Dumbbell fitness program for building muscle at home

★ Posted on 11-17,2024

Tip: This plan is suitable for exercising at home. For each exercise (3 times a week), just follow the sequence of actions below.

A few years ago, I got to know an old man who lived alone on the outskirts of the city. His friends called him John, and others called him Giant.

He has a back as broad as a movie screen, arms like a club, chest like armor, and deltoid muscles like a Roman melon. Although he is over 70 years old, he is still very strong.

Once, when a local bodybuilding star visited him, he was training in the stable. The strange thing was that the only training equipment he had was dumbbells. In other words, he built these incredible muscles entirely with dumbbells. In fact, dumbbells are not the key to the problem, the key lies in how to use dumbbells. Of course, he doesn't practice all the movements in every training, nor does he practice his whole body in every training. Generally, he chooses a combination of 2 to 3 movements, and does 3 to 4 groups of each movement, training one body part at a time. This method is very good, and his training method is introduced below.

1. Dumbbell rowing

Viewed from the side. John's back muscles were at least 4 inches thicker (1 inch = 25.4 mm). Viewed from the front, his back resembled the head of an angry cobra. Such beautiful back muscles are developed by using dumbbell rowing, because this action allows him to stretch and contract the latissimus dorsi to the maximum extent. He bent one leg on the bench, bent the other leg slightly, stepped on a 6-inch-high wooden platform, leaned his upper body forward, lowered the dumbbell as hard as he could to stretch the latissimus dorsi, and then lifted the dumbbell up until both hands Beyond the forward leaning upper body. When lowering the dumbbell, the lowest point is deeper than that of ordinary people. Try to fix the shoulders during the entire movement and prevent them from swinging excessively. Do 8 times in one set.

2. Recumbent Flying Bird

Lie on your back on a sloped stool to fully stretch your chest muscles and fully stimulate them. When doing it, cross your legs and keep your feet off the ground to avoid arching your back and weakening the training effect. The dumbbells do not touch when raised to the highest point, and the elbows are slightly bent when lowered. He said that when flying, you should imagine holding a big bucket. Only in this way can the correct action be ensured. The weight of the dumbbell is a weight that can only be lifted 8 to 10 times as hard as possible.

3. Lie on your back and hold your chest

Lie on your back on a bench, with your body perpendicular to the bench, the middle and upper part of your back touching the bench surface, your head in the air, your feet on the ground, and your arms kept straight during the movement. Pay attention to your breathing, exhale when the dumbbell is raised from the lowest point, and inhale when the dumbbell is lowered from the highest point. The drop must be sufficient, so that the dumbbell almost touches the ground. Do 20 times in one set.

4. Leaning over the bird

John said this is the most effective way to widen the shoulders. Every time he trains the shoulders, he puts this action at the forefront, because the rear deltoid muscles are the least easy to train and the hardest to grow. He placed a towel on a stool that was half a person's height and pressed his forehead against the towel. Both arms are slightly bent and raised sideways, and they are externally rotated so that the thumbs point to the ground. Raise the arms until the elbows are slightly above the shoulders, and then slowly lower them back down. Generally do 12 to 15 times.

5. Arnold’s move up

The raise is as important to the shoulder muscles as the squat is to the quadriceps. Sometimes he does standing presses, sometimes seated presses, and sometimes shoulder presses (this action 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 support on the back or fix it with a belt to prevent the shoulders from swinging unstable.

This action is more difficult than ordinary dumbbell lifts, so the weight should be slightly lighter. At the beginning, hold the bell with the palms of your hands facing the side of your shoulders. When lifting, the wrists are externally rotated, and when it reaches the highest point, the palms face forward. The trick to this movement is to keep your elbows straight. Do 6 to 12 times in one group.

Bent over support arm flexion and extension

Six. Lean over and raise

He first does a few sets of 20 warm-up exercises with small weight, and then gradually increases the weight and decreases the number of times. The action is to lean the upper body forward and parallel to the ground, so that the upper arms are close to the side of the body and the palms of the hands face each other. With the elbow joint as the axis, lift the bell and extend it straight until it is slightly higher than the back, so that the triceps brachii can receive greater stimulation. When your arms are stretched to the limit, rotate your wrists 90 degrees to fully tighten your triceps. Do 6 reps with heavy weight.

7. Supine arm flexion and extension

​Lie on your back on a flat bench, with your feet off the ground and your legs crossed, your head slightly raised from the bench, your hands holding bells with palms facing each other, and your upper arms and torso fixed at a 45-degree angle. Do arm flexion and extension movements, one set of 6 to 12 times.

8. Incline plank arm curl

John said that the upper arm should not leave the inclined plate during the movement, and ensure that the arm is fully extended, but not excessive. This is the most important thing to pay attention to.

Alternate between arms to focus more on concentration and improve biceps separation. During the curling process, the biceps are always in a contracted state. Therefore, the arms should not be close to the shoulders when curling, otherwise the biceps will get a temporary rest and the training intensity will be reduced. Do 5 to 7 times per group with heavy weight, and 12 to 20 times per group with light weight.

9. Thumb upward curl

This action is to increase the fullness of the biceps and the separation of the brachialis. Hold a dumbbell in each hand hanging by the side of the body, palms facing each other, and curl upwards keeping the palms inward and the thumbs upward. When the dumbbells are raised to your chest, turn your wrists so that your palms face upward. Do g times in one set without moving your upper arms during the action.

10. Single-leg squat

In order to make his thighs thick and beautiful, John practiced single-leg squats. He does not count the number of times, but each set must be no less than 12 times and a maximum of 50 times.

He does this exercise with plenty of weight, focusing on correctness of movement and feel in his quadriceps. Practice without rest until you feel a burning sensation in your quadriceps. During the movement, be sure to keep your knees and toes in the same plane to avoid injury. He usually squats until his hips are lower than his knees, so that the shape of his thighs can be more beautiful and his muscles can grow faster. Stand on a bench and let the other leg hang naturally. Hold the dumbbells by your sides or place the dumbbells on your shoulders.

Dumbbell Deadlift

Eleven. Straight-leg deadlift

This exercise is to strengthen the latissimus dorsi. Stand, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your side, facing each other. Lean the upper body forward, and at the same time rotate the arms so that the palms of the hands are facing the fibula, raise the head, and bend the knees slightly to fully stretch the back without any discomfort. Then. Pull the dumbbells up while rotating your arms to face each other. Do 6 reps per group.

If you can master the above eleven movements well. You can build beautiful muscles without going to the gym.

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