Welcome to The Dumbbell Strength SERIES 1 Program
This program is for anyone who is looking to get stronger but may not have access to a lot of heavy weights, isn’t comfortable with a barbell, shouldn’t be placing excessive load on the joints, or simply wants to develop strength in a new way.
PROGRAM NOTES
WHY THIS PROGRAM IS AWESOME
By moving slowly, you increase muscle activity and muscle fiber recruitment. So, the same fast twitch muscle fibers that are firing during a really heavy squat, deadlift, press etc will also fire when moving a much lighter load at a very slow tempo.
The risk of injury is drastically reduced when moving slowly through a range of motion so this program is great for those who are coming back after an injury or long period of time off, and for those looking to build up their bodies to better protect themselves from injury.
Spending more time under tension also places a greater demand on the core. Increasing core strength, especially through compound, functional movement also lends itself to overall strength adaptations and injury prevention.
The Dumbbell Strength sessions are designed to be customized to be more accessible OR more challenging. So you can run through the first series of 12 sessions more than once and continue to get stronger!
HOW TO USE
1-2 sessions a week for 6-12 weeks. These sessions bring a different type of intensity that you may not be used to. We recommend that you treat these sessions as your only resistance training for the day at first, rather than stacking them with the Street Parking Daily Workouts.
Each session should take about 30 minutes, some will take longer and some maybe a bit shorter. Including a proper warm up, give yourself at least 45 minutes for the session.
Over time, if you do decide to combine these with the Street Parking Daily Workouts, we recommend that you do the DB Strength session first, if there is a finisher for that day, skip it and go into the Daily Workout.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF IT
Go slow! The more time you spend under tension, the more muscle fibers will join the party.
Unless otherwise stated, all reps are performed unbroken and most sets are going to take a minute or more. That is a lot of time under tension, so choose lighter weights to start.
Watch the clock or count out loud “1 one thousand, 2 one thousand” for the first set or two to get a feel for the speed you should be moving based on the coaching notes for the session.
FORM FIRST! If you can maintain really nice form and position even in those later rounds and sets, not only will it lead to greater strength gains and expression, but it will also improve your form, efficiency, and ultimately your performance in the high intensity, faster paced workouts Street Parking offers. But, if you are spending a lot of time under tension in a bad position, it works the other way too!
WARM UP VIDEO
DUMBBELL STRENGTH PROGRAMMING
SESSION 1
PART 1
4 Sets of:
6-8 Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats (Left)
6-8 Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats (Right)
—1 min of slow continuous movement per leg
PART 2
4 Sets of:
16 Alternating Floor Press (8 Right/8 Left)
—Rest 1 min between sets
PART 3
Finisher: 5 Minutes of
Sets of 5 Burpee Squat Jumps
—Rest 10-20 seconds between sets
Suggested Weight:
Men: 30-40# DBs
Women: 20-30# DBs
COACHES NOTES
This is day 1 so the name of the game is really to just get familiar with spending this much time under tension. You will feel antsy in the first few reps because you are moving so slow. Then, you may be tempted to speed up in the last few reps to escape the burn and get the set over with, don't give in to it!! The weight will start to feel very heavy eventually, so start light!
—REAR FOOT ELEVATED SPLIT SQUATS
Place a bench, step, or stack of plates behind you about 2 feet. Place either the top of one foot or the ball of the foot on the step so you are in a lunge position with the rear foot elevated. The ideal height is 16-20 inches - higher does not mean harder. Make sure your stance is long enough that your front heel stays down during the split squat. Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides, or a single dumbbell in the goblet position. Keep your belly tight and chest up as you bend the front knee and slowly lower the back knee toward the floor. The front knee may come forward a couple of inches but keep the front heel down. Lower until the front hip crease is below the knee. The back knee may or may not touch the floor. Press through the front heel, keep the belly tight and chest up as you come back up. Maintain a slight bend in the front knee in the top position.
—ALTERNATING FLOOR PRESSES
Keep the non-pressing arm active in the bottom of the floor presses. The elbow and back of the arm should remain a few inches off the floor at all times. It's 8 per side and all 16 reps should take about a minute of slow continuous movement. Avoid letting the elbow track too far from the body, it should remain within 45° to the ribs the whole time.
—BURPEE SQUAT JUMPS
Think of this as short bursts of 5 reps with enough rest in between bursts to keep the intensity high, during. Coming out of the floor position on the burpee, jump your feet into the bottom of a squat rather than the usual forward fold position. Jump as high as you can coming out of the squat. Focus on a good landing position before starting the next rep.
SESSION 2
PART 1
5 Sets of:
7 Sumo Two Head Touch Dumbbell Deadlifts
—Rest 1 min between sets
PART 2
5 Sets of:
7 Left Arm Bent Over Row w/3 second hold
7 Right Arm Bent Over Row w/3 second hold
—Rest 1 min after you've completed a set with both arms
PART 3
Finisher: 5 Minutes of
Sets of 5 Double Dumbbell Snatches*
—Rest 20-30 seconds between sets
*No more than 10 sets. These should be very well set up and extremely explosive on the way up. Lower to the shoulder, then the hang, then slowly to the floor.
Suggested Weight:
Men: 35-50# DBs
Women: 25-35# DBs
COACHES NOTES
Make sure you are staying braced in the deadlifts. We want to be feeling these in the butt, inner thighs, and hamstrings more than the low back. A set of 7 should take at least a minute each time for both the deadlifts and the bent over rows. Keep in mind that the finisher is about applying your strength to create short bursts of power, not so much conditioning. Don't try to get as many rounds as possible just for the sake of it. Focus on generating as much power as you can in each rep. If form is slipping, drop to sets of 3.
—SUMO DEADLIFTS
Just go single head touch on the deadlifts if your back or shoulders start to round forward near the bottom. Try to follow a tempo of 3 seconds to stand, 1 second pause at the top, 3 seconds to lower, brief contact with the ground to start the next rep. Do not let your body 'turn off' at any point!
You can also play with your foot position. For our purposes, by 'Sumo' we just mean dumbbells inside the feet. It may help to take the feet much wider than shoulder width and angle the toes out to allow you to keep your back straighter, especially in the set up/liftoff position.
—BENT OVER ROWS
The tempo for the bent over rows is 1 second to pull from your starting position to the ribs, 3 seconds hold at the ribcage, 3 seconds to lower back to the starting position, one second active hold at the bottom. Keep your shoulders drawn down and away from the ears and maintain a slight retraction of the shoulder blade throughout.
—DOUBLE DUMBBELL SNATCH
The double dumbbell snatches are performed 5 at a time, anything less doesn't "count". Rest accordingly between sets. We want to get some explosive adaptation doing these after the strength exercises so focus on a really powerful stand-up and hip drive to send the DBs overhead. Lower to the shoulders, then the hips, then to the floor slowly and with control. Make sure you are set up with the chest up, shoulders above the butt, hips back. Look for the tension in your hamstrings, belly and lats before every rep. These sets of 5 are not meant to be done as fast as possible, just unbroken. So take the time to set up properly each time.
Session 3
PART 1
5 Sets of:
7 Dumbbell Squats
—Rest 1 min between sets
PART 2
5 Sets of:
7 Dumbbell Slow Shoulder Press w/3 second pause at 90°
—Rest 1 min between sets
PART 3
Finisher: 10 min EMOM (Every Minute On The Minute)
Min 1: Wall Sit
Min 2: Plank
Suggested Weight:
Men: Squats - 35-50# DBs // Presses - 20-35# DBs or single 40-50# DB
Women: Squats - 25-35# DBs // Presses - 10-20# DBs or single 20-35# DB
COACHES NOTES
On the squats, try to follow a tempo of at least 3 seconds down, 1 second active hold in the bottom, 3 seconds up, 1 second pause at the top. This means 7 reps will take about a minute if not more. Keep the shoulders pulled down away from your ears in the presses, especially in the hold portion. The finisher is a great opportunity to practice patience. It will be helpful to focus on slow breathing. The first time through this program, you may not be able to hold for the full minute each time. That's okay. We'd rather you come out of it early than slip into a bad position just to last the full minute.
—DUMBBELL SQUAT
Hold the DBs at the shoulder. The feet should be shoulder width apart. Heels down. Raise the chest and tighten the belly. Reach the butt back and down and drive the knees out. Get the butt lower than the knees at the bottom. No collapsing or rounding the back at the bottom! Stand all the way up at the top. Go with a single dumbbell if you need to, in order to continue moving slowly!
—PAUSING SHOULDER PRESS
For the presses, pause for 3 full seconds when your elbows are at the same height as your shoulders during the lowering phase of the movement. So, you'll press the dumbbells all the way overhead until elbows are fully extended with biceps by the ears. As you lower, pause when the elbows are at 90°, or in line with the shoulders, for 3 seconds before lowering all the way back to the shoulders. You can do these with a single dumbbell, holding one head in each hand. You can do this with two dumbbells of course. And, for an added challenge (or if this is your second time or more through the program), try pausing at 90° on the way up and down!
—FINISHER
Legs are at exactly 90° in the wall sit. Root your feet down through the floor. Keep your belly tight, avoid overarching the back. Only hold for as long as you can maintain a good position. Place a DB in your lap for an added challenge. Same goes for the planks, only hold for as long as you can actively press the middle of your upper back (the space between the shoulder blades) up toward the ceiling. You can do these from the hands or from the forearms. Make sure the shoulders are over or beyond the wrists (or elbows in the forearm plank)
SESSION 4
PART 1
Every 3 min for 4 Rounds (12 min total):
6 Supported Single Leg Romanian Deadlift (Left Leg)
6 Supported Single Leg Romanian Deadlift (Right Leg)
PART 2
Every 3 min for 4 Rounds (12 min total):
6 Slow Dumbbell Deadlifts
12 Alternating Bent Over Row
Suggested Weight:
Men: 35-50# DBs
Women: 25-35# DBs
COACHES NOTES
It's okay if the knee bends a little more than in a regular RDL with these. We are primarily going for glute activation on these, (you will feel in the hamstrings too) so pay attention as you are moving and make little adjustments as you go to make sure you are feeling it in the right place! 6 reps should take at least a minute for both the RDLs and the regular deadlifts. On The regular deadlifts, if the back is rounding or you are struggling with a full range of motion, try a sumo stance variation. The bent over rows will go a little faster, 12 reps should take about a minute, moving continuously. For the first two parts, you should be moving basically nonstop for about 2 minutes followed by no more than a minute of rest in each set.
—SUPPORTED SINGLE LEG RDL
These are single leg RDLs with your back foot supported by a bench, step, or stack of plates. The height should be slightly lower than what you would use for a split squat if possible. The back foot is used mostly for balance, the work should be performed by the front leg. Holding a dumbbell in each hand with a slight bend in the front knee, hinge forward keeping a long spine until the hands go just below the knees. Keep your belly tight the whole time. Drive through the front heel and slowly raise your chest back to an upright torso.
Lower for at least 3 seconds, pause in the bottom, raise for at least 3 seconds, pause in the top position but keep the front leg engaged.
—DUMBBELL DEADLIFT
The DBs will start on the ground. Feet are under the hips. Heels are down. Hips and knees are bent. Hands and grip are outside of the legs. Arms are straight. Chest is up. Belly tight. Back flat! To lift the DBs drive your heels into the ground and lift your chest. Keep arms straight, chest up and belly tight as you stand all the way up at the top.
To lower - send your butt back. Keep your chest lifted and belly tight. Keep those heels down. Once the DBs go below your knees, re-bend them and bring the DBs back to the starting position under control. Only one head of each dumbbell needs to touch at the bottom. Make sure that in the set up position, the shoulders are higher than the hips every time, so bend those knees!
—ALTERNATING BENT OVER ROW
Set up by deadlifting the dumbbells to just below the knee. From here, keeping the torso position set and the chest lifted - pull one elbow back and bring the dumbbell to just below the chest. Do not allow your shoulders to shrug. Keep them drawn down and away from the ears with shoulder blades slightly retracted at all times. Keep the belly tight. Bring the dumbbell back to just below the knee with the arm straight at the bottom and repeat with the other arm. These are to be performed very slowly, so there should be absolutely no momentum or assistance from the hips.
If your back is really lighting up and engaging the belly more is not helping, go with 6 supported single arm bent over rows on each side.
SESSION 5
Part 1
10 min EMOM (Every Minute On The Minute):
Min 1: 6 Dumbbell Squats
Min 2: Rest
Part 2
5 Sets of:
6 Cossack Squats Left
6 Cossack Squats Right
—Rest as needed between sides and sets in parts 1 and 2
Part 3
Finisher: 5 min AMRAP
12 Jumping Lunges
8 Push Ups
Suggested Weight:
Men: Squats - 35-50# DBs // Cossack Squat - Single 35-50# DB
Women: Squats - 25-35# DBs // Cossack Squat - Single 25-35# DB
COACHES NOTES
Slow movement is the name of the game hear. You want to be under tension for at least a minute during each set of squats and Cossack squats. If you want to increase the challenge in the dumbbell squats, take it to 8 reps in 90 seconds with only 30 seconds of rest in between. The finisher is not an all out, max effort AMRAP - see below for details.
—SLOW DUMBBELL SQUAT
Hold the DBs at the shoulder. The feet should be shoulder width apart. Heels down. Raise the chest and tighten the belly. Reach the butt back and down and drive the knees out. Get the butt lower than the knees at the bottom and pause while staying active. No collapsing or rounding the back at the bottom! Stand all the way up at the top. You can also do these with a single dumbbell held goblet style or racked on one shoulder, switching sides halfway through the reps.
—COSSACK SQUAT
Start with feet wider than shoulders, toes turned out slightly. Hold a DB to your chest, goblet style or racked on one shoulder with one hand. If you are squatting to the left, hold the DB in your right hand. Shift your weight into the left foot and turn your right toes up. Send your butt back, keeping the belly tight and chest up. Keep the knee tracking in line with the toes as you lower down until your butt is below the knee. Drive your whole foot into the ground and lead with the chest back up to your starting position.
—FINISHER
Again, the goal is adding explosive power to our session today, not conditioning. Jump vertically as high as you can on each rep of the jumping lunge while still landing softly and safely in the opposing split position. Lower with control each time. If those aren't feeling right, just go to stepping lunges.
For the push ups, we want to stay engaged in the lowering portion of the movement, don't just ride gravity to the floor, resist it a little bit.
Shoot for around 5 rounds max for the finisher. More than that and you are likely missing out on some of the explosive power development of the jumping lunges.
SESSION 6
Part 1:
4 Rounds:
6 Left/6 Right - 1/2 Hold & Press
15 Slow Goblet Squats
8 Floor Seated Shoulder Press
15 Slow Goblet Squats
12 Alternating Top to Top Press
—Rest 2 minutes between rounds
Suggested Weight:
Men: 25-40# DBs
Women: 15-30# DBs
COACHES NOTES
More of a shoulder focus today so get ready. Go light! Remember you can switch to a single dumbbell variation on the presses if you need to. Each overhead movement is unbroken and should take about a minute. That is 5-8 seconds for each rep, except for the alternating top to top press which can be closer to 3-4 seconds per rep. Rest as needed between movements.
—1/2 HOLD + PRESS
Hold a dumbbell in your left hand at the halfway mark of a shoulder press, so your elbow is at the same height as your shoulder. Keep that position as you perform 6 shoulder presses with the right arm. Then switch to a halfway hold with the right arm as you press with the left.
—GOBLET SQUAT
These should burn. 1-2 minutes to complete 15 reps unbroken at a continuous pace. The slower the better! You can always switch to slow air squats if you need to, in order to maintain a slow unbroken pace.
Hold your DB/KB at the chest. Feet are shoulder width apart with the heels down. Stand tall and tighten your belly. Reach the butt back and down while driving the knees out. Keep the chest lifted and belly tight. Keep going down until the butt is lower than the knees. Do not allow yourself to collapse, round your back, or plop at the bottom. In the bottom position the heels should be down, knees out, and chest up!
—SEATED SHOULDER PRESS
Sit up tall on the floor with a neutral spine. Chest up, ribcage down. Start with a dumbbell in each hand, racked on the shoulders with elbows in front, slightly out. Keep your belly tight as you press the DBs straight up overhead. Lock out your arms at the top with biceps by the ears.
—ALTERNATING TOP TO TOP PRESS
These start with dumbbells locked out overhead. Slowly lower one DB down to the shoulder and press back up. Once the pressing arm is fully extended overhead, lower the DB in the opposite hand down to the shoulder and press back up.
SESSION 7
PART 1
4 Rounds
8 Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts
12 Slow Single-Leg Love Taps
8 Deficit Sumo Dumbbell Deadlift or 2 head touch
12 Slow Single-Leg Love Taps
—Rest 1-2 minutes between rounds. Rest as needed between sets
PART 2
Finisher: 1 minute ON / 1 minute OFF for 6 minutes (3 rounds)
As many rounds as possible of:
1 Burpee + 3 Air Squats
Suggested Weight:
Men: 35-50# DBs
Women: 25-35# DBs
COACHES NOTES
RDLs and Sumo DLs are unbroken, performed slowly. 8 reps should take at least a minute if not longer. The goal for the love taps is to fire up the hip flexors. Perform them slowly on the way up AND down with the leg extended and toes pointed. Each time a leg goes up and over is one rep, so 12 reps is 6 on each leg. They should take :45-1:00. The finisher is max effort intervals. Keep it safe but really go for it!
—DUMBBELL RDL
Think about a pace of about 3-4 seconds down, 3-4 seconds up for every rep. Start standing with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend the knee slightly and do not bend it any more than that for the rest of the movement. Fire up the lats to keep the DBs close to your body and prevent the shoulders from shrugging up toward the ears. Belly should be tight the whole time. Hinge forward at the hip and let the DBs track down the legs until the handles are just below the knee cap. Ideally the torso is horizontal or parallel with the floor in the bottom position. Slowly retrace your steps back up to standing.
—SINGLE LEG LOVE TAPS
Sit on the floor with both legs extended out in front of you and one dumbbell placed outside of one ankle. Point the toe and fire up the quad to keep the leg fully extended as you slowly raise it up and over the DB. Lower just as slowly to the floor. Then, repeat with the other leg. Once both legs have gotten to the other side, do the same thing going back over the DB. Each leg is 1 rep. 1 rep should take 4-5 seconds.
—DEFICIT SUMO DUMBBELL DEADLIFT
Place two stable objects a bit wider than shoulder width apart for you to stand on. Two 45lb plates would be perfect but anything that will give you at least 3-4 inches of elevation will do. If you don't have two stable objects of equal height, go with the 2 head touch regular dumbbell deadlifts.
For the sumos, stand with heels wider than shoulders and toes turned out at least 30°. The dumbbells will be between your legs, starting from a lower position than your feet. Bend your knees enough so that you can keep your chest higher than your hips in the set up position. Back should be flat, belly tight. Grip the dumbbells and pull your shoulders back slightly, like you are pushing your chest out. Drive your feet into the ground, squeeze your butt and inner thighs to stand. Hips and shoulders should rise at the same time until the dumbbells pass the knee. Lower by sending your butt back first. Then, make sure that your butt and your shoulders are descending at the same time. Once past the knees, the angle of your back should not change. If you are tipping forward to get the DBs all the way to the floor, lose the deficit.
Session 8
Part 1
Every 3 min for 4 Rounds (12 min total):
6-8 Reps Dumbbell Squat
14-16 Reps Alternating Single Arm Dumbbell Floor Press (6-8 per arm)
Part 2
Every 3 min for 4 Rounds (12 min total):
6 Split Squat + Alternating Press (Left Leg)
6 Split Squat + Alternating Press (Right Leg)
Suggested Weight:
Men: 25-50# DBs
Women: 15-35# DBs
*You may need to use different weights for different movements on this one.
COACHES NOTES
In each three minute interval, you should be working for at least 2 minutes with no more than 1 minute of rest before the next 3 minute interval. Rest as needed between the two 12 minute blocks. All sets are unbroken and the goal would be for each set to take no less than a minute. That's about 10 seconds per rep for the squat variations and 5 seconds per rep for the alternating floor presses. You can also switch to a single DB version of the floor press or split squat + press if you need to. The sets should still take about a minute to complete.
Squats should be performed as slow, smooth, and continuous movement. Stay active in the non-pressing arm of the alternating floor presses, so the elbow and upper arm are hovering just off the floor. Keep the shoulders pinned to the ground. The first time through, lower your back knee all the way to the ground on the split squat + alternating presses. As you get more comfortable, if you want to add a challenge to this, hover the back knee about 1 inch off the floor during the presses.
—DUMBBELL SQUAT
Hold the DBs at the shoulder. The feet should be shoulder width apart. Heels down. Raise the chest and tighten the belly. Reach the butt back and down and drive the knees out. Get the butt lower than the knees at the bottom. No collapsing or rounding the back at the bottom! Stand all the way up at the top.
—ALTERNATING SINGLE ARM FLOOR PRESS
Keep the non-pressing arm active in the bottom of the floor presses. The elbow and back of the arm should remain a few inches off the floor at all times. Avoid letting the elbow track too far from the body, it should remain within 45° to the ribs the whole time. Keep your whole body engaged. So your feet, tailbone, shoulders and back of your head are all firmly planted on the floor and belly is tight.
—SPLIT SQUAT + ALTERNATING PRESS
Start in a split position, one foot forward and one foot back like you are doing a lunge. Feet should be hip to shoulder width apart. The distance between front foot and back foot will vary from person to person. It should be long enough that your front knee won't travel too far forward in the bottom but not so long that you are arching your back or can't keep the belly engaged in the bottom. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, racked on the shoulders with elbows slightly in front and turned out a few degrees.
Slowly lower until the back knee gently contacts the floor. From this kneeling position, slowly press the right arm overhead until the elbow is locked out and the bicep is by the ear. Lower just as slow. Once the DB contacts the shoulder, press with the other arm. Once both DBs are racked back on the shoulders, press through the feet to come back to the starting split position. The front knee does not have to fully lock at the top, you can maintain a microbend.
Session 9
Part 1
Every 5 min for 4 Rounds (20 min total):
6-8 Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (Left Leg)
6-8 Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (Right Leg)
60 Sec Wall Sit w/ Dumbbell Hold
Part 2
Every 2 min for 5 Rounds (10 min total):
6-8 Seated Arnold Presses
PART 3
Tabata (:20 sec ON / :10 sec OFF for 8 rounds)
Alternating Leg Supine Toe Touches (2 Dumbbells)
Suggested Weight:
Men: 25-50# DBs
Women: 15-35# DBs
*You may need to use different weights for different movements on this one
COACHES NOTES
Part 1 should be at least 3 minutes of work per round. The split squats should take about a minute per side per round. See if you can go slower and/or get an extra rep in this time compared to session 1!
Each set of 6-8 seated Arnold presses should take about a minute. If that amount time under tension isn't happening try to work for as long as you can each time. Don't rush those reps. These are performed sitting on the floor with legs in front of you. Make sure you sit up straight. Both arms at a time!
If you are feeling at all wobbly on the finisher, go with a single DB!
—REAR FOOT ELEVATED SPLIT SQUATS
Place a bench, step, or stack of plates behind you about 2 feet. Place either the top of one foot or the ball of the foot on the step so you are in a lunge position with the rear foot elevated. Ideal height is 16-20 inches - higher does not mean harder. Make sure your stance is long enough that your front heel stays down during the split squat. Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides, or a single dumbbell in the goblet position. Keep your belly tight and chest up as you bend the front knee and slowly lower the back knee toward the floor. The front knee may come forward a couple of inches, but keep the front heel down. Lower until the front hip crease is below the knee. The back knee may or may not touch the floor. Press through the front heel, keep the belly tight and chest up as you come back up. Maintain a slight bend in the front knee in the top position.
—WALL SIT
Legs are at exactly 90° in the wall sit. Root your feet down through the floor. Keep your belly tight, avoid overarching the back. Only hold for as long as you can maintain a good position. Place a DB in your lap for an added challenge.
—SEATED ARNOLD PRESS
Sit on the floor with legs extended our in front of you. If you struggle to sit up straight and keep a tall spine, bend your knees slightly. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing the shoulders with elbows fully bent, like the top of a bicep curl. Start to press straight up and rotate the arms so that when you are in the top position with elbows locked out overhead, biceps by the ears, the palms are facing out. Lower slowly, rotating the arms to return to your starting position. Keep the belly tight the whole time! Go with a single DB seated press on this one in order to maintain the slow pace if you need to.
Session 10
Part 1
7 Rounds:
6-8 Dumbbell Deadlifts
6-8 Single Dumbbell Bent Arm Front Raise + Press
—Rest as needed between sets and rounds
Suggested Weight:
Men: Deadlifts - 35-50# DBs // Raise + Press - Single 35# DB (or two smaller ones)
Women: Deadlifts - 25-35# DBs // Raise + Press - Single 20-25# DB (or two smaller ones)
Goal: Finish in no less than 24 minutes.
COACHES NOTES
All sets are unbroken. Each set should be performed slow enough that 6-8 reps is at least 1 minute of continuous movement. Try doing this in one minute ""on"" one minute ""off"" fashion where you do 1 minute for the deadlifts, rest 1 minute, 1 minute of raise + press, 1 minute of rest. If you are feeling good you can either shorten the rest or lengthen the time under tension by slowing down the movement.
—DUMBBELL DEADLIFT
The DBs will start on the ground. Feet are under the hips. Heels are down. Hips and knees are bent. Hands and grip are outside of the legs. Arms are straight. Chest is up. Belly tight. Back flat! To lift the DBs drive your heels into the ground and lift your chest. Keep arms straight, chest up and belly tight as you stand all the way up at the top.
To lower - send your butt back. Keep your chest lifted and belly tight. Keep those heels down. Once the DBs go below your knees, re-bend them and bring the DBs back to the starting position under control. Only one head of each dumbbell needs to touch at the bottom!
For an added challenge, you can go with a 2-head touch but only if you can maintain a flat back. If you are struggling to keep the back flat, try the sumo variation of the deadlifts.
—SINGLE DB BENT ARM FRONT RAISE + PRESS
This starts in a partial curl position, upper arms glued to the sides of your torso with elbows bent to 90°. Squeeze the dumbbell between your hands so you feel the chest engage. Raise the elbows forward and up until they are the height of the shoulders, still with a 90° bend. Then, press up until arms are locked out overhead with biceps by the ears. A single dumbbell is recommended but if you only have really light ones or struggle with the grip, you can go with a dumbbell in each hand.
SESSION 11
Part 1
4 Rounds:
4 Squat + Lunge Complex*
6 Slow Lower Push Up + Pull Across
*1 Complex rep = Dumbbell Squat + Forward Lunge Left + Forward Lunge Right + Dumbbell Squat + Reverse Lunge Left + Reverse Lunge Right
—Rest as needed between movements. There should be little to no rest during the complex. Push up + pull across reps are unbroken.
Suggested Weight:
Men: Single 35-50# DB or Two 25-30# DBs for the complex // 20-35# DB for the pull across
Women: Single 25-35# DB or Two 15-20# DBs for the complex // 10-25# DB for the pull across
COACHES NOTES
For the squat + lunge complex, think slow lower, fast return. Lower slowly into the bottom of each movement and pause there in an active hold, hovering the knee 1 inch from the floor in the lunge portions. Then, push back up to your starting position fast but not out of control. Do these with one heavier DB held at the chest or two lighter DBs held on the shoulders.
For the slow push up + pull across, lower slowly in the push up, at least 3 seconds then push back up at regular speed. Reach across your body to grip the dumbbell and slowly pull it over to the other side. You can drag it across the floor if you need to. Try to choose a weight that you can move really slowly.
—SQUAT + LUNGE COMPLEX
When we tested these, 4 reps were taking over 2 minutes. It is A LOT of time under tension! So start light for the first set of 4 and go from there. Remember the squats are still super slow and the lowering portion of the lunge are too. You can use a bit more power coming up out of the lunges. Keep your belly tight the whole time. Step far enough that you can keep the front heel down during the lunges and really drive it into the floor to come back up to standing.
—SLOW PUSH UP + PULL ACROSS
Keep the elbows within 45° to the body as you lower the chest to the floor. For an added challenge, just lower to a hover one inch off the floor and hold for a second or two before pressing back up. Keep a nice rigid plank during the reach and pull across. In order to maintain the slow pace of the lowering portion, you may need to go to the knees. Raise them back up to a plank position before you pull the DB across.
SESSION 12
Part 1
4 Sets of:
8 Left/8 Right Staggered Stance Deadlift*
Part 2
4 Sets of:
8 Left Arm/8 Right Arm Dumbbell Squat + Single Arm Press
Part 3
3 Sets of:
20 Alternating Single Arm Bent Over Row
—Rest as needed between sides and sets
Suggested Weight:
Men:
Deadlift/Bent Over Row - 35-50# DBs
Squat + Press - 25-35# DBs
Women:
Deadlift/Bent Over Row - 25-35# DBs
Squat + Press - 15-25# DBs
COACHES NOTES
Each side should take a minute MINIMUM on the deadlifts and squat + press. Rest 1-2 minutes once you've performed a set of 8 on both sides.
Depending on the weight of your DBs in the squat + press, you might need to break between sides or you can try to do all 16 reps at once, which would be over 2 1/2 minutes under load. Just make sure you don't rush them. The squat portion should be about 3 seconds down and 3 seconds up. The press can be 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down. If they feel light, go slower! Rest 1-2 minutes after you've completed 8 presses with both arms.
If your low back is pretty lit up after the deadlifts, switch from alternating bent over rows to 3x10/side slow single arm bent over rows with the opposite hand planted on a bench, box, or even the wall. If you've kept your belly tight in the previous movements, it shouldn't be an issue! The rows should be slow and controlled. Pause for 1-2 seconds at the top of the row and focus on really squeezing the lat.
—STAGGERED STANCE DEADLIFTS
Stagger your stance by just about a foot or so. Your stance should be much shorter than a split squat. Stay as light as you can on the ball of the back foot so that all the work is performed by the front leg. Make sure you keep tension in the front leg in the bottom position and keep a microbend in the front knee at the top so you are always under tension. Remember that the belly stays tight and back remains flat at all times.
—DUMBBELL SQUAT + SINGLE ARM PRESS
Ideally, for the squat + press you are squatting with both dumbbells and pressing with just one. Do 8, pressing with the right arm each time, then 8 pressing with the left arm. If you are not able to maintain the slow pace with two DBs, switch to one DB held at the chest and do 16 reps either unbroken or split into 2 sets of 8. Remember to squeeze your thighs, butt, and abs coming out of the squat and into the press.
—ALTERNATING BENT OVER ROW
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, hinge forward at the hips sending your butt back, and maintaining a slight bend in the knees. Keep your belly super tight and back flat. Draw your shoulder blades toward one another to maintain a nice active shoulder position. Pull one elbow up and back slowly until the DB touches the ribs, keeping the other arm straight. Lower the DB back to your starting position and repeat on the other side. 20 reps is 10 per arm.
If you are working with bigger DBs or notice your shoulders shrugging in the bent over row, take your feet wider so the DBs travel inside the legs rather than along the outside.
RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these related resources for extra tips and tricks on using dumbbells!