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You’ll Transform Your Body And Crush Your Goals With This 12-Week Dumbbell Strength Plan

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You’ll Transform Your Body And Crush Your Goals With This 12-Week Dumbbell Strength Plan

Eli Schmidt

You’ve been hitting the weights hard, knocking out biceps curls and lunges—but you’re not seeing the results you want. It’s a common problem, and one that often requires shelling out money for a personal trainer to address. That’s why Women’s Health created The Woman’s Guide to Strength Training: Dumbbells, a free perk when you sign up for our WH+ Premium All Access Membership. This book will guide you through a 12-week dumbbell strength-training plan designed to help you get the results you’re looking for. It’s basically like having a personal trainer in your back pocket for every workout—and for a fraction of the cost.

Here’s what you’ll get in the book:

  • A 12-week dumbbell strength-training program for all levels
  • Strategies for how to tailor your routine to fit your goals
  • An easy guide for figuring out how much weight to lift to maximize your gains
  • Expert-backed advice on how to tap into the mind-muscle connection to make every rep more efficient
  • Bonus: Your Women’s Health + Premium All-Access subscription unlocks our full library of exclusive challenges and guides, 450+ streaming workouts, unlimited access to WomensHealthMag.com, and a subscription to the print magazine.
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a person in a fitted black athletic outfit posing confidently

Nellie Barnett, CPT, is the founder of Nellbells Fitness.

Why devote yourself to a dumbbell-exclusive workout program? Well, dumbbells can do everything a room of fancy gym equipment can do—and more. “Unlike weight machines, which often focus on a single muscle, dumbbells allow you to move in a wider range of motion while isolating a single muscle or incorporating movements that simultaneously work various body parts,” says program creator Nellie Barnett, CPT, in the book.

And while all resistance training strengthens your stabilizer muscles, which keep you steady and lower your risk of injury, dumbbell exercises take it a step further. “They require your body to counter the weight you’re holding, especially when performing single arm or single leg movements,” Barnett says in the book. This functional training will make everything you do on your feet easier—from walking up the stairs to putting dishes away.

Ready to become your strongest self, inside and out? Here’s what to expect in The Woman’s Guide to Strength Training: Dumbbells, including the 12-week strength-training plan, and why this program really works.

Become a Women’s Health+ Premium All Access member today to get free access to The Woman’s Guide to Strength Training: Dumbbells and unlock our full library of WH Challenges and Guides.

Meet your trainer:

Nellie Barnett, CPT, is the founder of Nellbells Fitness. An alum of theWomen’s Health Strength in Diversity class of 2023, she discovered her passion for fitness when strength training transformed her own life, both mentally and physically. As a trainer, she specializes in strength training to help women build muscle, move with ease, and take control of their life to thrive.

Your 12-Week Dumbbell Strength-Training Plan

This plan—designed for all fitness levels—features three different stages lasting four weeks each, as well as an optional two-week prep stage at the beginning. You’ll work out three to four times a week, with each strength-training session lasting about 30 to 45 minutes. All you need is three pairs of dumbbells (keep reading to figure out the right weight for you) and a yoga mat.

The book also includes suggestions for how to spend rest days and active recovery days. These recommendations will help you get the most out of this program—even when you’re not working out!

nellie barnett

Eli Schmidt

Here’s what to expect in each stage:

person exercising in athletic wear raising a knee
person performing a squat exercise

Weeks 1 and 2

Prep Stage: Proper Form

This stage is optional, but encouraged for those who don’t work out regularly. You’ll learn how to execute just two moves a day, so you can focus on mastering proper form. During week 1, you’ll use only your body weight to perform each move, and in week 2, you’ll use light dumbbells.

Schedule: Five strength-training days of two moves each

Join WH+ For Your Free 12-Week Training Plan

person performing a strength training exercise with dumbbells
person performing a strength exercise with dumbbells

Weeks 1 to 4

Stage 1: Mind-Muscle Connection

Engaging the right muscles is the first step to getting the results you want, decreasing your risk of injuries, and helping prevent muscle imbalances. That’s why this phase will train you to actively think about the muscles you’re using during each move—honing that mind-muscle connection. By the end of these four weeks, you’ll be fully locked in to each exercise, gearing you up to increase your intensity.

Schedule: Three strength-training days, one active recovery day, and three rest days

person performing a weightlifting exercise while lying on their back
person performing a fitness exercise with dumbbells

Weeks 5 to 8

Stage 2: Leveling Up

Now that you’re comfortable with each exercise, you can up the intensity with progressive overload. This is when you gradually increase the difficulty level to stimulate muscle growth—through more reps, more weight, greater frequency of workouts, and greater number of exercises. Hello, gains!

Schedule: Four strength-training days, one active recovery day, and two rest days

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person performing a lunge exercise with dumbbells beside a stool
person performing an overhead weightlifting exercise while kneeling

Weeks 9 to 12

Stage 3: Bring the Heat

Turn up the intensity even more in this final stage with advanced techniques and heavier weights for optimal muscle growth and definition. You’re almost there!

Schedule: Four strength-training days, one active recovery day, and two rest days

Why This Program Works

  • It’s accessible. Dumbbells are inexpensive, and each session is under one hour.
  • The workout is approachable for any fitness level since it’s broken down into three distinct phases, which will make it feel more manageable and establish checkpoints for you to celebrate how far you’ve come.
  • It takes the guesswork out of creating a balanced exercise routine, with workouts, active recovery days, and rest days built in.
  • Since each of the three stages lasts four weeks, you’ll have enough time to get comfortable with each movement before ramping up the difficulty.
  • It’ll improve your strength and muscle tone with progressive overload, where you gradually increase the intensity of the workout.
  • It can help with injury prevention through strengthening your muscles and improving your balance.

Ready to try a strength training program that actually works? Join WH+ Premium All Access now to access 12 weeks of effective workouts.

Dumbbell Training FAQs

Well, what are you weight-ing for? Become a Women Health+ Premium All Access member to receive your free hard copy of The Woman’s Guide to Strength Training Dumbbells in the mail.

Photography by Eli Schmidt. Styling by Rose Lauture. Hair and Makeup by Paige Achkov.

Headshot of Addison Aloian

Addison Aloian is the assistant love & life editor at Women’s Health and a NASM-certified personal trainer (CPT). She covers all things lifestyle, astrology, relationships, and fitness. In her free time, you can find her lifting weights at the gym, running on the West Side Highway in New York City, and watching (and critiquing!) the latest movies that have garnered Oscars buzz. In addition to Women’s Health, her work has also appeared in Allure, StyleCaster, L’Officiel USA, V Magazine, VMAN, and more.

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