Beginner friendly but challenging dumbbell workout ideas for home exercise

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Has anyone got a dumbbell at home work out that works for them? Something beginner friendly but I’m quiet fit (run regularly, wrangle three children which is a work out in itself) so it needs to be somewhat challenging. We have a set of dumbbells where you can adjust the weights and we also have a weighted hula hoop my sister gave me - not sure if this is actually of any use but it does look fun so if that could be incorporated that’s cool, but if it’s useless tat I’ll get rid of it.

Ideally something I could do 3/4 times a week in the morning or after the kids go to bed.

Look at Caroline Girvan. There are loads of free workouts on YouTube and you could start with Iron Series.

I use the free Nike app.

Loads of options.

I’ve been lifting weights and running for years and I love this one for dumbbells - as long as you’ve got heavy enough weights anything is challenging!

I started with Caroline Girvan, but now I use a programme I got from Chat GPT. Partly because there are some things I’m not able to do so I could ask it to exclude those.

I can recommend Heather Robertson on YouTube.

i use a programme from ChatGPT too & do it while I watch an episode of Schitt’s Creek! I find this works well for me, when I lm following an exercise video I get bored and stop it early.

Best pure lifting focused trainer: Caroline Girvan. Her programmes are extremely well organised and also include one HIIT workout per week, and a rest day. She uses heavy weights but most people use between a half and 2/3 of hers.

Also very good: Heather Robertson - her workouts are very professional and are based on both Pilates and compound exercises. She uses much lighter but still challenging weights than Caroline.

Growingannanas has lots of HIIT workouts, both with (much lighter) weights and without.

I often alternate between those three.

Caroline Girvan and Heather Robinson are definitely really good.

I was having lots of menopausal issues linked to cancer treatments and after a lot of looking around I went for the power happens programme by a Stacy Sims/ Hailey happens. It’s a one off purchase but 5 workouts a week (3 resistance training and 2 cardio/ plyo) over 3-4 week blocks, over a total of 12 weeks. Each is an hour or 34-40 mins. Some extra optional core and stretching blocks each week. I did it over 5 months as repeated some blocks.

I had a lot of issues with joints and tendons though due to my crashing hormones after coming off hrt and starting tamoxifen which is what it’s designed for. It has alternative options for most of the exercises- eg free weights rather than a bar. Can be done at home or in a gym. The cardio can be on any home equipment or just skipping/ running.

I found the cardio too easy in the beginner program (I was already doing some plyo) and if I did it again would do what I was already doing for those bits.

ive gone back to it with heavier weights, and also beta tested the express more advanced one, which I really like. The hiit and sit were more at my level.

the app also have a programme developed Vonda Wright called strong happens.

It’s more of a step between online course and personal trainer as it includes nutrition advice, access to zooms as well as ones recorded in the past and you can message people on the app for advice or join a fb group to ask questions/ adaptations. I also have osteopenia and it meets lots of the criteria for dealing with that.

I did also see a physio first and have a couple of 1:1s with a personal trainer which is often advised so that they can help with any specific issues and teach correct form.

If I had no health issues I’d find the right Caroline Girvan and plough through those. I did try those but I personally needed a different approach. Loads of people here use her and would be able to advise.

I had a weighted hula hoop and regret ditching it as I think that can be a really good workout!

Also rope skipping. It’s better for joints than running and you generally need to only do half what you’d run. (Very challenging!) counts as SIT.

if you start that you’d only need to try skipping for sets of 100 (count in 20s) or 30 seconds and rest for 1.5-2 mins in between. Around 5-6 sets of that would be a full sit workout - just do 5-10 mins warm up (dancing/ jogging on spot) and again something slower afterwards (walking for 5-10 mins) You’re fully done in 20-30 mins.

The SIT things I do in power happens are based on a structure like that.