Full Body Dumbbell Workout

It’s a brand new year and the perfect start to doing things right with a clean slate. Any challenges, excuses, or failures that happened last year can be thrown away and forgotten. One thing I find many people struggle with is sticking to a plan regardless of what may cause any plan to derail. Whether it be overeating a bit too much one evening, missing a workout on a pre-determined schedule, or the gym being temporarily shut down limiting the ability to do a “proper” workout. Well I’ve got a reality check for you, these are all bound to happen at some point or another, so you might as well learn to navigate through these challenges.

The past year, I learned that you can fully take control of your nutrition game while enjoying your favorite foods and still get a proper workout in regardless of whether you have access to a gym or not. It all boils down to having the right mindset and motivation to visualizing your long term goals and working towards those goals each and every day. The biggest shift in mindset would be to focus more on the long term rather than short term, and that you’re going to have off days along the way. So embrace those days and take a break from your workout and let your body rest and recover or enjoy that meal that you’ve been craving and indulge yourself, but get back on the horse the following day. The beginning of the new year is not the only day to hit the reset button, but you have that ability to do that each and every morning when you wake up.

Today I wanted to share a workout plan that I personally do that targets each major muscle group of the body – it primarily focuses on compound movements and can be done at home with a set of dumbbells. I was lucky enough to be gifted a Bowflex SelectTech 52 Dumbbells set that is fully adjustable and ranges from from 5 lbs. to 52.55 lbs. each. This dumbbell set is a perfect space saver for those living in small spaces and can easily be stored away when not in use. I also already own a few various pieces of basic workout equipment, such as a pull up bar, an ab wheel, and a few resistance bands – all of which come at a a very low price point. The dumbbell set is the only item that comes with a higher ticket price, but is still most likely cheaper than the gym membership you paid for last year that was barely used.

Now let’s get straight to business. The dumbbell workout should only take approximately 45 minutes to complete and I recommend to perform it at least 3 times per week with a days rest in between each workout. For example, I would do this workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and take the weekend off to rest and recover, but feel free to adjust this to whatever suits you best. The exercises for this workout are:

• Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
• Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row
• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
• Dumbbell Goblet Squat
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
• Pull Up (Dumbbell or Bodyweight)
• Dumbbell Lateral Raise
• Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curl
• Incline Dumbbell Tricep Kickback
• Crunch (Dumbbell or Bodyweight)
• Leg Raise (Dumbbell or Bodyweight)
• Heel Touch (Resistance Band or Bodyweight)

I recommend to perform each exercise at 8 to 12 reps each for a total of 3 sets per exercise. If you’re pressed for time, you can conduct each exercise in pairs as a superset by alternating between exercises that focus on opposing muscle groups. For example, perform a set of flat dumbbell bench presses immediately followed by a set of chest-supported dumbbell rows, then repeat to complete a total of 3 sets before moving on to the next two exercises on the list as a superset.

Here’s a quick 1-minute video highlighting all of these exercises: