How To Have Amazing Workouts With Only Dumbbells

Gabe Johansson
2 min readMar 1

One of the most useful pieces of gym equipment you’ll ever use is the classic dumbbell.

There’s so much you can do with a pair of 20lbs dumbbells, it’s kinda crazy to think about it.

You can do rows, curls, shoulder press, chest press, tricep extensions, squats, deadlifts, and a whole lot more.

You can train your forearms, tibialis (tibi-what?), and even your neck with just a dumbbell.

So if you don’t have a gym membership or a full home gym, no need to worry…

I got you covered.

Here’s what we’re gonna do:

Day 1: Push Day
Bench Press or Floor Press: 2 sets of AMRAP
Seated or Standing Shoulder Press: 2 sets of AMRAP
Chest Flys: 1 set of AMRAP
Overhead Tricep Extensions: 1 set of AMRAP
Standing Lateral Raises: 1 set of AMRAP

Day 2: Pull Day
Single Arm Rows: 4 sets of AMRAP
Standing Shrugs: 2 sets of AMRAP
Facepulls: 1 set of AMRAP
Supinating Bicep Curls: 1 set of AMRAP

Day 3: Leg Day
Goblet Squats: 3 sets of AMRAP
Romanian Deadlifts: 3 sets of AMRAP
Standing Calf Raises: 1 set of AMRAP

Now if you’re wondering what in the world AMRAP is…

I was in the same boat when I first got started.

It simply means ‘As Many Reps As Possible’ but there’s a very important thing to note here:

You only want to do as many reps as you can with great technique, because forcing reps with bad form is a one-way ticket to Painsville.

And we are training to improve our bodies, not break them.

So just keep that in mind.

This is something I had to learn after recovering from several easily-avoidable injuries, which is why I’m making such a big deal about using good technique.

Not sure how to do these exercises?

Gabe Johansson

Man. Husband. Father. Fitness Coach. I went from skinny fat to strong and fit. Now I'm on a mission to help 1000s get in great shape https://GainsWithGabe.com