There’s so much advice out there about how to train strength train, but when you’re a total beginner you don’t need fancy equipment or expensive gym memberships to see results.
All you really need is a pair of dumbbells, which you can use to target muscles across the entire body.
Jennifer Martin is a personal trainer and she says there’s a simple dumbbell routine she always recommends to beginners.
“These are exercises I incorporate into my strength workouts every single week,” she tells Fit&Well.
“These exercises are great because they will help you build muscle and feel stronger doing everyday activities,” says Martin.
We couldn’t agree more, and you’ll find many of the same exercises in our beginner workout plan.
How to do Jennifer Martin’s beginner strength workout
Ideally, you’ll have a few sets of dumbbells for this workout so you can use different weights for different exercises.
Martin recommends pairs of light (2-5lb), moderate (8-10lb) and heavy (10-15lb) dumbbells.
If you only have one set of weights, that’s OK too. Opt for a lighter set for the harder exercises and double up with two dumbbells on exercises that engage more muscle groups.
Martin suggests using your medium or heavy dumbbell for most of the exercises, apart from chest presses, where you might want to opt for lighter dumbbells. Use one medium or heavy dumbbell for the goblet squat and glute bridge.
Watch Martin’s Reel above to see the reps and sets for each move.
Shop dumbbells
For affordable, fixed-weight dumbbells, we recommend this well-made and reliable option from Amazon.
An affordable way to add adjustable dumbbells to your home set-up, but be aware the spinlock mechanism means weight changes take a little time.
Expensive, but you can switch between the eight weight settings quickly—it’s a pair you’re unlikely to outgrow.
How often to do this workout
This is a full-body workout, which Martin recommends for beginners, to ensure they’re consistently targeting a wide range of muscles. “Start with two to three total-body workouts per week,” says Martin.
“Make sure your last one to two reps are challenging,” says Martin. If they aren’t challenging, it’s probably time to increase the weight and Martin says that progressive overload—which involves increasing the weights you’re lifting over subsequent workouts—is how to make sure you get stronger.
Follow this advice and you’ll start to feel stronger in a matter of weeks.
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