Build More Muscle with All-Dumbbell WORKOUT and Key Mass Tactics

Q: I just got an Elite PowerBlock selectorized dumbbell set and the adjustable sport bench. Do you have a workout I can do with that limited equipment? Also, do you think I can make good gains at home with that, or do I need to buy more stuff?

A: Sometimes having limited equipment can be a big boost to progress because you have to get creative. To get you started in that direction, see the At-Home, All-Dumbbell Workout section in The Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide. It’s a solid four-days-per-week program with all the key exercises that will get you growing—and each move is fully illustrated with start and finish positions and performance tips. That’s available at our Web site, MuscleQuickStart.com. Also just released is the “All-Dumbbell Workout,” a DVD featuring Greg Plitt, available at Home-Gym.com.

Okay, shameless plugs out of the way, let us say that we believe the PowerBlock should be in every home gym because it’s so functional. You can change the weight by simply moving the U-shaped pin. Pull the handle out of the stack, and the poundage you chose comes free. The rest of the plates stay put on the stand. Ingenious.

The Elite set goes up to 90 pounds per dumbbell, which should be enough to get you going and growing for quite a while. In fact, that set is all we use in our gym for dumbbell work, and we’re fairly advanced trainees.

Even so, training exclusively with dumbbells may eventually make you too strong to work certain muscle groups with only 90 pounds in each hand. A good example is quadriceps.

For dumbbell squats you hold a dumbbell in each hand at arm’s length at the sides of your thighs. Then, while keeping your torso upright and your back flat, you squat. The quads, though, are powerful muscles and get strong quickly. So what do you do when a 90-pounder in each hand isn’t enough? Go to DXO to continue to grow.

For Double-X Overload dumbbell squats, you squat till your thighs break parallel to the floor, rise about 10 inches, squat back down, then drive to the top till your knees almost lock out—not quite, as you want to keep tension on your quads. Then immediately begin another rep. It’s like doing 1 1/2 reps, with the half occurring at the bottom, semi­stretch position, the point at which your quads can generate max force and activate the most muscle fibers.

Another good tactic is negative-accentuated sets. Here you take dumbbells that are slightly lighter than what you’d use for a normal 10-rep set. Now squat slowly, taking about six seconds to reach the bottom, and then drive up to near lockout in about one second. The negative, or eccentric, stroke has been shown to cause the most muscle fiber remodeling for growth, so this is very effective for jolting new size from any exercise. Plus, the microtrauma stimulates your metabolism during the recovery process. That means you’re burning more fat 24/7 when you feel some soreness—and you will get sore from just one properly performed negative-accentuated set.

Last but not least is 10×10. Set the dumbbells to a weight that you could get 20 reps with, but do only 10. Rest 30 seconds, and then crank out another 10. Do that for 10 sets. Your first sets will be easy, but don’t be deceived. Your last ones will be brutal—and the muscle pump will be unreal. Plus, you’ll get that fat-to-muscle soreness. That was a favorite method of the Iron Guru, Vince Gironda, who used it to whip Hollywood actors, as well as Mr. Olympia contenders, into shape in record time.

You can use these mass techniques on any and all exercises for a few weeks to get some variety and new muscular adaptation, not just the big exercises you’ve gotten too strong on. For example, try DXO on incline curls and negative-accentuated sets on presses. Remember, one small change can ignite megagains. That’s especially true in a limited-equipment gym.

By the way, you don’t have to be a home trainee to own a PowerBlock set and an adjustable bench. Steve has that setup at his home in case he has to—or wants to—squeeze in a workout there. And his wife, Becky, uses the minigym to stay in great shape.

In fact, she often uses the Fantastic 4 Workout on page 47 of The Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide because it’s so fast and efficient. It consists of the following:

1) Bench presses or incline presses

2) Bent-over rows or upright rows

3) Squats

4) Overhead presses

If you do those moves as described, you can hit just about every muscle in around 30 minutes with that workout. And you can perform the entire routine with only a PowerBlock dumbbell set and an adjustable bench.

It’s a bit pricey, but a PowerBlock set, combined with an adjustable bench, gives you a home setup that’s well worth the money if you’re serious about staying built for life. It’s an investment that will pay muscular dividends for years to come.

Editor’s note: For more information on the e-program The Quick-Start Muscle Building Guide, go to www.MuscleQuickStart.com. For more on the DVD “All-Dumbbell Workout,” go to www.Home-Gym.com. IM