Most people think that you have to lift really big, heavy weights for low repetitions in order to build a lot of muscle mass. This means exercises like heavy barbell bench presses, heavy barbell squats and heavy barbell deadlifts, too.

But huge weights on big barbell exercises aren’t necessary. If you want to gain a lot of lean muscle mass, you can do so it with just dumbbells. And they don’t have to be really heavy dumbbells, either. You can do it with light to medium dumbbells.

You can even gain muscle without going to the gym or needing a lot of workout space. All you need is a couple of adjustable dumbbells and/or a variety of free weights. This doesn’t cost much at all and will last you a lifetime.

How Do I Get Started?

A great way to do this, and build muscle without heavy weights, is to perform eight sets of eight repetitions for an exercise and only take 15 to 30 seconds of rest between sets. Start with 30 seconds and over time, try and reduce it to 15 seconds.

You want to use the same weight for all eight sets. Only the last few sets will be taken to failure. If you can get eight repetitions on all eight sets, add a little weight for the next workout.

Most likely the last few sets will have you getting less than eight reps. In that case, keep the weight the same until you can get eight reps on all eight sets.

Perform one exercise per body part such as the dumbbell bench press for the chest. Work out three times per week and work the entire body in each work out.

Here’s a sample dumbbell workout using this exact strategy:-

• Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
• Dumbbell Alternate Reverse Lunge
• Dumbbell One Arm Row
• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Dumbbell Standing (or Seated) Press
• Dumbbell Tricep Extensions
• Dumbbell Curls

Try and increase your repetitions and weights as often as possible and you’ll be well on your way to nice gains in lean muscle mass.

Learn about our adjustable dumbbells here!