The Dumbbell Only Workout Plan (PDF Program)

Training with only dumbbells is enough to get results if it’s done right.

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When my gym shut down in 2020, I decided to do an inventory of my home gym equipment.

It took me less than a minute because I only had a few light dumbbells. I focused on building muscle with only those dumbbells and the results blew my mind.

Instead of doing the same old exercises the same way, I made small changes to each exercise to make them harder and put more tension on my muscles.

You can build noticeable muscle in only six weeks with dumbbells and this program is how it’s done.

Training with Only Dumbbells

I came up in the gym learning that pushing heavyweight was the way to grow but I learned years into my training that it wasn’t an absolute truth.

I had worked up to a 300-pound bench press, 300-pound back squat, and a 400-pound deadlift, and I didn’t look that much different than when I first started.

Sure, lifting the heaviest weights will make you stronger but it’s not the best or the only way to build muscle.

These are the benefits of training with dumbbells:

• More stabilization and muscle activation.

• Corrects imbalances with unilateral training.

• Increased range of motion.

• Better for rest-pause sets, drop sets, and angular changes.

• More accessible when traveling.

One guy I used to train with never touched a weight heavier than a fifty-pound dumbbell. And he had more muscle on him than the rest of our group combined.

He explained to me that using lighter dumbbells, with higher reps and a focus on maintaining tension on an isolated muscle was the way to experience growth on another level.

And he was right. Progressive overload is not always the best way to grow muscle.

Looking back on the days I trained with this guy, I adopted his training style in my home gym during my quest to build muscle while the rest of the world got smaller or fatter.

I wrote down everything I did and put the workouts into a 6-week program.

How to grow muscle with only dumbbells:

• Isolate the targeted muscle group by making it nearly impossible for other muscle groups to assist the movement.

• Increase the volume by adding more reps and sets in each workout.

• Maintain constant tension on the working muscle by doing partial reps.

• Focus on feeling the muscle doing the work (mind-muscle connection).

After six weeks of training this way, I found that connecting with the muscle you’re targeting is far more important than just lifting heavier and heavier.

For help determining your body type, use this free online body shape calculator.

Photo from Ryan Humiston.

Small Changes = Big Gains

Let’s look at an exercise like the dumbbell bench press.

A natural instinct for most of us is to lift the heaviest weight we can for somewhere between five and ten repetitions.

But we never really connect with the muscle that’s targeted in this movement (the chest). We rep it out until we’re fatigued and maybe grow slightly stronger but never yield the primary benefit from the time we’re putting in.

The key here is to not fixate on the amount of weight we’re lifting and focus more on what’s really important: how we’re lifting the weight.

• Try breaking down the movement.

• Lay on the bench with the dumbbells by your side.

• We’re targeting our chest, so bring those dumbbells out a bit wider to stretch the pectoral muscles (both stretching and contracting are key for hypertrophy).

• Drive the dumbbells up and stop before your arms are fully locked out. This keeps the tension in your chest. Lower them down slowly, forcing even more time under tension.

• Now, instead of your usual five to ten reps, do this fifteen to twenty times.

We slowed the movement, changed the angle to enhance the stretch, increased our time under tension, and added more volume.

The difference this makes is everything for really growing our muscles.

These small changes can be made to any exercise and the results will speak for themselves.

The 6-Week PDF Dumbbell Workout Routine

The Full Body Printable Dumbbell Schedule (Good for Beginners)

The Dumbbell Monster program has been designed to increase muscle growth with a 5-day body part split.

Here’s a breakdown of the training split:

• Day One: Arms

• Day Two: Shoulders and Abs

• Day Three: Back

• Day Four: Chest

• Day Five: Legs

• Day Six: (Optional): Cardio/Conditioning

We are training like this because it is the best way to sufficiently destroy a muscle group to the point where it has to grow.

Each workout will leave you with no doubt that you placed enough tension on the targeted muscle to get it to grow.

Sample Dumbbell Only Workout

Here’s an arm workout from Dumbbell Monster that will place your biceps and triceps under maximum tension with lighter weight and give your arms an insane pump.

• Seated/Incline Dumbbell Curl 4x20 and Drag Curl 4x20 - No rest between exercises.

• Dumbbell Skull Crushers 4x15-20 (drop sets) - Use 3 different dumbbell weights per drop set. Do 15-20 reps on the first set and then reps until failure on the last two sets with descending weight.

• Seated Dumbbell Curls 4x15-20 - Sit with your legs wide and lean forward with your arms holding the dumbbells between your legs with a palms-up grip. Elbows should rest on your inner thighs. - Curl the dumbbells without going all the way up or all the down.

• Reverse-Grip Push-Ups on Dumbbells 4x15-20 (or until failure) - Place the dumbbells on the ground about shoulder-width apart in a 'V' shape. - Use a reverse-grip and do triceps-focused push-ups until failure. - Optional: you can pre-exhaust your triceps with a set of bench/chair dips first.

Why This Routine Works

The world we’re living in today is filled with uncertainty about public places and gyms are near the top of the list of places that can be shut down at a moment’s notice.

When Covid-19 first shut down much of the world, there was an insane demand for gym equipment as people shifted their workouts to home.

Dumbbells became one of the most sought-after items. If you were lucky enough to have dumbbells at home, your fitness progress really didn’t have to suffer at all.

In fact, some people came out of lockdown with more muscle.

We saw a shift in training methodologies towards optimally using the only weights we had available to us and this was often only lightweight.

But that’s not a problem as long as you follow the principles we laid out before.

By simply changing angles, adding volume, isolating muscles, and slowing tempo, you can easily make a twenty-pound dumbbell feel like a fifty-pound dumbbell.

Next, you need to add structure to your training by following a plan that identifies the workout split, exercises, and rep ranges.

This training plan will:

• Introduce metabolic stress by maintaining constant tension on your muscles with partial ranges of motion and isolating muscle groups one at a time.

• Damage muscles by using a higher-than-normal set and rep volume. Prepare to be sore.

• Remove your focus on lifting the heaviest weight you can. Your new focus will be on experiencing a better connection between your mind and your muscles. You will FEEL the muscle you’re targeting doing the work.

• Stimulate your muscles and prime them for measurable growth by introducing a training style that you haven’t experienced before.

• Force more blood into your muscles to give you an insane pump that’s addicting.

Now, you’re all set to grow some serious muscle with only dumbbells.

Dumbbell Monster II: 4-Week Muscle-Building Program

Once you’ve completed Dumbbell Monster or you think you’re ready for a more advanced program, it’s time for Dumbbell Monster II (DBMII).

DBMII introduces new exercises and rep schemes that build on the first program, including super sets and giant sets.

The intensity and volume increase during this program, which is why it’s 4 weeks or 30 days instead of 6 weeks like the first program.

Dumbbell Monster III: 30-Day Dumbbell Workout Plan

The Best Plan for Beginners and Busy People

The third program in our DBM series is for busy people who don’t have time to workout more than three days a week.

The frequency drops from 5 days a week to 3 days a week but the intensity goes up. The goal is to get the most bang for your buck with limited time.

This program introduces tactics such as slow reps, rest-pause sets, and drop sets to shock your muscles and induce a disgusting pump.

All of these programs require only dumbbells and a bench. They can be done in almost any hotel gym or at home with adjustable dumbbells.

Before and After Results

Check out Tyler’s results after completing Dumbbell Monster.

Frequently Asked Questions

How heavy should dumbbells be to gain muscle?

The best dumbbell weight to start with as a beginner is 10-20 pounds. Grab a pair of 10-pound or 15-pound dumbbells for isolation exercises or a pair of 20-pound dumbbells for compound exercises.

Dumbbells do not need to be as heavy as you might think.

You can spot an inexperienced lifter in the gym because they think they need to go heavier and heavier on dumbbell exercises, often using chalk to supplement a lack of grip strength.

What ends up happening is this person loses all connection with the muscle they’re targeting as they use a combination of momentum and other muscle groups to move the weight. This is not how you get a muscle to grow.

If you’re trying to get stronger, then you want to be getting heavier on your weight. But if you’re goal is to build muscle, heavier does not mean better.

We need to focus on how we’re lifting the weight, not how much weight we’re lifting. While writing this training series, I typically used dumbbells between 10 and 50 pounds.

Can I build muscle with only dumbbells?

The short answer is yes, you can absolutely build muscle with only dumbbells. In fact, you can build muscle with only one set of dumbbells.

Understanding how to introduce enough stress to your muscles with the weight you have available to you is how you get results.

Applying the right training principles will allow you to build muscle with only dumbbells, only barbells, only machines, or only your body weight.

Can I get ripped with only dumbbells?

You can get ripped with only dumbbells but your diet is going to be more of a factor when it comes to losing body fat, which is the key driver to getting ripped.

How to get ripped while training with only dumbbells:

• Be in a caloric deficit (find your basal metabolic rate and reduce 500-1000 calories a day from your daily calorie intake).

• Train for muscle growth with dumbbells 3-4 times a week.

• Get 7-10k steps a day.

• Hit your body weight in grams of protein per day.

• Do cardio for 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week.

Using dumbbells to build muscle will contribute to this goal but to get ripped you have to lower your body fat percentage.