by Lee Boyce Bodybuilding .com
AUTHOR PROFILE
Name: Lee Boyce
Occupation: Owner of Boyce Training Systems.
Website: leeboycetraining.com
Crowded gyms are a lifter’s worst nightmare, especially ill-equipped gyms with one or two power racks and a dearth of barbells. When you’re in a situation with too many trainees and not enough actual training equipment, it’s on you to go MacGyver and save your workout with a little creativity.
I worked at a commercial gym for many years. I witnessed peak hours stop lifters with good intentions dead in their tracks. People who beat traffic and made it to the gym first always hoarded the best equipment, leaving the stragglers to work in wherever possible. When I couldn’t stand the sickening pattern any longer, I created out-of-the-box dumbbell workouts which matched the intensity of heavy barbell training.
Dumbbell training became my secret weapon to ignite serious hypertrophy in sticky situations. Follow these body part splits to get big without barbells.
1 BACK
The back is packed with muscles which affect posture and respond well to high-rep training methods. These muscles are geared less toward explosiveness and more toward endurance, so you can lift heavy weight for a longer period of time. These exercises will help you build a barn-door back.
Dumbbell Back Workout
SUPERSET
Dumbbell Deadlift
5 sets of 10 reps
Wide-Grip Pull-Ups
5 sets to failure, rest 90 seconds between sets
SUPERSET
Dumbbell Rows
4 sets of 15 reps each arm
Inverted Rows
4 sets to failure, rest 90-120 seconds between sets
SUPERSET
Dumbbell Reverse Flyes
4 sets of 12 reps
Dumbbell Trap 3 Raise
4 sets of 12 reps each arm, rest 90 seconds
between sets
2 CHEST
Flyes and presses are the two best movement patterns for smoking your chest. The following “ladder” triset is a great method to exhaust your pectoral fibers from every angle.
Grab an adjustable bench, start with medium weights, and ramp up to a six-rep max so you lift as heavy as possible. By the end of this workout, your chest and triceps should be toast.
Dumbbell Chest Workout
TRISET
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
5 sets of 12-6 reps, last set to failure
45-Degree Incline Dumbbell Press
5 sets of 12-6 reps, last set to failure
Dumbbell Bench Press
5 sets of 12-6 reps, last set to failure, rest 2 minutes between sets
SUPERSET
Dumbbell Incline Flyes
4 sets of 10 reps
Bodyweight Push-Ups
4 sets to failure, rest 90 seconds between sets
3 LEGS
This is where things get really interesting. It’s very important to implement exercise grouping on leg day because dumbbells usually aren’t heavy enough to push the legs to max effort. Supersets and burnout sets with dumbbells are crucial to blast the legs into oblivion.
Dumbbell Legs Workout
SUPERSET
Bulgarian Split Squat
5 sets of 10 reps each leg
Goblet Squat
5 sets of 12 reps, rest 60-90 seconds
SUPERSET
Reverse Lunge from Deficit
4 sets of 10 reps each leg
Dumbbell Deadlift
4 sets of 10 reps, rest 60-90 seconds
Dumbbell Step-Up
4 sets of 10 reps each leg, rest 60-90 seconds
Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat
1 set to failure, rest 60-90 seconds
4 SHOULDERS
Shoulders, like chest, respond well to high volume and high intensity. The front delts take a beating on chest day, so focus your dumbbell movements on the side and rear delts to match the strength and size of your front delts.
Your first exercise, the seated dumbbell shoulder press, is an up-tempo ladder set with 10 seconds rest between sets. Grab dumbbells that represent your 10-12 rep max and repeat the entire ladder set for 5 rounds.
Dumbbell Shoulders Workout
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
5 ladder sets of 2, 3, 5, 10, 10, 5, 3, and 2 reps, rest 10 seconds between rungs
Ladder Set Technique: Each set has a multiple rep ranges. Each rung of the ladder will either increase or decrease in reps. After you complete a rung rest briefly and move to the next.
Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise
4 sets of 12 reps with 60-90 seconds rest
Single-Arm Dumbbell Snatch
4 sets of 10 reps each arm, rest 90 seconds
Seated Dumbbell Cleans
4 sets of 10 reps, rest 90 seconds
DON’T BE DUMB
No barbells, no problem. A poorly equipped gym isn’t an excuse to stand around looking at Facebook and playing the waiting game. Sometimes we get attached to barbell training, which can be too much of a good thing. As Lee Haney said, building muscle is also about stimulation and making subtle shifts, which means we must entertain unilateral training on occasion.
Why no arms workout? I don’t believe in isolating the arms too often—they get plenty of stimulation as secondary movers from the lifts above. As an added fact, the arms get stability work through dumbbell training as your forearms and upper arms handle individual loads. The above program isn’t just beneficial in a pinch; it’s a reliable plan to implement any time to shake up the status quo, bro.
Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/4-dy…-and-size.html
