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FREE 12 week dumbbell workout plan (with printable PDF): Get stronger, build muscle, and lose fat at home or in the gym.

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Intro: 12 week dumbbell workout plan 

Are you new to working out and feeling lost about where to begin with strength training?

Would you consider yourself more on the intermediate to advanced side and want a new, challenging workout program to try?

Look no further than this free 12 week dumbbell workout plan.

You can do the entire program from the comfort of your own home. 

(Workout in PJs if you want to).

And I kid you not. 

Literally, all you need are some dumbbells and a little bit of floorspace. 

See what I did there?

My website… Floorspace Fitness? 

All bad jokes aside, this program is designed to help you build muscle and strength as well as lose body fat so that, ultimately, you can achieve your ideal toned physique that turns heads whenever you walk by.  

When people ask how you got like that, you can point them in the direction of this dumbbell workout plan. 😉

Following this plan means you won’t have to question “What should my workout look like tomorrow?” or for many, many, many days after that.

I got ya covered for the next THREE MONTHS.  

As a bonus, I’ve also included 3 super quick and gritty core workouts for you to have some fun with (and by fun I mean your core will be on fire like a candle).

What equipment will I need for this 12 week dumbbell workout plan? 

Just a pair of dumbbells, that’s it.

In my humble opinion, dumbbells are the most versatile piece of workout equipment there is.

You can do all the same exercises with dumbbells you can with a barbell and dumbbells recruit more muscles.

The weight gets unequally distributed with dumbbells so your smaller, unsung stabilizer muscles get called upon to help you maintain balance.

I will say that to get the most out of this dumbbell workout program, you’ll need dumbbells of varying weights (whether that means investing in a pair of adjustable dumbbells or buying pairs of dumbbells that are different in weight). 

You won’t be able to truly challenge yourself by lifting the same amount of weight for each exercise and challenging yourself is the only way to see results with this workout plan.

For example, you’ll lift heavier weight on an exercise like squats (which works your entire lower body) than you would bicep curls (only targets your biceps).

Or let’s take bench press vs. an exercise like leg extensions.

Bench press recruits many muscles in your upper body, like  in your chest, triceps, and shoulders.

Whereas leg extensions are an isolation movement (exercises only working one muscle group at a time) that targets just your quads.

These next two words will make or break your workout progress…

Progressive overload.

It’s the one workout principle, above anything else, that will make or break your strength training success.

Progressive overload is the act of gradually increasing the amount of weight you lift over time.

It’s the “change” or stimulus your body needs to keep adapting and making progress. 

You won’t be able to effectively apply this principle to your muscles if you just use the same weight for all exercises.

Overview: 12 week dumbbell workout plan

Above is a nice little summary but let’s talk about things in a little more detail.

Progam objectives 

Obviously, you’re going into this workout program with goals of losing fat, building muscle, getting stronger. 

But something you should know is that you can achieve so much more than just physical results by following this program for the next 12 weeks.

You’ll notice I put “gain confidence and discipline” in the table above.

When you commit to seeing a workout program through, guess what that does?

It trains your body and mind to become more resilient.

You will have grinded and gritted your teeth to push through tough workouts. 

You will have gotten up and worked out even when your motivation tank was running on E.

That builds confidence and you start to believe in yourself more and more because of it.

You develop this discipline where, no matter the situation, you know you have what it takes to persevere and make things happen.

You know you can face even the hardest of challenges head-on and come out on the other side having chewed that challenge up and spit it back out like a piece of gum. 

In a nutshell, your commitment to improving your physical fitness carries over into all the other areas of your life and has a positive impact. 

Who is the program for?

This program is for beginners, yeah.

But that’s not all who it’s for.

If you’ve been lifting weights for a little bit, truuuuust me–

The workouts on this 12 week dumbbell workout plan are NO JOKE, I can promise you that. 🫡 

What equipment will I need?

You know this by now but all you need are some dumbbells. 

Again, to get something out of this program it’s best to have either:

A.) A pair of adjustable dumbbells or–

B.) Dumbbells of varying weights from light to heavy (whatever that looks like for you). 

How many days will I workout each week?

You have two options for your 12 week dumbbell workout plan. 

You can either workout 3 or 4 days a week. 

• The 3 day workout plan is split up like this: Lower body, upper body, full body
• The 4 day workout plan looks like this: Upper/lower split.

You don’t have to choose the same exact days to workout from the examples below.

It’s just to give you some ideas.

3 days per week dumbbell workout plan:

• Monday–lower body
• Wednesday–upper body
• Friday–full body

4 days per week dumbbell workout plan:

• Monday–lower body
• Tuesday– upper body
• Thursday–lower body
• Friday–upper body

On the other days you’re not working out, you are…RESTING.

The only “exercise” you should get on your rest days is your daily 7,500-10,000 steps.

Progress happens during recovery so if you don’t give your body a chance to rest, what are you not going to do?

Make progress.

Here’s something I want to point out about choosing your workout schedule:

Pick an option (either 3 or 4 days a week) and stick with it for the duration of the program. 

If you start with the 3 day option, stick to that for the entire 12 weeks. 

If you go with the 4 days per week option, same thing.

The program is designed to help you make the most progress possible.

If you’re just hopping around like a kangaroo, mixing and matching workouts, choosing to workout 3 days one week and then 4 days the next, you won’t get what you could out of your workout plan. 

Changing up your workouts may sound nice but it doesn’t “confuse your muscles” and lead to more progress. 

It does the opposite.

How long will each workout take?

Each workout should take you roughly 45 minutes.

Keep this in mind: We’re going for workout intensity > workout length here. 

As long as you’re training near failure (1-2 or 3 reps shy of not being able to perform any more reps) and progressively lifting heavier weight over time (remember our friend progressive overload?), this 12 week dumbbell workout plan will absolustely FRY your entire body (in a good way). 

What if I don’t know how to perform a specific exercise?

Included in your 12 week dumbbell workout plan is an exercise library of GIFs showing you how to correctly perform every single movement.

Here’s an example:

Within your plan, you’ll also have alternative variations to do if a particular exercise is a little too challenging for you right now or you don’t feel comfortable performing the original movement.

Here’s an example workout of what to expect on your dumbbell workout plan:

12 week dumbbell workout plan: Best tips

Dumbbell workout plan tip #1: Focus on the eccentric phase of your lifts

The eccentric part of your lift = lowering the weight down (which makes the concentric phase pressing the weight back up). 

For example:

• Squat eccentric phase: Lowering yourself to the ground.
• Bicep curls eccentric phase: Lowering the weight away from your body toward the ground.
• Bench press eccentric phase: Lowering the weight down to your chest.

Instead of flying through your reps at the speed of light, relaaaaax.

Slow things down a little and try to take 2-3 seconds (or maybe even longer) to lower the weight down.

This will place greater tension on your muscles.

Increasing muscle tension is another way to apply progressive overload and get more out of your workouts.

Dumbbell workout plan #2: Rest, rest, rest between sets

Your strength training workouts are not meant to be cardio.

Unlike a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, those two things are better off separately. 

I get it.

You may feel like you’re working hard jumping from set to set and exercise to exercise without resting much.

You’re sweating buckets and your lungs are begging for mercy as you struggle to catch your breath.

You are WORKIN’ 🥵

Or are you? 🤔

If you’re a professional athlete who needs cardio or someone who just wants to build up their endurance, sweet sauce, go for it.

But if your goal is to lose fat, build muscle and just overall transform your physique, then you aren’t truly “working” by doing that.

You’re working when you lift as heavy as you possibly can and that only happens when you take enough rest between sets. 

Sweating or being out of breath means nothing in the fat loss or muscle-building department. 

Dumbbell workout plan tip #3: Effort is key

When I say effort, I’m talking about two things.

1.) Showing up (especially on those days you don’t even feel like it) and giving it your best.

You won’t always feel motivated but results come down to taking action regardless of how you feel. 

2.) Training intensity.

The end of your sets shouldn’t feel like this:

Those last 1-2 reps in your sets, you should really feel it.

It should take a significant amount of grit, effort, and clenching of teeth to get the weight up.

If you just coast through your workouts, you’ll get coast-worthy results (so, not much).

Dumbbell workout plan tip #4: You don’t need to be perfect, just consistent

Don’t fall into the trap of saying screw it when things can’t go 100% according to plan.

Being perfect doesn’t drive results. 

Being consistent does.  

It’s not what you do all the time but what you do MOST OF THE TIME that counts.

Life’s not perfect and it won’t always be wrapped up in this nice little bow for you all the time.

Break free from that all-or-nothing way of thinking where you just don’t do something if it can’t be done 100% perfectly.  

Let’s say you’re just super swamped one day.

You barely have time to eat lunch, let alone workout. 

Rather than saying “screw it” just do what you have time for.

If 20 minutes is all you have to give then 20 minutes it is.

If it’s only 15 minutes then look at it as an opportunity to have the best 15 minute workout of your life. 

Something is ALWAYS better than nothing.

Literally.

The last time I checked, any number is greater than 0.

Dumbbell workout plan tip #5: Follow the program

Don’t skip around, don’t pick and choose which exercises you like. 

To get the best results, you need to follow the program the way it’s written.

Pick one workout schedule (either 3 days or 4 days a week) and stick to it.

Skipping around and only doing the exercises you like or following the 3 day plan one week and then the 4 day plan the next won’t get you the results you’re looking for.

Random workouts lead to random results.

Remember, if there’s a particular exercise you’re struggling with, I’ve included alternatives for you to do.

Working out is great buuuuut…

You’ll have a better chance of it raining orange juice from the sky than you will see results with a poor diet (Don’t think you can out-exercise your fork).

That’s why I created this macro-counting checklist guide to help you nail down your nutrition. 

If you want to learn how to make healthier, more nutritious food choices but still enjoy your favorites (all while seeing progress), this guide is calling your name.

Frequently asked questions

How many days a week should I do a dumbbell workout?

This 12 week dumbbell workout plan has both 3 and 4 day a week options.

You don’t have to workout on the same days as the example below but here’s how your workout schedule could look for each option:

3 days per week dumbbell workout plan:

• Monday–lower body
• Wednesday–upper body
• Friday–full body

4 days per week dumbbell workout plan:

• Monday–lower body
• Tuesday– upper body
• Thursday–lower body
• Friday–upper body

Can you lose weight with just dumbbell workouts?

I don’t want you to look at this dumbbell workout plan as the be-all-end-all for weight loss.

In fact, I don’t want you to think about working out that way period.

You lift weights to get stronger and build muscle.

Yeah, that’ll help you achieve the physique you’re after but it’s so much more than that.

Building muscle will help you remain functional and maintain your independence as you age. 

Strength training improves bone density, which is a main reason why women especially should be lifting weights. 

It’s also great for your mindset and mental health. 

Place less emphasis on weight “loss” and how many calories you burn during your workouts and focus more on all the positive “additions” lifting weights and exercise provide you.

Are 20 pound dumbbells good for beginners?

They may be, they may not be.

Everyone’s different so what’s a challenging weight for you will be different than what a challenging weight for someone else is.

It also depends on the exercise.

You’ll be able to lift heavier weight on an exercise like squats than you would tricep extensions. 

You can bench press more weight than you would an exercise like side lateral raises.

The most important thing is to not lift with your ego.

Choose a weight you can maintain proper form while performing all reps. 

Correct form = Control the weight on the eccentric portion of the movement and really squeeeezing the muscle as you press the weight up (concentric phase). 

No swinging or using momentum.

You’re in charge here, not the weights.  

If you have to go a little lighter, do that.

Why do I need a workout plan?

Not having a plan would be like throwing a dart at the dartboard blindfolded and hoping you hit a bullseye. 

Would you be confident in achieving the result you want?

When you have a plan, you create structure and forge a strategic path toward your goals.

You know what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it, how your workouts will look, etc.

And having that structure is the most effective way to make progress.