Home Strength Training – Dumbbells

About the plan

12-week plan for people who have a pair of dumbbells at home and want to train strength without relying on a gym, with three full-body sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in two alternating workouts. Unlike the bodyweight plan, here there is load to add, so progression goes back to the classic: reps go down from 12 to 10 and then to 8 over the blocks while the weight goes up. The exercises cover the six patterns a body needs to train — squatting, hip hinging, horizontal pushing, overhead pushing, pulling and carrying load on one side only — using the goblet squat, Romanian deadlift, dumbbell bench press, overhead press, row and lunge. Weeks 4 and 8 are light and week 12 is a load assessment. A pair of adjustable dumbbells covers the whole plan; with fixed dumbbells, have at least two different weights. A bench helps but isn't required: the bench press can be done on the floor.