Strive

A full-body home workout with one pair of dumbbells

No gym contract, no garage full of kit. Forty minutes, a bit of floor space and one pair of dumbbells is enough to get properly strong.

, 3 minute read

A pair of dumbbells, a skipping rope and trainers on a white floor

Gym memberships in South Africa aren't cheap, and the commute to one is often the real reason people stop going. A pair of dumbbells in the lounge removes both problems. You won't build a bodybuilder's physique with them, but you can get stronger, fitter and more capable, which is what most of us actually want.

Choosing your dumbbells

If you can only buy one pair, pick a weight you can press overhead about eight to ten times with good form. For many beginners that's somewhere between 4 kg and 10 kg each. It will feel too light for some exercises and too heavy for others. That's fine; you'll adjust with reps and tempo.

Adjustable dumbbells cost more up front but grow with you. A fixed pair is cheaper and quicker to use. Second-hand ones are a great buy, since steel doesn't wear out.

The workout

Do this two or three times a week, with at least a day between sessions. Warm up first with five minutes of anything that gets you moving: skipping, marching on the spot, arm circles, a few slow bodyweight squats.

Then work through the exercises in order. Do three rounds, resting about a minute between exercises and two minutes between rounds.

  1. Goblet squat, 10 to 12 reps. Hold one dumbbell vertically against your chest. Sit down between your heels, keep your chest up, and stand.
  2. Push-ups, as many good reps as you can, stopping one or two short of failure. Do them with your hands on a couch or step if floor push-ups are too hard.
  3. One-arm row, 10 reps each side. Put one hand and knee on a chair or couch, back flat, and pull the dumbbell towards your hip.
  4. Romanian deadlift, 10 to 12 reps. Hold both dumbbells in front of your thighs. With soft knees, push your hips back and lower the weights down your legs until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, then stand tall.
  5. Overhead press, 8 to 10 reps. Standing, press both dumbbells from shoulder height to straight overhead without arching your lower back.
  6. Reverse lunges, 8 reps each leg. Step back, lower your back knee towards the floor, and push through your front foot to stand.
  7. Dead bug, 8 reps each side. Lie on your back, arms up and knees bent at 90 degrees. Lower the opposite arm and leg slowly, keeping your lower back pressed into the floor.

That takes around 35 to 45 minutes.

How to keep progressing with fixed weights

The weight doesn't change, so something else has to:

  • Add reps until you hit the top of the range comfortably, then add a few more.
  • Slow down. Take three seconds to lower each rep. It's humbling.
  • Pause at the hardest point, like the bottom of a squat, for two seconds.
  • Go single-sided. Split squats instead of lunges, single-arm presses instead of both together.
  • Cut the rest from a minute to forty-five seconds.

When all of that starts to feel easy, it's time for a heavier pair.

Fitting it in

The best part of training at home is that a session can happen while supper's in the oven or during a load-shedding slot when the TV's off anyway. Leave the dumbbells somewhere you'll see them. Out of sight really is out of mind.