If you are looking to exercise and build muscle at home then some high-quality dumbbells are a great investment.

Whether you select to purchase multiple fixed-weight dumbbells or an adjustable set, this workout routine will help you to develop muscle.

I would suggest starting with 3 dumbbells (unless you can afford a whole set) and a thin looped resistance band.

If you are a bloke – perhaps look at 6kg, 16kg and 24kg dumbbells to start with

If you are a lady – 2kg, 8kg and 12kg – assuming you’ll be doing more reps and less weight.

Along with a thin (the thinnest) resistance band, and bodyweight exercises, this is plenty to get started on a home workout routine.

For more information about buying the right dumbbells, see this dumbbell buying guide.

Here’s a quick video showing some arm exercises you can do with a resistance band alone –

Exercise at your own risk

Where rep ranges are hyphenated – this denotes a rep range. For example, for dumbbell floor press, you want to complete 10 to 15 reps with perfect technique. Stop the exercise when your technique/form begins to falter.

Day 1

Exercise	Reps	Sets
Dumbell chest floor press	10-15	3
Dumbell chest flys (from the floor)	10	2
Press-ups	max	2
Lying tricep extensions	6-12	2
Skull crushers	6-12	2
Seated dumbbell tricep extensions	10-15	2
Crunches	Max (with good form)	2
Dorsal raises	Max	2
Dumbbell wood chops	8 a side	3

Day 3

Exercise	Reps	Sets
Dumbell one-arm row	8-12 per side	3
Dumbell rear delt flys	6-12	2
Single leg Glute Bridges	8-12	2
Lat pullovers	10-15	2
Renegade Row	10 per side	2
Dumbbell bicep curls	6-10 per arm	2
Plank hold	1 minute
Tib Raises	10	2
Lunges	20 (total)	2
Floor Leg Raises	Max	3

Day 5

Exercise	Reps	Sets
Dumbell squats	8-15	3
Dumbbell jumps	6	3
Dumbbell seated shoulder press	6-12	3
Dumbbell shrugs	12	2
Dumbbell lateral raises	8-15	2
Nordic curls (assisted to begin)	10	2
Crunches	Max	2
Single-leg hip raises	10 a side	2
Single leg calf raises	10-20 per leg	2

If you have limited space, and/or budget, adding a resistance band can add some great variety to your training. You want a thin band, without handles if you wish to combine it/them with a dumbbell.

In addition, a relatively light kettlebell can be used to perform a huge variety of exercises and can be easy to combine with a resistance band for variable resistance. You’ll need to create an anchor point to attach the resistance band too, or just stand on it/them.

Some of the exercises in the routine above are demonstrated in these videos:

Floor Dumbbell Chest Press

Floor Chest Fly

Lying Tricep Extensions

Dumbbell Lat Pullovers

Download the pdf workout programme here:

Click to access full-body-workout-routine-at-home-training-programme.pdf