To give our metabolism a real boost, we need to lift weights. Let’s start the week with a 3 day dumbbell workout you can do at home or at the gym.
These workouts are balanced to train all major muscle groups and have the three key components of strength training.
When we strength train, we need to have movements that push, pull, and hip hinge.
Table of Contents
3 Day Dumbbell Workout for Women
Clients tell me frequently that they know they “should” be lifting weights, but they aren’t sure what to be doing.
I put together basic, effective dumbbell exercises that you can do anywhere.
How long is each workout?
You can adjust the workouts to meet your schedule.
Each workout has 6-8 individual exercises. You will need at least 10 minutes to perform a full round of exercises in a slow and controlled manner.
2 rounds of each exercise, including a brief rest between sets should take 20 minutes.
What size dumbbells do I need?
I recommend keeping a light and medium dumbbell set. Light can be 3 to 8 pounds and medium 10 to 15 pounds.
No other equipment needed, just space to move in 360 degrees without running into any furniture.
What if I don’t know the exercise?
No worries, it’s not uncommon for exercises to have multiple names. It can get confusing. What I call a sumo squat, you call a wide-leg squat.
ACE Fitness has a wonderful exercise library with video tutorials and descriptions for tons of moves.
The library also shows progressions for each exercise so that you can titrate up or down based on your needs.
How many repetitions or sets should I do?
Strength focus: lower repetitions 8 to 10 repetitions per set
Muscular endurance focus: 15 to 20 repetitions per set
None of the workouts listed below include power moves, so we aren’t looking to do a one-rep max effort. The goal is for you to feel fatigued at the end of each set.
Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Back and Chest
Day 3: Shoulders and Arms
3 Elements of Weight Lifting
When reflecting on your strength training for the week, I want you to ask yourself a question.
Do your workouts involve movements that push, pull, and hip hinge?
Push exercises involve muscles on the front of the body including chest, triceps, and shoulders.
Pull exercises involve muscles on the back of the body, including back, biceps, and rear deltoids.
Hip Hinge exercises involve major muscles of the legs and lower back to support the spine.
Ideally, you week’s worth of strength training will have all three of these components.
Bookmark this infographic below to help you put together a strength workout that includes push, pull, and hip hinge movements.
