EN
Get started

4-Day Home Dumbbell Muscle Building Plan for Intermediates

A week for an intermediate lifter at home with dumbbells who wants to build muscle: 4 workouts of 60 minutes (Mon upper body, Tue lower body, Thu upper body, Fri lower body).

Goal
Muscle gain
Days per week
4 days
Minutes per workout
60 minutes
Split
Upper / lower
Level
Intermediate
Where
Home and outdoors

Monday — upper body

≈ 62 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. Arm Circles

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Dumbbell Halo

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Floor Press

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Dumbbell Row Unilateral

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Dumbbell Row Bilateral

    3 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  4. Standing Palms-In Dumbbell Press

    3 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

Accessory work

  1. Side Laterals to Front Raise

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Dumbbell Concentration Curl

    6 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Overhead Lat Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Tuesday — lower body

≈ 58 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. 90/90 Hip Switches

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Hip Circles

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Dumbbell Thruster

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Dumbbell Single Leg Hip Thrust

    2 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Dumbbell Goblet Split Squat

    2 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  4. Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

    3 × 12 rest 60 s

  5. Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadlift

    2 × 12 rest 60 s

Accessory work

  1. Bodyweight Hip Abduction

    2 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Nordic Hamstring Curl

    4 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  3. Dumbbell Single Leg Calf Raise

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Kneeling Hip-Flexor Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Rock

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Thursday — upper body

≈ 62 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. Cat–Cow Mobility

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Arm Circles

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Floor Press

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Dumbbell Single Arm Row

    3 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Standing Dumbbell Press

    3 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  4. Dumbbell Upright Row

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

Accessory work

  1. Leaning Single Arm Lateral Raise

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Prone Y-T Raises

    6 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Standing Wall Shoulder Opening Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Overhead Triceps Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Friday — lower body

≈ 58 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. Front-to-Back Leg Swings

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. 90/90 Hip Switches

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Man Maker

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Dumbbell Heels Elevated Hip Thrust

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Front-Foot-Elevated Split Squat

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

Accessory work

  1. Dumbbell Leg Curl

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Bent-Knee Soleus Raise

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  3. Bodyweight Hip Abduction

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Pigeon Glute Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Lying Figure-Four Glute Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

RPE is how hard a set feels on a 1–10 scale: at RPE 7 you have about three more reps left.

This is a sample week the Workoutify generator built for this questionnaire. For your own days, time and equipment it will build yours. Built on October 25, 2026

Why it is built this way

  • Upper and lower body alternate: on 4 days each muscle is trained twice a week with rest in between.
  • Reps: 5–20. The day's main lift sits near the bottom of the range, compounds at 8–12, isolation up to 20. Muscle grows from tension and sets taken close to failure.
  • Rest on the day's main lift is at least 2.5 min, so the next set goes with the same weight. Accessory exercises get shorter rest.
  • Effort is set on the RPE scale from 1 to 10. RPE 8–8.5 means roughly 1–2 reps left in reserve: you choose the weight by that feel, not by a percentage of your max.
  • The weeks undulate: moderate, heavy (2 fewer reps, RPE +1) and light (2 more reps, RPE −1) weeks rotate. This page shows the moderate one.

All programs

Work out your numbers

A week of training and meals built for you

Workoutify plans workouts around your days, time and equipment — and a menu for your goal and macros.

Build my week