12-week dumbbell workout plan

Are you looking for a full 12-week dumbbell workout plan?

Are you looking for a full 12-week dumbbell workout plan? Inside you’ll find just that, cycling through three phases.

Note: Please check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

Maybe you’re new to weightlifting and need help figuring out where to start.

I’ve got a full-body 12-week dumbbell workout plan that will cycle you through 3 (three) phases: strength, endurance, and hypertrophy.

One each month.

This is important for a few reasons:

Switching up your workout will ‘confuse’ your muscles making them stronger and faster.
Gives your body time to recover from the previous phase.

And makes it less boring for you!

I will get into them in more detail below but just to give you a quick idea of what each phase will mean:

12-Week Dumbbell Workout Phases

Strength equals low repetitions but high weights.

Endurance means high repetitions but low weights.

Hypertrophy is the one you probably do the most, with average repetitions and average weights.

So I will start with strength but when you are starting and going through this 12-week dumbbell workout plan you can start in whichever phase and transition into whichever phase next you’d like, etc.

If you’ve lifted before and know about where you’d be during your hypertrophy stage, maybe start there then you’ll have a better idea of what weight you’ll start with than the other two.

I honestly always give myself the first workout or even week of each month to get readjusted to what weight I need to be lifting.

Reminder: Please check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

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Before we get into the workouts, I want to let you know I do have a 12-week dumbbell workout plan pdf available to help.

This exact workout is already filled in and ready for you to keep track of your progress.

Below are all 3-day full-body workouts.

You could certainly change it up to be a 4 or 5-day workout program so instead of doing full-body you’ll have a leg day, an arm day, a back day, and a chest day, for example.

But I love my 3-day full-body!

It takes me only about 20 to maybe 40 minutes per day, depending on which phase I’m in to complete the workout.

The reason it can be so short but still effective is that most, if not all of the exercises are compound moves that include moving multiple muscle groups rather than just one.

For example, when you do squats, you are not only moving your hips but also your knees.

I can normally squeeze my workouts in the morning before my son wakes up, and if not it’s pretty easy to get it in throughout the day even if it’s extremely broken up!

Note: yes, it can be spread out throughout the day and you’ll still get the benefits!

The Equipment

The first time you do these you’ll have to experiment with what weights work for you the best.

If you’re used to lifting then you’ll have a better idea of where to start.

I personally have a set of adjustable dumbells that go from 2.5 lbs to 12.5 lbs per weight.

These work well for me for the Endurance and Hypertrophy phases but I’ll be honest, I use a set of resistance bands (this one only goes up to 150, I couldn’t find my version- sorry 🙁 ) that can go up to 205 lbs and are really useful for the Strength phase.

If you’re not averse to it and/or already have them, a set of resistance bands and a set of fabric exercise bands will be extremely beneficial and are not terribly expensive (especially compared to dumbbells).

Between the three of these, I’ve been able to increase my weight steadily for the last year without any problems.

This is important to help build muscle.

Strength Phase

The Basics

3-4 sets
2-5 reps
2-5 minutes rest

The idea is that you will lift a weight that by the end of your 3rd or 4th set of doing 2-5 reps each you will be tired.

Not so tired that you can’t walk, sit or raise your hands but that if you had to do two to five more you’d really be struggling.

And remember, you want to keep good form.

The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself.

The Exercises

Now, since these exercises are done only 2-5 times each you’ll notice that there is little to no modification.

For example, all the push-ups are done in full plank, rather than on my knees or in a tabletop position, like in the other workouts.

Day 1

Sumo squat
Hip thrust

Regular push up
Upright row
Back fly

Day 2

Sumo squat with hand variation
Sumo deadlift
Military Pushup

Seated shoulder press
Single row

Day 3

Sumo squat 1 heel lifted

Hip thrust – alt single leg
Wide pushup
Upright row in hammer

Bent over row

Squats

keep your knees over your feet

flat back
chest up (don’t bend over)
try to sit as far back as possible

Day 1: feet wide, weights up at shoulders.

Day 2: feet wide, weights on a bar or weights in hammer position at shoulders.

Day 3: feet wide while rotating between raising your left and right heel, weights at shoulders.

Side note: there are days that I will modify these and do them laying on my back. Listen to your body. If you hurt your back it’s not helping anything!

Hip thrust

Lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet closer to your bottom.
Rest your weights on your hips.

Day 1: lift and lower your hips for 1 rep.

Day 3: alternate having one leg raised into the air while lifting your hips.

Sumo deadlift

Feet wider than shoulder width.

Sit back with your head and chest up (don’t bend over) and grab the weights. Lift while pushing your hips forward until you’re standing straight. Lower weights all the way back down to the ground.

Push Ups

As I mentioned, I do these as full out as possible because of the lower repetitions.

Keep back in a neutral position.

Day 1: regular push-ups, hands a little wider than shoulder-width.

Day 2: start in a regular push-up then move your hands closer together so they are directly below your shoulders, as you lower yourself keep your elbows at your sides rather than letting them wing out.

Day 3: hands should be placed a little farther out than shoulder-width.

Row/Shoulders

Stand straight up
Feet shoulder-width apart

Day 1: start with weights in front of you then raise weights up to your chest/shoulders then lower.

Day 2: (shoulder press) start with your arms in a goalpost position (out to the side, arms bent at a 90-degree angle straight up, then push up into a should press.

Day 3: see day 1 but when you raise the weights bend them inward so they will be parallel to each other at the chest/shoulders rather than in a line.

Back

Feet about shoulder-width apart.

Bend forward with a straight back.
Arms hanging down with weights/palms facing each other.

Day 1: Back fly

Raise weights out to the sides (like you’re trying to fly) until they’ll parallel to the ground and lower.

Try to control the weights on the way up and the way down (it’s easy to let them just swing)

Day 2: Single Row

Same as above with the feet, back, and arms.

Raise one weight up at a time to your side with your elbow bent.

Lower.

Day 3: Bent over Row

Similar as above with the feet, back, and arms.

This time raise both weights to your sides at the same time.

Lower.

Endurance Workout

The Basics

3-4 sets
12-20 reps

30-60 second rest

The idea is that you will lift a weight that by the end of your 3rd or 4th set of doing 12-20 reps each you will be tired.

Not so tired that you can’t walk, sit or raise your hands but that if you had to do two to five more you’d really be struggling.

Remember, you want to keep good form.

The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself.

The Exercises

Now, since these exercises are done 12-15 times each, rather than 8-12 times, you’ll notice I’ve modified them.

For example, all the push-ups are done on my knees or in a tabletop position, instead of in full plank.

Also, you’ll notice I’ve added a second part to some of the exercises and that is to make them more of a compound move.

Remember, a compound move includes moving multiple muscle groups rather than just one.

This helps make your workouts much more productive in a shorter amount of time.

For example, when doing the lateral straight raise, Day 1, I add in a bicep curl so that not only are you getting a workout for your shoulders but also the fronts of your arms.

Day 1

Elevated squat (both heels)

Knee push-ups regular
Good mornings
Arnold press

Bent over row
Lateral straight raise with bicep curl

Day 2

Elevated squat right heel

Tabletop diamond push-ups (hands making a diamond shape)
Good mornings – wide
Monkey press

Single row
Front raise with reverse curl

Day 3

Elevated squat left heel

Knee push-ups wide
Good mornings – seated
Swimmers press

Bent over row
Bent tricep kickback with row

Squats

keep your knees over your feet

back flat
chest up (don’t bend over)
try to sit as far back as possible

Day 1: put both heels up on something that is about an inch or less high (fold up a rug/towel).

Day 2: only elevate the right heel, with the left flat on the ground.

Day 3: only elevate the left heel, with the right flat on the ground.

Push-Ups

As I mentioned, because of the increase in repetitions, I modify the push-ups to allow me to do the extra reps.

Keep back in a neutral position.
For the knee position, start in plank then lower your knees to the ground.

Tabletop position: hands placed under your chest, knees under your hips so your body is making a tabletop.

Day 1: regular push-ups, but again, on the knees.

Day 2: get into tabletop position, then place your hands in a diamond shape (thumbs touching and pointer fingers touching but spread apart to form a diamond).

Day 3: hands should be placed a little farther out than shoulder width.

Good mornings

Feet shoulder-width apart (unless otherwise noted)
Knees slightly bent

Weight resting on back at shoulders

Day 1: hinge at the hips and lower head/shoulders to no lower than parallel to the ground, then raise back to standing.

Day2: same as day 1 but feet wider than shoulder-width.

Day 3: same as day 1 but seated with legs out to the sides.

Shoulders

Arnold Press

Standing straight up

Feed shoulder-width apart

Start with your arms in a goalpost position (out to the side, arms bent at a 90-degree angle straight up.

Bring arms together in front of your face, and try to touch weights/hands and elbows (straight up and down)

Back out to starting position

Then do a shoulder press.

Monkey Press

Similar to the Arnold press except with an added movement.

Make sure you’re using light weights the first time until you know how your arms will handle the extra movement.

Start with your arms in a goalpost position (out to the side, arms bent at a 90-degree angle straight up.

Lower weights so your arms are parallel with the ground, then back to starting position.

Bring arms together in front of your face, and try to touch weights/hands and elbows (straight up and down)

Then do a shoulder press.

Back down to starting position

Swimmer’s Press

Start with weights down at your side.

Raise them up to do a bicep curl

Then rotate them around as you continue to raise them above your head into a shoulder press.

Back

Feet about shoulder-width apart.
Bend forward with a straight back.
Arms hanging down with weights/palms facing away from the body.

Day 1: Bent over Row underhand

Raise both weights to your sides at the same time. Lower.

Day 2: Single Row

Same as above with the feet, back, and arms.

Raise one weight up at a time to your side with your elbow bent. Lower.

Day 3: Bent over row

Same as day 1 but with weights/palms facing the body.

Chest/Back/Shoulders

Lateral Raise

Standing straight up
Start with weights at your sides

Raise arms straight to the sides until parallel with the floor then lower.

Include a bicep curl to make it a compound move!

Lateral Front Raise

Start same as above.

Raise arms straight to the front until they are parallel to the floor

This time, include a reverse curl (make sure you’ve picked a lighter weight; keep hands facing away from you, with your arms still raised curl your arms to your biceps) then lower.

Bent tricep kickback

Begin in a partial squat, back straight but bent over, knees over feet

Raise elbows so they are at your sides then kick back your weights until your arms are straight and still at your sides.

Make it a compound move? Lower the weights so they are hanging in front of you each time to make it a row/kickback.

Hypertrophy workout

The Basics

3-4 sets
8-12 reps
1-2 minutes rest

The idea is that you will lift a weight that by the end of your 3rd or 4th set of doing 8-12 reps each you will be tired.

One more time 🙂 remember – not so tired that you can’t walk, sit or raise your hands but that if you had to do two to five more you’d really be struggling.

You want to keep good form.

Remember, you want to make sure you don’t hurt yourself.

The Exercises

Day 1

Squats
Chest press
Shoulder press
Deadlift
Single row

Day 2

Goblet squats
Military chest press
Military shoulder press
Split deadlift
Upright row

Day 3

Squat weights in front
Inclined chest press
Hammer shoulder press
Single leg deadlift
Bent over row

Squats

keep your knees over your feet
flat back
chest up (don’t bend over)
try to sit as far back as possible

Day 1: weights at shoulders.

Day 2: hold weight in front of your chest.

Day 3: hold weights in front.

Chest press

I don’t have a bench so I just lay on the floor. (Better if you have a way to let your elbows down past your chest and are able to keep the weights at chest level, ie- exercise ball, bench, etc.)

Day 1: lift weights a bit wider than shoulder-width.

Day 2: lift right over the shoulders.

Day 3: rotate hands so they are facing the body.

Shoulder press

Start with weights at your shoulders.

Day 1: raise weights straight up then back to start; day 2: keep weights/hands closer together; day 3: hands facing body.

Deadlift

Start with feet shoulder-width apart
Bend forward at the hips
Knees slightly bent
Back straight

Straighten your legs and stand up straight, keeping your weights ‘hanging’ and in front of you.

Split deadlift

See Deadlift above.

With this variation though, you’ll have one foot slightly in front of the other, still will feet shoulder-width apart.

Single leg deadlift

In this variation, you will have the majority of your weight on one foot. Your other foot will either be lightly rested on the floor or ‘floating’ behind you.

Otherwise, keep the same form.

Rows

Single row

Feet shoulder-width apart
Knees slightly bent
Slightly bent over with chest up
weights hanging down

Day 1: row each arm individually.

Either go back and forth or do a full set (8-12) with one arm then repeat on the other side.

Upright row

Start the same as a single row

Raise weights up to chest/shoulder height and lower.

Bent over row

Start the same as a single row

Row both arms at the same time, bringing the weights up to your sides, and then lower them.

And there you have it!

Phew!!!!

A great 12-week dumbbell workout plan.

12-Week Dumbbell Workout Phases