Dumbbell fitness plan for building muscle at home

A few years ago, I met an old man who lived alone in the suburbs. His friends called him John, and others called him Giant.

He had a back as broad as a movie screen, arms like sledgehammers, a chest like armor, and deltoids like cantaloupe. Although he is over 70, he is still very strong.

Once, when a local bodybuilding star visited him, he was training in the stable. Strangely, the only training equipment he had were dumbbells. That is, he built these incredible muscles entirely using dumbbells. In fact, the dumbbells are not the key to the problem. The key lies in how to use the dumbbells. Of course, he doesn't practice all the movements every time he trains, nor does he train his whole body every time he trains. Generally he chooses a combination of 2 to 3 movements, does 3 to 4 sets of each movement, and trains one body part each time. This method is very good, and the following is his practice method.

1. Dumbbell Rowing

Viewed from the side. John's back muscles thickened by at least 4 inches (1 inch = 25.4 mm). Seen from the front, his back looked like the head of an angry cobra. Such beautiful back muscles are developed by dumbbell rowing, because this movement allows him to stretch and contract the latissimus dorsi to the maximum extent. He bent one leg on a bench and placed the other leg slightly bent, with his foot on a 6-inch high wooden platform. He leaned forward and lowered the dumbbells as hard as he could to stretch his latissimus dorsi, then pulled the dumbbells up until his hands were above his leaning upper body. When lowering the dumbbells, the lowest point is deeper than that of most people. Try to keep your shoulders as still as possible throughout the entire movement and do not let them swing excessively. Do 8 times in a set.

2. Reclining Fly

Lie on your back on a bench with a certain incline to fully stretch your chest muscles and fully stimulate them. When doing this exercise, cross your legs and keep your feet off the ground to avoid arching your back and reducing the effect of the training. The dumbbells should not touch each other when you reach the highest point, and your elbows should be slightly bent when you lower them. He said that when flying, one should imagine holding a big bucket. Only in this way can we ensure that the actions are correct. The weight of the dumbbells should be such that you can only lift them 8 to 10 times.

3. Supine chest press

Lie flat on a bench with your body perpendicular to it, the upper and middle part of your back touching the bench, your head suspended in the air, your feet on the ground, and your arms kept straight during the movement. Pay attention to your breathing. Exhale when you lift the dumbbells from the lowest point, and inhale when you lower the dumbbells from the highest point. Make sure the dumbbells fall fully until they almost touch the ground. Do 20 times in one set.

4. Leaning Bird

John said this is the most effective way to widen the shoulders, and he always puts this exercise first when training the shoulders because the posterior deltoid is the most difficult to train and the hardest to grow. He placed a towel on a half-man-high stool and placed his forehead against it. Bend your arms slightly and raise them to the sides, rotating them outward at both times so that your thumbs point to the ground. Raise your arms until your elbows are slightly above your shoulders, then slowly lower them back to the original position. Generally do it 12 to 15 times.

5. Arnold Raise

Raising your hands is as important to your shoulder muscles as squats are to your quadriceps. He sometimes did standing presses, sometimes seated presses, and sometimes shoulder-turned presses (this movement was advocated by Arnold a few years ago). Note that the upper body must be kept upright. It is best to have a self-supporting object on the back or secure it with a strap to prevent the shoulders from shaking unsteadily.

This movement is more difficult than the normal dumbbell raise, so the weight should be slightly lighter. At the beginning, hold the bell at the sides of your shoulders with your palms facing each other. As you raise the bell, rotate your wrists outward so that your palms face forward when you reach the highest point. The trick to this move is to keep your elbows vertical as you extend and lower them. Do 6 to 12 times in one set.

6. Bend and raise

He starts with a few sets of 20 warm-up exercises with a light weight, then gradually increases the weight and decreases the number of reps. The action is to lean the upper body forward and parallel to the ground, with the upper arms close to the sides of the body and the palms facing each other. Using the elbow joint as the axis, lift the bell and stretch it backward until it is slightly higher than the back, so that the triceps are more stimulated. When your arms are extended to the limit, rotate your wrists 90 degrees to fully contract your triceps. Do 6 reps with heavy weight.

7. Supine arm curl

Lie on your back on a flat bench, lift your feet off the ground, cross your legs, slightly lift your head off the bench, hold bells in both hands with your palms facing each other, and keep your upper arms fixed at a 45-degree angle to your torso. Do arm curls, 6 to 12 times per set.

8. Incline arm curl

John said that the most important thing to pay attention to is that the upper arms cannot leave the inclined board during the movement, and the arms must be fully extended but not excessively. Alternate between arms to focus more and improve separation in your biceps. During the curl process, the biceps are always in a contracted state. For this reason, the arms should not be too close to the shoulders during the curl, otherwise the biceps will get a temporary rest and the training intensity will be reduced. Do 5 to 7 reps per set with heavy weights and 12 to 20 reps per set with light weights.

9. Thumbs Upward Curl

This movement is designed to increase the fullness of the biceps and the separation of the brachialis. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and let it hang at your sides, with your palms facing each other, and bend them upwards, keeping your palms facing inward and thumbs pointing up. As the dumbbells reach your chest, rotate your wrists so your palms are facing up. Do g reps in one set without moving your upper arms during the movement.

10. Single-leg squat

In order to make his thighs thick and beautiful, John started doing single-leg squats. He doesn't count the number of times, but each set is no less than 12 times, up to 50 times. He performed this exercise with plenty of weight, focusing on the correct form and the feeling in his quadriceps. Repeat without rest until you feel a burning sensation in your quadriceps. During the movement, be careful to keep your knees and big toes in the same plane to avoid injury. He usually squats until his hips are lower than his knees, so that the thigh shape can be more beautiful and the muscles can grow faster. Stand on a stool and let your other leg hang naturally. Hold dumbbells at your sides or on your shoulders.