How often do you start out with good intentions, telling yourself that you’ll go to the gym five times a week, only to find yourself falling off the fitness wagon a few weeks into your journey?
Finding the time to fit in multiple workouts per week can be hard to sustain, especially when you have a family or a hectic work schedule.
With this in mind, we spoke with Eric Bugera a personal trainer from Barbend, who has put together a comprehensive workout plan using just dumbbells and your body weight that hits every muscle group in just one session.
Be warned though, that this workout routine is pretty extensive.
The One Day a Week Workout Plan
- Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
- Goblet Squat: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
- Pull-Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Dumbbell Deadlift: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Muscles used: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps.
The incline dumbbell press is a great compound exercise for targeting your upper chest (pectoralis major), the front of your shoulders (anterior deltoids) as well as your triceps at the back of your arms.
To do this exercise, set up a workout bench to about 30 or 45 degrees and sit down holding the dumbbells upright on each of your thighs.
Lay down and hold the dumbbells shoulder-width apart over your chest with a slight bend in your elbows. Slowly control the weights down to your chest and extend your elbows to bring the weights back up to the top to perform a full rep.
Goblet Squats: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Muscles Used: Legs, Bum, Calves, Abs, Back
The goblet squat provides great bang for your buck, as it hits multiple muscle groups in one movement, including your quads, hamstrings, glutes (bum), and the stabilising muscles in your back and abs.
To perform the exercise, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead and hold a dumbbell close to your chest.
Keeping your back flat and hips back, bend your knees so that your bottom goes just below your knees. Use your bum and legs to push back up to a standing position to complete a full rep.
Pull-Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Muscles used: Back, Biceps, Abs.
The pull-up relies entirely on using your own body weight as the form of resistance and engages your back (latissimus dorsi), biceps and core.
To do a pull-up, start by standing below the pull-up bar and with your palms facing away from you, place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart on the bar.
Lift your feet off the floor so that you are handing from the bar, pull your shoulders back and down and pull yourself up so your chin comes over the bar.
Then control yourself back down to the original hanging position. For beginners, hanging a resistance band from the bar and looping your feet through it, will reduce some of the resistance and make the exercise easier to do if you are struggling.
Dumbbell Overhead Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Muscles used: Shoulders, Triceps, Upper Back, Upper Chest, Abs
The dumbbell overhead press works a plethora of muscles, with a focus on the three main heads of the shoulders (the posterior, medial and anterior deltoids) as well as hitting your triceps, upper back, shoulders and core.
To perform the overhead press, safely bend down and pick up a pair of dumbbells, one in each hand. Bend your elbows so that you are bringing the weights up to your body and tuck your elbows into your body with your palms facing each other holding the dumbbells.
Push the weights up so they are above your head and then control these down to the starting position for a full rep.
Dumbbell Deadlift – 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Muscles used: Bum, Legs, Lower Back, Calves
The deadlift is a staple compound exercise in weightlifting that can often be quite intimidating for beginners as it typically requires a barbell and proper form.
However, using dumbbells can be a much safer and easier way to master the technique while still working your hamstrings, quads, glutes, and core.
To perform the dumbbell deadlift, hold a dumbbell in each hand with your legs slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
While keeping your hips back and chest up, bend your knees with your back flat and lower the dumbbells over your shins stopping just before touching the floor.
Return to a standing position, making sure to squeeze your glutes throughout the movement for a full rep.