help to improve overall body control and stability.
Lastly, something that’s easy to overlook is the practicality and accessibility of dumbbells. Whether you prefer the convenience of a home gym or enjoy the buzzing atmosphere of a commercial facility, dumbbells are a portable and space-efficient choice. They take up minimal space, require no complex setup, and can be utilised in countless exercises. With dumbbells, you have the freedom to train whenever and wherever you desire, without being limited by the availability of specialised equipment.
Whilst barbells and machines have their own merits in the fitness realm, the versatility, functional gains, and practicality of dumbbells make them an indispensable tool to have in your training arsenal.
Weekly Dumbbell Training Plan: The Workouts
WEEK ONE
WEEK TWO
WEEK THREE
WEEK FOUR
WEEK FIVE
WEEK SIX
WEEK SEVEN
WEEK EIGHT
WEEK NINE
WEEK TEN
WEEK ELEVEN
WEEK TWELVE
WEEK THIRTEEN
WEEK FOURTEEN
WEEK FIFTEEN
WEEK SIXTEEN
WEEK SEVENTEEN
WEEK EIGHTEEN
WEEK NINETEEN
WEEK TWENTY
WEEK TWENTY-ONE
WEEK TWENTY-TWO
WEEK TWENTY-THREE
WEEK TWENTY-FOUR
WEEK TWENTY-FIVE
WEEK TWENTY-SIX
WEEK TWENTY-SEVEN
WEEK TWENTY-EIGHT
WEEK TWENTY-NINE
WEEK THIRTY
WEEK THIRTY-ONE
WEEK THIRTY-TWO
WEEK THIRTY-THREE
WEEK THIRTY-FOUR
WEEK THIRTY-FIVE
WEEK THIRTY-SIX
WEEK THIRTY-SEVEN
WEEK THIRTY-EIGHT
WEEK THIRTY-NINE
WEEK FORTY
WEEK FORTY-ONE
WEEK FORTY-TWO
WEEK FORTY-THREE
WEEK FORTY-FOUR
WEEK FORTY-FIVE
WEEK FORTY-SIX
WEEK FORTY-SEVEN
WEEK FORTY-EIGHT
WEEK FORTY-NINE
WEEK FIFTY
WEEK FIFTY-ONE
WEEK FIFTY-TWO
WEEK FIFTY-THREE
WEEK FIFTY-FOUR
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