Programme
SP Dumbbell Full Body
These programmes are general training information, not coaching and not medical advice. They cannot know your injury history, your health, or how you slept. Start at a weight you are certain you can control, stop if something hurts rather than aches, and if you are training around an injury or a health condition — or you have not trained before — get a professional's eyes on it first.
For a home setup or a gym with only dumbbells. Three full-body sessions a week that need a set of dumbbells and a flat bench, and nothing else. The legs are trained with lunges, done two ways, and a Romanian deadlift with dumbbells for the backs of the thighs. The exercise library has no goblet squat yet, so there is no squat here. If you can get to a barbell or machines, SP Foundations has a squat and SP First Steps has a leg press.
Day A
- Walking Lunge — 3 × 8–12 per leg
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift — 3 × 8–12
- Flat Dumbbell Press — 3 × 8–12
- Dumbbell One-Arm Row — 3 × 8–12
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press — 3 × 8–12
- Hammer Curl — 2 × 10–15
- Plank — 3 × 30–45s
Day B
- Dumbbell Lunge — 3 × 8–12 per leg
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift — 2 × 8–12
- Push-Up — 3 × 6–12
- Dumbbell One-Arm Row — 3 × 8–12
- Lateral Raise — 3 × 12–15
- Rear Delt Fly — 2 × 12–15
- Overhead Tricep Extension — 2 × 10–15
Train three days a week with a rest day between sessions, and alternate A and B, so one week runs A, B, A and the next B, A, B. The one-arm row is done on each arm in turn: a set is the reps on one side, then the same on the other. Each line gives a range. Stay at a weight until you reach the top of the range on every set with good form, then move to the next dumbbell up and start again at the bottom of the range; dumbbells go up in bigger steps than a barbell, which is what the range is for. If the heavier dumbbell drops you below the bottom of the range, go back to the lighter one for another week. If six good push-ups are out of reach, put your hands on the bench, and move back to the floor once you can do twelve.
The list
New kit, new programmes and training content, sent when there is actually something to say. No weekly nothing-emails.