If you’re looking for an easy-to-follow and effective free-weight workout routine to build muscles or lose weight at home, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I’ve shared a couple of alternate-day workout routines that include only dumbbell and barbell exercises. The first routine is fat loss, and the other is for muscle building.
These programs are suitable for all genders and fitness levels.
Depending on your goal, you can download one of the routines to achieve your best physique.
3 Day Full Body Barbell and Dumbbell Workout for Fat Loss
You can perform numerous exercises with dumbbells and barbells to burn significant calories, boost metabolism, enhance cardiovascular fitness, and decrease body fat percentage.
However, you need a well-designed workout plan to train in an organized manner and achieve the best results.
That is why I’ve created an ultimate 3-day full body dumbbell and barbell workout routine for those who want to shed excess kilos and improve body composition.
Whether you’re a male or female, you can follow this program to improve your overall fitness.
Summary
- Duration/session: 45 minutes
- Intensity: Moderate to High (60-75% of your maximum heart rate)
- The number of rounds: As many rounds as possible in 45 minutes.
- Training Days: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
- You can also perform bodyweight cardio on alternate days.
- Suggested Program Duration: 12-16 weeks
Day 1 – Monday
Perform as many rounds as possible in 45 minutes
| Exercise | Reps | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| DB Squat to Overhead Press | 10 | 45-sec |
| Bent-over Barbell Row | 12 | 45-sec |
| Dumbbell Surrenders | 10 | 60-sec |
| Kneeling DB Woodchop | 10/side | 60-sec |
| Barbell Romanian Deadlift | 10 | 2-min |
| Incline DB Plank Rowing | 10/side | 2-min |
Day 2 – Wednesday
| Exercise | Reps | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Bench Press | 15 | 1-min |
| DB Lunges to Rotation | 6/side | 2-min |
| Barbell Thruster | 10 | 2-min |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raises | 12 | 1-min |
| Dumbbell Overhead Squat | 12 | 90-sec |
| Barbell Landmine Oblique Twist | 10/side | 2-min |
Day 3 – Friday
| Exercise | Reps | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional Deadlift | 8 | 2-min |
| One-arm Kneeling Landmine Press | 10/side | 60-sec |
| Sumo Cossack Squat | 10/side | 60-sec |
| Kneeling DB Low to High Chop | 10/side | 60-sec |
| Incline DB Plank Rowing | 10/side | 60-sec |
| Seated Rear Delt Dumbbell Raise | 12 | 2-min |
3 Day Dumbbell and Barbell Full Body Home Workout Routine to Build Muscle
Having dumbbells and barbells at home allows you to perform myriad exercises that build muscle and improve shape.
To help you build lean mass, I’ve created a 3-day barbell and dumbbell workout plan.
This plan is suitable for all fitness enthusiasts, from beginners to intermediates.
Summary
- Duration/session: 45-60 minutes
- Training Days: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
- Suggested Program Duration: 2-3 Months
- Way to perform reps and sets: Perform all sets of one exercise before moving to another.
- Plan to Follow Next: 4-day Dumbbell and Barbell Workout
Day 1 – Compound Workout
Warm-up
- Ankle Hops: 15-sec x 2
- Jumping Jack: 15-sec x 2
- High Knees: 15-sec x 2
- Mountain Climber: 15-sec x 2
Weight Training
- Bench Press: 15 x 3
- Dumbbell Squat: 15 x 3
- Arnold Press: 10 x 3
- Bent-over Barbell Row: 12 x 3
- Dumbbell RDL: 10 x 3
Day 2 – Isolation Workout
Warm-up
- Jumping Jacks: 15-sec x 2
- Lunges to Front Kick: 15-sec x 2
- M0untain Climber: 15-sec x 2
- Sprint in Place: 15-sec x 2
Main Workout
- Dumbbell Lunges: 10 reps/side x 2
- Incline DB Bench Press: 10-12 x 4
- Lateral Delt Dumbbell Raises: 12 x 3
- Rear Delt Dumbbell Fly: 12 x 3
- Alternate Dumbbell Curl: 10 reps/side x 2
- Single-arm Triceps Extension: 10 reps/side x 2
- Single-leg Leaning Dumbbell Calf Raises: 10 reps/side x 2
Day 3 – Compound & Isolation Workout
Warm-up
- Jumping Lunges: 15-sec x 2
- Squat Jumps: 15-sec x 2
- Burpees: 5 reps x 2
- Mountain Climber: 15-sec x 2
Resistance Training
- Conventional Deadlift: 8 x 3
- Barbell Landmine Press: 10 x 3
- Dumbbell Squat: 15 x 3
- Single-arm Dumbbell Row: 10/side x 3
- Lying Leg Curl: 12 x 3
- Kneeling Dumbbell Low to High Chop: 10 reps/side x 3
Download PDFs
Is Exercising 3 Days a Week Enough to Achieve Your Fitness Goals?
Performing resistance training three times a week can help you on your way to becoming fitter and healthier. However, it may not be enough for muscle building as well as for losing weight.
Generally, it is recommended to work out more than 150 minutes a week to gain normal benefits and more than 300 minutes per week for achieving specific goals, such as weight loss and muscle building, as shown in a study published by the Korean Journal of Family Medicine (KJFM).
You can maximize your fat loss by performing bodyweight HIIT cardio on alternate days. And for gaining muscle, you can increase the frequency over time.
The Bottom Line
You can do full-body workout training with dumbbells and barbells to build muscle as well as increase weight loss.
The total body workout training allows you to work on each large muscle group in every training session, which saves your time and makes your workout more interesting.
A PubMed research article has shown training two sets for one muscle group in a day is a safe and effective way to build strength and muscle in beginners compared to doing six sets in one day. It means total body training can be more efficient for newbies.
I’ve shared two routines in this article; one is for weight loss, and the other is for muscle gain. You can save one of them to work on achieving your fitness goal.
You’ll also need to increase loads or intensity over time to achieve maximum results.
Building muscle or losing weight isn’t possible without nutrition, so make sure you feed sufficient macro and micronutrients to build your best shape.
You can consume low-calorie foods that fill you up for a longer time, weight loss supplements, and intermittent fasting to increase weight loss.
And for muscle gain, include high-protein foods and whey isolates to build muscle faster.
