Free Weight Workout for Men Back and Biceps

Give a man a pair of dumbbells, and he can crank out a few sets of curls and bulk up his biceps. But give a man a pair of dumbbells and a plan, and he can change his entire body in a month.

This four-week, four-workouts-a-week training plan is guaranteed to get results if you follow it to the letter. And we really do mean to the letter, because the plan goes into great detail on not only the exercises, sets and reps you should do, but also the tempo at which you should work to ensure you maximise your results.

The workouts in the plan are made up of supersets, where you do pairs of exercises back to back to keep your muscles under tension for as long as possible. This is one of the most effective ways to use dumbbells in your training, helping to strip away fat as well as building lean muscle. Supersets are a tough way to train, but one month from now, when you're sporting a broader chest, bulging biceps, titanic triceps and a set of abs that will make your washing machine redundant, it will all have been worth it.

Once you've selected your weights, check out the guide below, which explains how to follow this training plan and how it has been structured to be as effective as possible, then get ready to take on the plan itself.

How The Plan Works

Here's the theory behind your four-week muscle plan

1. Body part splits

This four-week plan includes four workouts a week. Each of the four hits a different body part. Workout 1 each week targets your chest and back; workout 2 your arms (biceps and triceps); workout 3 your legs and abs; and workout 4 your shoulders.

The body-part workouts have been selected to help you add muscle mass and transform your torso as quickly as possible.

The first three workouts each week hit two different muscle groups, so that while one body part is working, the other recovers, allowing you to keep the intensity level high and lift the heaviest weight possible with good form to stimulate the maximum amount of muscle growth.

2. Workout structure

All four weekly sessions comprise six exercises divided into three supersets, labelled 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, and 3A and 3B. In a superset you pair two exercises and perform them back to back, only resting after doing all the reps of the second move. Once all the sets and reps of the first superset are completed, you move on to the second superset and so on.

This approach is fantastic for building muscle faster because supersets maximise both the intensity and the quality of your sets. And the harder you can push your muscles in the gym, the more damage gets done to muscle tissue, which is then rebuilt bigger and stronger when you recover.

3. Workout variables

The only way to keep making fast progress when you're aiming to add lean muscle mass is to follow a progressive training plan that keeps challenging your body in new ways each week. That's the key to keeping your muscles out of their comfort zone and working as hard as possible so your body has no choice but to keep building back your damaged muscle fibres bigger and stronger.

At the top of each exercise breakdown for the first week are details about each move, including sets, rest, tempo and rest (for weeks two, three and four this information is listed in tables). Tempo 2010 = 2sec to lower, 0sec pause at the bottom, 1sec to lift, 0sec pause at the top.

It is imperative you stick exactly to these workout variables because this plan has been designed to provide a progressively challenging workout so you can add the maximum amount of muscle tissue in four weeks.

For example, in week one you'll do four sets of ten reps per move, which increases to four sets of 12 in week two. In weeks three and four you'll do five sets of ten and 12 reps respectively, so every week is harder than the previous week. What's more, in weeks three and four the tempo (the time it takes to do the lifting and lowering for each rep) changes to make the exercises more challenging, so your target muscles experience more time under tension and workload.

How To Pick The Right Dumbbell Weight For Each Exercise

If you're at home and have one set of dumbbells, this decision will be easy – just hope that it's roughly the right amount of weight. However, if you have a selection of weights available, or adjustable ones, picking the right one can be tricky. These are workouts with long sets and little rest, plus a strict tempo which ratchets up the difficulty. It's easy to pick a dumbbell that's fine in round one but feels way too heavy to complete your sets towards the end of the workout.

Generally you want a weight that means the final few reps of each set feel hard, but also that you have a few reps in reserve. So if the target rep total is 10, you want a weight that allows you to complete 13-14 reps if pushed. Given that you are doing supersets in this workout, it's best to err on the side of caution and use the lighter weight if you're deciding between two. And maybe keep another set to hand if you can, so you can switch in later rounds of the workout if required.

Always consider the second move in the superset too. If you're looking to switch between exercises quickly with no rest, it's useful to use the same weight, so if the second move is something like a flye where you know you'll struggle with a bigger weight, it might be worth using a slightly lighter one for the first exercise. Or just switch weights rapidly, if you trust yourself not to sneak in a bonus rest.

The Best Home Dumbbells For This Workout Plan

That's dumbbells, plural, because this is a full-body plan and your shoulders can't handle as much weight as your legs can. If you use one fixed-weight dumbbell for both lateral raises and squats, say, that's going to make one of those moves very hard or very easy.

Selectorised dumbbells are best suited to this type of plan because you're typically getting at least eight weight settings. You can quickly change the weight by either scrolling a dial or pressing a button, which means that not only do they save space compared with a full set of dumbbells, but also that it's easy to pick the correct weight for the exercise you're about to tackle. These modern marvels typically cost several hundred pounds, which is clearly a lot of money, but once you add up the cost of three sets of fixed-weight dumbbells then selectorised dumbbells start to look like reasonable value. Our recommendations are the Bowflex 552i Selectorised (£269 for one) and Powerblock Pro 32 (£379.99 for two).

Alternatively, you can browse our comprehensive round-up of the best dumbbells and pick a few weight options, although be warned that dumbbells between 10kg and 18kg remain scarce.

How To Warm Up

We're sure you're excited about diving into the workouts, but first take a moment to consider your warm-up. All the workouts involve completing supersets with minimal rest, and if you haven't adequately prepared your body you'll find the first couple of rounds far tougher than you need to, and won't get as much from them in terms of strength and size gains. You'll also increase your risk of injury if you're using heavy weights with cold muscles.

When warming up, merely jogging on the spot for a few minutes to raise your heart rate won't do. Each of the workouts is designed to target a specific area of the body, and you need to do the same in your warm-up so you're priming the muscles that are about to be called into action.

You can start with this dynamic stretching routine, which will take mere minutes and will get your whole body moving. Then move on to an even more specific warm-up for the workout you're going to do. The simplest way to do this is a round of the exercises you have lined up with no weight, or a very light set of dumbbells if you have them. It won't take long, and it has clear benefits: a better workout and a little less DOMS the following day.

Workout 1: Chest And Back (Week 1)

1A Floor press

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0sec Tempo 2010

How Lie flat on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand above your chest with straight arms. Lower the weights towards your chest, then press them back up powerfully to return to the start.

Why Lying on the floor puts you in a stable position so you can attempt to go quite heavy with this move. The range of motion is shorter than a bench press, so focus on contracting the chest muscles being targeted.

1B Hammer bent-over row

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec Tempo 2010

How Hold a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing each other. Bend forward, hingeing at the hips, then row the weights up to your sides, leading with your elbows. Lower the weights back to the start under control.

Why This move hits the major muscles of your upper back, while your lower back gets worked to keep your torso upright. Using a hammer grip also hits your forearms and improves grip strength.

2A Dumbbell press-up

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0sec Tempo 2010

How Get into position with your feet together and hands holding dumbbells shoulder-width apart. Brace your core so your body is straight from head to heels. Bend your elbows to lower your chest, then press back up powerfully.

Why You might think press-ups are easy, but they are still a useful chest-building move – especially when you factor in the instability of the weights to work your chest, as well as your core, harder.

2B Reverse flye

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec Tempo 2010

How Bend forwards from the hips with a light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, raise the weights out to shoulder height, then lower them back to the start.

Why This move looks a lot harder than it is, and it works wonders for your upper back and rear shoulders. Start with light weights and master the movement pattern to maximise muscle gain and minimise the risk of injury.

3A Wide dumbbell press-up

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0sec Tempo 2010

How Get into position with your feet together and hands holding dumbbells wide apart. Brace your core so your body is straight from head to heels. Bend your elbows to lower your chest, then press back up powerfully.

Why Placing your hands in a wider position reduces the involvement of your triceps and shoulders, so your chest has to do more of the hard work to lift and lower your torso.

3B Renegade row

Sets 4 Reps 10 each side Rest 60sec Tempo 2010

How Get into position with your feet together and hands holding dumbbells shoulder-width apart. Brace your core so your body is straight from head to heels. Row the weight up, leading with your elbow. Alternate arms.

Why It works your upper back one side at a time so you can fully engage each of the muscles, as well as recruiting your core and shoulder joints to keep your body stable.

Week 2

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Tempo
1A Floor press	4	12	0sec	2010
1B Hammer bent-over row	4	12	60sec	2010
2A Dumbbell press-up	4	12	0sec	2010
2B Reverse flye	4	12	60sec	2010
3A Wide dumbbell press-up	4	12	0sec	2010
3B Renegade row	4	12 each side	60sec	2010

Week 3

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Tempo
1A Floor press	5	10	0sec	2010
1B Hammer bent-over row	5	10	60sec	2011
2A Dumbbell press-up	5	10	0sec	3010
2B Reverse flye	5	10	60sec	2011
3A Wide dumbbell press-up	5	10	0sec	3010
3B Renegade row	5	10 each side	60sec	2011

Week 4

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Tempo
1A Floor press	5	12	0sec	2010
1B Hammer bent-over row	5	12	60sec	2011
2A Dumbbell press-up	5	12	0sec	3010
2B Reverse flye	5	12	60sec	2011
3A Wide dumbbell press-up	5	12	0sec	3010
3B Renegade row	5	12 each side	60sec	2011

Workout 2: Arms (Week 1)

1A Biceps curl

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0sec Tempo 2010

How Stand with dumbbells by your sides and palms facing forwards. Keeping your elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the weights up, squeezing your biceps at the top. Lower them back to the start.

Why It's the classic biceps lift for good reason: performing this move perfectly is one of the fastest ways to add size to your biceps. Just keep your reps controlled to avoid swinging the dumbbells up and down.

1B Triceps extension

Sets 4 Reps 10 each side Rest 60sec Tempo 2010

How Stand tall, holding a dumbbell over your head with one hand and arm straight. Keeping your chest up, lower the weight behind your head, then raise it back to the start. Do all the reps with one arm and then switch and repeat.

Why Working one arm at a time allows you to focus on making your triceps work hard to keep the dumbbell under complete control throughout the lift and lower, while your core must be engaged to keep your torso upright.

2A Hammer curl

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0sec Tempo 2010

How Stand with dumbbells by your sides and palms facing each other. Keeping your elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the weights up, squeezing your biceps at the top. Lower them back to the start.

Why Adjusting your wrist position so that your palms face each other for the entirety of the set shifts the workload to a different part of your biceps muscles, as well as recruiting your forearms.

2B Triceps kick-back

Sets 4 Reps 10 each side Rest 60sec Tempo 2010

How Lean forward from your hips, keeping your back straight and arm bent holding a dumbbell. Raise the weight behind you until your arm is straight, then lower back to the start. Do all the reps on one side, then repeat with the other arm.

Why The key to making this an effective triceps-building move is to make sure you fully contract the working muscle as you straighten your arm, and then to lower the dumbbell back to the start position under full control.

3A Spider curl

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0sec Tempo 2010

How Bend down and rest your elbows on your thighs, holding a dumbbell in each hand with arms straight. Curl the weights up, squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower back to the start under control.

Why It may raise a few eyebrows in the gym, but this exercise works your biceps through a full range of motion so you hit them from a slightly different angle, meaning even more muscle fibres are recruited.

3B Narrow dumbbell press-up

Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec Tempo 2010

How Get into position with your feet together and hands holding dumbbells that are touching. Brace your core so your body is straight from head to heels. Bend your elbows to lower your chest, then press back up powerfully.

Why Bringing your hands close together reduces the involvement of your chest and shoulders so your triceps muscles have to do a lot more of the hard work to lift and lower your torso.