Like the idea of a dumbbell only workout routine but need it to be a 3 day routine? Check out this 3 day dumbbell only routine.

Diet and Nutrition Tips

You can beat your muscles down in the gym but the only way to recover (build) muscle is to fuel your body with quality food.

I try to stick to an 80/20 rule when I look at nutrition. This means that 80% of my meals are prepared by me and I make sure to get the best quality food that I can.

No, this doesn’t mean you have to get natural grass-fed free roaming cows who get messages every day and free range chickens who get to walk the beaches to benefit from eating whole foods.

Learn to Cook

Cooking isn’t as hard as you may think. I never was allowed in the kitchen as a child so trust me when I say anyone can do this with some patience. The trick is learning technique and then going after the complex meals.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know how to cook 5 course gourmet meals, but I have no problem eating enough varieties of a protein and vegetable to keep me happy. I made a pretty good meatloaf and lasagna once.

Long story short here is the sooner you learn to cook, the sooner you will notice changes in your performance and physique.

Recommended Supplements

Note: If you cannot get good foods into your mouth, this section is irrelevant. You really can’t out train and out supplement a crap diet.

Pre-Workout

I personally like apple mango, but all flavors are good.

This is a great blend without too many stimulants.

Protein

This is in my opinion the best tasting protein on the market. Period.

Great blend with no secrets, no , and it is some of the best in the industry.

So far I’ve had Red Velvet and Cookies and Cream. Both are A+.

BCAA

Marc Lobliner has his sweetening on point with these supplements.

I’ve used mixed berry and grape and I love them both.

Multi-Vitamin

Once you get your diet on point, taking a multi-vitamin is important as a strength athlete.

Get the most of your gains and life with this multi-vitamin.

Cardio and Conditioning Tips

I would recommend doing a short 20-30 minute cardio session post workout at least twice a week for .

If you are running low on time, a short 5-10 minute high intensity interval session at least twice per week will help with maximizing your progress.

Note: Some low intensity walking, hiking, bicycling, etc is helpful to improve your quality of life and recovery from your workouts.

Don’t Want to go to the Gym?

Maybe you don’t have time to go to the gym or you want to train at home… what next?

I’m going to provide some (affiliate) links to a few pieces of equipment that I’ve used or recommend using. This equipment will help you get the most out of training at home and using this routine at home.

Dumbbells

There are a lot of adjustable dumbbell sets out there and from my experience I recommend a set like .

These dumbbells are cost-effective and you can basically use as much weight you can put on them.

What’s so great about these?

If you get too strong for the weight you have, you can go to a sporting good place like Dicks Sporting Goods and buy more weights.

What sucks about these?

The only thing that sucks about these is having to change the weights. If you’re used to going to the gym and having a full rack of dumbbells, this may be a bit of an inconvenience to you.

One pro tip that I learned when training in a basement gym was to buy a couple sets of the handles and plenty of plates to have multiple sets of weights.

This way you can set up a set for curls, a set for shrugs, and a set for 1 arm dumbbell rows without having to switch weights between each exercise.

Bench

“You get what you pay for” is a saying that generally is true… especially with gym equipment.

You can get adjustable benches everywhere and if you aren’t too serious about training… I guess any bench would do.

If you are working on starting your own home gym or you really want a quality bench, York Barbell has some amazing products. I’m not an affiliate (I don’t think they have a program) but I will tell you if I could sell their equipment I would. I plan on buying this equipment if I get another place that I can build a home gym again.

Anyways, check out the bench . The site is definitely not award-winning and the lone picture definitely doesn’t show off what you would think a $200 bench would look like but if I could bench 500+ pounds I would trust that bench with my life.

It’s sturdy, wide, and perfect for anyone.

Again, I’m not telling you what to buy because I’ll make a buck, it’s because I stand by that product.

Workout Schedule

Here is a sample schedule:

• Day 1: OFF
• Day 2: Legs
• Day 3: Chest
• Day 4: OFF
• Day 5: Back
• Day 6: Shoulders
• Day 7: OFF

Ideally have at least 1 day of rest in between your 4 days, I would highly recommend running the schedule like this.

Legs Exercise Sets Reps 3 8 3 12 3 12 3 12

 

Chest Exercise Sets Reps 3 8 3 8 3 12 3 12 3 12

 

Back Exercise Sets Reps 3 8 3 8 3 12 3 12

 

Shoulders Exercise Sets Reps 3 8 3 12 3 12 3 12 3 12

 

If you decide to do this routine, be sure to know your limits. Performing the exercise correctly at a lower weight will build more muscle and strength than it will trying to push as much weight as possible. When you concentrate on every rep of every set of every exercise, you are making a better mind and muscle connection. With this power you can grow your muscles and create the physique you’ve always wanted.

Far too many people do not realize that you must add weight to each workout and progress so your body can adapt to the stress that is being put on it so always strive to add weight.

As always, be sure to comment or ask any questions below, I would be happy to answer them. Be sure to and sign up for updates!