The Dumbbell Workout Plan To Build Muscle At Home

Dumbbell Workout Plan To Build Muscle 

Build your upper body muscle with these dumbbell workouts designed for your chest, arms, shoulders and back.

The key to unlocking true progress in building upper body muscle is knowledge and a plan. In this way dumbbells are no different than anything in life. Build your knowledge in a topic, formulate a plan and then work at it consistently.  It is ideal to couple this with eating properly, but this article is designed to get you halfway there with the knowledge and plan part. 

These dumbbell workouts are designed to help you build your upper body over a thirty day period. You can repeat this plan as often as you like. Make sure to follow the plan and record your progress. It is important to know what you do from workout to workout so you can use more weight or more reps in your next training session following the same workout.

These workouts are designed by Aaron Guyett, CSCS. Aaron has trained thousands of clients of all types over the years and trained himself for international lifting competitions. This workout plan is guaranteed to get you the results you need if you follow the workouts as Aaron designs and eat correctly over the next thirty days.

Choosing the right Dumbbell weight for you

When choosing the appropriate dumbbell weight for your workout routine, it's crucial to take into account several important factors. Firstly, consider the specific exercises you'll be performing and the muscles they target. Lighter weights may be suitable for isolation exercises like bicep curls, while heavier weights may be necessary for compound movements like squats or chest presses. Secondly, factor in the number of repetitions and sets you plan to complete. Higher rep ranges typically call for lighter weights, whereas lower rep ranges require heavier weights. Additionally, prioritize proper form and technique over lifting heavier weights, as maintaining good form reduces the risk of injury and ensures optimal muscle engagement.

As you progress, gradually increase the weight to continue challenging your muscles and promoting growth. Listen to your body's cues, adjusting the weight as needed to avoid fatigue or discomfort. Consulting a certified personal trainer can provide valuable guidance in selecting the right dumbbell weight based on your fitness level, goals, and individual needs. By considering these factors thoughtfully, you can tailor your workouts effectively, maximizing results while minimizing the risk of injury. 

What Makes an Excellent Dumbbell Workout Plan?

Can I build muscle with just dumbbells? You might have been asking yourself this if you came across this article. The answer is ‘yes’. You can build muscle with just dumbbells, if you follow an expertly written dumbbell workout plan.

Focus Your Dumbbell Workouts

To really make progress, your dumbbell workouts need focus. Picking up a dumbbell or two and doing random workouts will lead to a few potential errors and make your workout sessions ineffective. Imagine feeling like you accomplished something great when you actually did nothing. That is possible if your workouts are not focused. By focus, we mean you should focus on specific muscle groups with specific types of exercises in certain workout sessions.

If you do not focus your dumbbell workouts to certain movements, you risk overtraining, or perhaps even worse for you, under training. It would be a real shame to tire yourself and actually have undertrained for your particular goal. You might want to build a more muscular upper body and fall woefully short. 

In this dumbbell workout plan, Aaron Guyett has designed each session for a specific goal like building your upper body or lower body.

Can You Build Muscle in 30 Minutes a Day?

These workouts are structured to take thirty to forty minutes per day when you combine a proper warm up and cool down session.

Each day your workout consists of five to six different dumbbell exercises. These workouts will focus on a specific muscle group. A completion of one prescribed dumbbell movement is called a ‘rep’. A ‘set’ is made of a prescribed number of ‘reps’. 

In order to build muscle, you want to focus on doing higher repetition sets. You start building muscle when you are using weights that are a struggle to get to twelve reps or more. If you use a heavier weight which you cannot complete at least twelve repetitions, you will not build the muscle you want. Each day this dumbbell workout plan prescribes three to five sets of twelve repetitions with rest times of about one minute between sets. If you are looking for extra guidance, you can follow along with videos. So, for example, you will do twelve repetitions of the prescribed exercise, rest one minute, then do twelve more. You will repeat this for as many sets as directed.

Tempo is also important during these movements. 

How Do You Make and Measure Progress? 

A proper dumbbell workout plan follows this principle. You should make sure to record your progress so you can increase your number of repetitions or weights you train with each week. If you have access to multiple weight increments, you will want to increase the weight you use in subsequent workouts if you are reaching the prescribed number of repetitions. 

If you do not have access to multiple sets of dumbbells, consider increasing the tension or speeding up your pace.

Use the Right Dumbbells for This Workout

To really make progress, you need to very carefully follow the prescribed rep ranges. If you find you are easily completing the prescribed rep ranges, you need to increase the weight you are training with. If you have access to a gym, this workout plan will be pretty easy to follow. If you only have one pair of dumbbells you can speed up, slow down or increase tensions. 

It is a good idea to have a few pairs of dumbbells. Think of these as an investment in your health and future.

Best Dumbbells for Home Workout

These are sold as pairs and include free shipping on all orders. These dumbbells are guaranteed within 3% of the stated weight. The ends of the dumbbells are encased in rubber which can help reduce noise, floor damage and make the dumbbells more steady for ground work. These dumbbells are welded together and then covered in rubber on the ends. Each dumbbell has the weight displayed on the end as well as the Living.Fit logo. Each handle is steel and is knurled for a better grip during use. 

We will be taking you through the first week of this workout along with warm ups and cool downs. This workout is from the expertly written  Dumbbell Gains plan by Aaron Guyett. 

Day 1- Week 1 Lower Body Strength and Lean Body Mass Growth

Warm Up

A proper warm up will take you through a variety of movements and usually lasts five to ten minutes when done correctly.  

Lunge Matrix with Arm-Drivers

Dumbbell Front Squats

5 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 4 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This dumbbell exercise focuses on your entire lower body with legs and glutes. This will also develop your core and back which should be kept tight and flexed throughout even as the weight pulls forward on them. 

How To:  Squat down while holding the dumbbells in the chest position (you could also hang at your waist. Squat so that your butt is lower than your knees. After passing this point, drive yourself back up with your legs and glutes. 

Dumbbell Deadlifts

5 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 4 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This movement is incredibly functional. This means the muscles it develops are essential for healthy every day movement. The dumbbell deadlift is designed to build your glute and hamstring muscles. 

How To: You can start with a dumbbell in each hand or with the dumbbells on the ground in front of you. The heads of the dumbbells should be facing left and right as opposed to forward and backward. Once the dumbbells are in hand, push your hips back. Think of a string pulling your tailbone away from you.  Lower the dumbbells to the floor or just above it. Then, start to stand back up by hinging at the hips. Imagine someone is pushing your tailbone forward while you squeeze your glutes.

Dumbbell Alternating Lunges

3 Sets of 10 Reps Each with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 second Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This dumbbell exercise will build your upper legs and glutes. Similar to the squat, keep your core and back flexed and these will benefit as well.  

How To:  Pick one dumbbell up in each hand so they rest at your sides while you are standing. Take a large step forward with one leg. As your front foot makes contact with the ground, lunge into the movement until your lower leg and upper leg form a 90 degree angle at your knee. At the same time your back knee should touch the ground. Use your front leg to drive yourself back up to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.

Dumbbell Lateral Lunge

3 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do:  This is the principle we discussed about focusing your workouts. This is another movement that focuses on your upper legs and glutes. In the last few movements, you have really focused on these muscles. 

How To: Start with your feet about shoulder width apart.  Take a large step directly to the side with one leg. As that foot meets the ground, bend your knee to go into a lunge, but to the side. Move the dumbbells towards the foot of the leg you are lunging on until they are six to eight inches off the ground near your foot. It is especially important to keep your shoulders back during this movement and not let them round while the weights attempt to pull you forward. Use your legs and glutes to drive you toward the starting position and then repeat on the other side.

Dumbbell Farmers Carry with Calf Raise

3 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1

What Does This Do: Now that we have thoroughly focused on your upper legs, let’s show your lower legs some attention. The focus of this movement is your calf muscles.

How To: Hold a dumbbell in each hand resting by the sides of your waist.  Use your calf muscles to drive your body up so you are standing on just your toes. Lower yourself following the one second pace mentioned above. To build your calf muscles with dumbbells, you will want to perform a high rep range. Source: Dumbbell Gains by Living.Fit

Day 2 - Upper Body Strength and Lean Body Mass Growth

Dumbbell Floor Press or Dumbbell Bench Press

5 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 4 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This dumbbell exercise builds your pectoral muscles.  The same principles apply in that you should keep your core tight while doing the dumbbell chest press. Source: Dumbbell Gains by Living.Fit

How To: Sit down on the floor with the dumbbells at your side (if you have a bench, you can sit on the bench). Position yourself so the dumbbells while in your hands are away from your body so your upper arm is at a 45 degree angle away from your body. Flex your pectoral muscles and use them to control the weight above you. Push the dumbbells up until your arms are fully extended over your chest. Lower the dumbbells back down to the start position at your sides. The whole time your pecs should be controlling this movement. 

Dumbbell Overhead Press

5 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 4 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Do This Do: This dumbbell workout isolates your upper body.  

How To: Make sure to keep your core tight. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height with elbows bent and the forearms vertical.  Push the dumbbells up over your head until your arms are completely extended over your head. The muscles moving the dumbbells should be generated by your shoulders and triceps.

Expert Tip: This is an example of a dumbbell workout in which you can control the speed of your movement to intensify the workout. You can make lighter weights more challenging by increasing the amount of time you lower them to the starting position. 

Dumbbell Bent Over Row

3 Sets of 10 Reps Each with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 4 second Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: Build bigger back. 

How To: Stand with one dumbbell in each hand at your side and hinge enough so that your dumbbells are about level with your knees. The hinge is a hip movement as if someone is pulling your tailbone back away from you. In this movement, you must focus on keeping your core tight and your shoulders pulled back. The weight hanging from your body will make you really want to round your back. Keep your chest back and proud to focus on flexing your back tight. Pull the dumbbells back with your lat and scap muscles until your elbows are behind your back. You can insert a pause at that position. Return the dumbbells to the hanging position.  You can alternate sides or do both at the same time. In this workout plan, you are doing both at the same time.

Dumbbell Lying Pullover

3 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 4 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This works almost your entire upper body especially core, back and arms. 

How To: Lie on the floor (or bench) and position yourself like you are doing to do the dumbbell chest press.  You will keep your elbows closer to your sides throughout the exercise. Think of pressing the dumbbells at a 45 degree angle towards and over the back of your head.

As you move the dumbbells past your head, the weight will start to exert more gravitational force on you. Use your core, lat, shoulders and triceps to control the weight until your arms are straight back behind your head. Think of the top position of the dumbbell press, but while being horizontal on the floor.Pull the dumbbells back over your head towards the starting position. This pulling motion should be generated by your core, lats and some triceps.

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

3 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1 

What Does This Do: Build nice big biceps. Your bicep is the muscle on the inside of your arm when your arms hang at our side. 

How To Do This: In this workout plan we have a dumbbell in each hand although you could do dumbbell curls one arm at a time. Contract your bicep to pull the handle toward your shoulder. Make sure it is your bicep muscle doing all the work, you should not assist yourself with any momentum from your body early in your sets. Slowly let your bicep uncontract to let gravity take over in bringing the weight down and your arm straight.

So you want to build bigger arms? The key to building big biceps is working these muscles until failure or leaving just a little bit left in your tank. By the end of the sets, you should feel like you could not do any more.

Standing Tricep Extension

3 Sets of 10 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This is the second must exercise for bigger arms. This will build the other side of your arms from your bicep. The tricep is the three headed muscle on the back of your arm when you face forward with arms at your side. For optimal tricep development, it's important to incorporate the best tricep exercises into your routine.

How To: Press one dumbbell over your head while holding it with two hands. Keep your core tight while you lower the dumbbell behind your head, bending your arms at the elbow. When you get to the bottom of the movement, straight your arms over your head again and focus on only using the back of your arms (tricep muscles) to move the weight back to the starting position.

Day 3 - Full Body with Core Strength and Lean Body Mass Growth

Dumbbell Squat Press

3 Sets of 12 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This combo movement builds your legs and shoulders but also incorporate legs and back.Source: Dumbbell Gains by Living.Fit

How To: Set up to do a dumbbell squat like on Day 1.  Squat down so your glutes should are slightly lower than your knees, or at least try to hit 90 degrees at your knees.  Drive back up through your heels. As you reach the standing straight position, press the dumbbells overhead. Lower them back down to your chest, then squat again.

Dumbbell Renegade Row

3 Sets of 12 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: Builds your back, core and chest. This is a challenging movement. You can practice by doing a push up and then rowing your arms without any weights.

Expert Tip: Another helpful element in a well crafted plan is having a trainer being able to thoroughly explain movements to you in person or thorough video demonstrations.

How To: Place your hands on the dumbbells while they lie on the ground like you are at the top of a push up. Your core should be flexed, positioning you over the dumbbells.  Pull one dumbbell towards you like you do with the dumbbell row, but you are using your other arm to brace you. Keep your core tight and pull the dumbbell with your back until your elbow is behind your back. Return the dumbbell to the ground and then do with the other side.

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge with Tricep Extension

3 Sets of 12 Reps Each with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 second Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This combines building muscular legs with building your arms. It combines leg, core, back and arms. You can perform this movement with one dumbbell with two hands on it or a dumbbell in each hand.  

How To: Raise the dumbbell or dumbbells over your head just like the standing tricep extension in Day 2. Repeat the same tricep extension movement. Take a step backward and lunge down until your knee touches the ground.  Your forward leg should be bent at a 90 degree angle.

Drive yourself back to the starting position with your forward leg. This starts in the ball of your foot and powers through your upper leg and glutes. After standing up straight, perform the tricep extension. Repeat this with the opposite leg.  Source: Dumbbell Gains by Living.Fit

Dumbbell Lateral Lunge with Rotation

3 Sets of 12 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: This movement combines the lateral lunge with a rotational movement. The key difference is the dumbbells will be tucked into your mid chest and stomach.

How To: Hold the dumbbells, pressing them together in the middle of your chest and stomach. This will require flexing your core, back and arms to stabilize them in position. Perform the lateral lunge movement. When you get to the bottom of the lunge rotate your upper body using your core and obliques toward your back. Return to a forward facing position, then back to front and then back towards the other side. Return to the starting position. Stand up straight as you would in the lateral lunge. Then repeat on the other side. 

Dumbbell Burpee Push Up

3 Sets of 12 Reps Each with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 second Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do: Think of this as the dumbbell deadlift plus a push up. This will greatly enhance your chest as well as work your core, hips and back.  Source: Dumbbell Gains by Living.Fit.

How To: Lower the dumbbells to the ground. The ideal movement here is a combination of a hinge and a squat as opposed to just dropping down. Next, kick your legs out behind you. This should put you into the push up position with your hands on the dumbbells.  Do a push up. Make sure to use your pectoral muscles to control this movement and drive you back up.

While in the top of the push up. Bring your legs back up to just behind you on the ground. Perform a deadlift to stand up.

Dumbbell Alternating Lunge with Dumbbell Curl

3 Sets of 12 Reps with 1 Minute Rest - Tempo 1 seconds Eccentric and 1 second Concentric

What Does This Do:  This movement combines two fairly basic movements into one combination dumbbell movement to build nice big quads, glutes and biceps.

How To: In the standing position with one dumbbell in each hand. Perform the lunge movement from Day 1. When you return to the standing position, complete a dumbbell curl with each arm. 

Remember, the key to a good dumbbell curl uses the bicep to pull the handle of the dumbbell toward your shoulder. Repeat on the other side. 

1 Week Dumbbell Workout plan from Beginner to Advanced level

When structuring your dumbbell workout plan, it's essential to consider setting reps and sets for different exercises to maximize your results. By incorporating the right combination of repetitions and sets, you can effectively target specific muscle groups and promote muscle growth and strength development.

Setting Reps and Sets for Different Exercises

In your dumbbell workout routine, vary the number of repetitions and sets based on the exercise and your fitness goals. For instance, for muscle-building, aim for higher reps (8-12) with moderate weight, while for strength gains, opt for lower reps (4-6) with heavier dumbbells. Adjusting the reps and sets ensures progressive overload and prevents plateaus in your fitness journey.

Incorporating Cardio with Dumbbells

Integrating cardio elements into your dumbbell workouts can enhance cardiovascular fitness and boost calorie burning. Consider adding movements like dumbbell thrusters, renegade rows, or kettlebell swings for a cardio-resistance combination. This synergy helps in improving endurance, increasing metabolism, and adding variety to your routine, making your workouts more engaging and effective.

Cool Down and Stretching Routine

After completing your dumbbell workout, allocate time for a cool down and stretching routine to aid in muscle recovery and flexibility maintenance. Perform static stretches for major muscle groups, such as the hamstrings, quadriceps, and shoulders, holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds. Cooling down properly can reduce muscle soreness, enhance circulation, and improve overall flexibility, ensuring a well-rounded and balanced workout session.

Following a Dumbbell Workout Plan

Remember, to make progress, you must be rigorous about performing the right number of repetitions. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time not making any progress. Experts agree that following a plan is the best way to reach your goal. 

The ideal plan:

1. A specific goal. You should focus on something like burning fat or building muscle. The movements suggested and rep ranges suggested will adjust based on this. 
2. Trainer demonstrations of progressions and regressions. These are way to make the same movement easier or more difficult and are especially helpful with limited equipment.
3. Detailed explanations of movements required for a plan in the form of a movement library. In addition helpful FAQ’s about how the plan like rep ranges, weights to use, who it is for, how to adjust it and more. 
4. Focus.  As demonstrated above, you want to isolate muscle groups and do not want to overtrain or undertrain. If you do not have an expert level trainer's understanding of muscles, you run this risk. 
5. All the workouts in this article are from Dumbbell Gains by Living.Fit. You can view it here. 

Progressing Through the Weeks

As you continue with your full-body dumbbell workout plan, it's essential to progress gradually to challenge your muscles and avoid plateaus. Increasing the weight and intensity of your exercises, adapting them to your fitness level, and tracking your progress are vital elements of advancing through the weeks effectively.

Increasing Weight and Intensity

Progressing in your workout routine involves gradually adding more weight to your dumbbell exercises and increasing the intensity of your workouts. This progressive overload stimulates muscle growth and strength development, enabling you to continually challenge your muscles and see improvements in your overall fitness.

Adapting the Exercises to Your Fitness Level

Adapting exercises to your fitness level ensures that you maintain proper form and technique while challenging yourself appropriately. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced lifter, modifying the exercises to suit your capabilities helps prevent injuries and allows for steady progress in your strength and muscle-building journey.

Tracking Your Progress and Results

Monitoring your progress by tracking key metrics such as weight lifted, repetitions completed, and overall performance is essential for gauging your improvements. Keeping a workout journal or using fitness apps can help you stay accountable and motivated, enabling you to adjust your workout plan effectively based on the results you achieve.

Nutrition

So you have an idea about the needs for a plan and even some movements to do. You still will not get the goals you want without following proper nutrition. 

To fuel muscle growth you need to make sure you are getting enough protein and you are getting it at the right time of day. It is ideal to have protein within a certain amount of time after your workout to rebuild the muscles you just worked so hard to tear down. For more information we recommend Free Nutrition Tips here. 

Free Nutrition Tips comes with this E-Book covering all the topics below for FREE!

Get access to videos covering the following topics to start your nutrition journey:

• How many grams of fat should I eat?
• How can I lose fat while gaining/maintaining muscle?
• How many calories should I eat per day?
• How many grams of protein should I eat?
• How many grams of carbs should I eat?

More About Free Nutrition Tips:

• What should I eat before a workout if it is not a complete meal?
• What's the difference between a calorie and a nutrient?
• How long should I eat before a workout?
• What should I eat after a workout?
• Do I have to eat right after a workout?
• Do I have to eat before a workout?
• What are the three macronutrient and do you need all three?
• What are micronutrients and what are some examples (B vitamins, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Zinc)?
• What are electrolytes and why are they important? (Sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, phosphate, bicarbonate)
• What’s the best pre workout?
• Should I track macros?
• What should I eat if I have an injury?
• Should I supplement with creatine?
• How do I stay consistent with eating healthy?

For more information we recommend Free Nutrition Tips here.

Helpful Resources:

• Free Daily workouts with dumbbells here
• Fitness Equipment like dumbbells here