These are the basic targets I want to keep in the routine.
100 Push-Ups
100 Squats
1-Minute Plank
8,000–12,000 Steps
Approximately 1 Hour of Training
Hit your calorie and protein targets
The 100 push-ups and 100 squats don't have to happen all at once.
Break them up throughout the workout or throughout the day.
The point isn't to make yourself miserable.
The point is to keep moving and build consistency.
Monday — Push
Tuesday — Pull
Wednesday — Legs
Thursday — Push
Friday — Pull
Saturday — Legs + Conditioning
Sunday — Recovery
That's the basic schedule.
If work, school, life, or recovery gets in the way, move things around.
Missing a day isn't the end of the world.
Just get back at it.
Start with about 10 minutes of warming up.
Shoulder mobility, arm circles, light push-ups, jumping jacks, and a couple light sets of your first exercise.
Then get into the workout.
Dumbbell Press
4 sets × 8–12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press
3 sets × 8–12 reps
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
3 sets × 8–12 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
3 sets × 12–20 reps
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension
3 sets × 10–15 reps
Finish with:
100 Push-Ups
1-Minute Plank
Use whatever time is left for stretching and cooling down.
Start with about 10 minutes of warming up.
Get the shoulders moving, loosen up your arms, and do some light rows and hip-hinge movements.
Then:
Dumbbell Row
4 sets × 8–12 reps
One-Arm Dumbbell Row
3 sets × 8–12 reps
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
3 sets × 8–12 reps
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
3 sets × 12–15 reps
Dumbbell Curl
3 sets × 10–15 reps
Hammer Curl
3 sets × 10–15 reps
Finish with:
100 Push-Ups
1-Minute Plank
Warm up for about 10 minutes.
Bodyweight squats, lunges, leg swings, hip mobility, and some lighter warm-up sets.
Then:
Goblet Squat
4 sets × 8–15 reps
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
4 sets × 8–12 reps
Bulgarian Split Squat
3 sets × 8–12 reps per leg
Dumbbell Walking Lunge
3 sets × 10 reps per leg
Standing Calf Raise
4 sets × 15–25 reps
Finish with:
100 Squats
1-Minute Plank
I don't want every workout to be exactly the same, so the second Push day uses a few different movements.
Dumbbell Floor Press
4 sets × 8–12 reps
Arnold Press
3 sets × 8–12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press
3 sets × 8–12 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
4 sets × 12–20 reps
Close-Grip Push-Ups
3 controlled sets
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension
3 sets × 10–15 reps
Finish with:
100 Push-Ups
1-Minute Plank
One-Arm Dumbbell Row
4 sets × 8–12 reps
Dumbbell Row
3 sets × 8–12 reps
Dumbbell Pullover
3 sets × 10–12 reps
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
3 sets × 12–15 reps
Alternating Dumbbell Curl
3 sets × 10–15 reps
Hammer Curl
3 sets × 10–15 reps
Farmer Carry
3 sets × 30–60 seconds
Finish with:
100 Push-Ups
1-Minute Plank
Goblet Squat
4 sets × 8–15 reps
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
4 sets × 8–12 reps
Reverse Lunge
3 sets × 10 reps per leg
Bulgarian Split Squat
3 sets × 8–12 reps per leg
Calf Raise
3 sets × 15–25 reps
Then get some conditioning in.
Pick one:
Brisk walking
Hill walking
Stairs
Step-ups
Jumping jacks
Finish with:
100 Squats
1-Minute Plank
Steps are a big part of this, but they don't need to be complicated. Walk at work, outside, around town, on a treadmill, or take the stairs. Whatever works for you.
A good progression is:
Starting point: 6,000–8,000
Standard: 8,000–10,000
Goal: 10,000–12,000
10,000 isn't some magic number. It's just a good target that keeps you moving.
Recovery matters just as much as training. Sunday is the dedicated recovery day, but you should be paying attention to recovery throughout the week.
Get your sleep, stay hydrated, eat enough, stretch, and keep moving. If you're completely beat up, forcing another hard workout isn't automatically going to make you better. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is recover and come back ready to work.
Keep your meals simple. Start with a protein source, add some fruit or vegetables, then add carbohydrates like rice, potatoes, oats, or whole grains. Include healthy fats from foods like nuts, avocado, olive oil, and eggs, and drink plenty of water.
You don't have to eat perfectly. You have to eat in a way you can actually stick with.
Eat to perform. Eat to recover. Eat to support your goal.
The routine is designed around dumbbells from roughly 40 pounds up to 90 pounds. That doesn't mean you're supposed to grab the 90s for everything.
Use the weight that makes sense for the exercise. A Romanian deadlift, row, or squat is going to use a completely different weight than a lateral raise.
Control the weight, use good form, get your reps, and then work your way up.
Don't ego lift.
You need to give your body a reason to get stronger, and that means progressing over time.
You can progress by adding weight, adding reps, adding sets, improving your form, increasing your range of motion, or simply getting better at controlling the weight.
Here's an easy example. If an exercise says 4 × 8–12, start with a weight you can control for around 8 good reps. Eventually you'll work your way through 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 reps.
Once you're consistently hitting the top of the range with good form, move up in weight and build your reps back up.
Earn the next dumbbell.
You don't need to track every single thing in your life. Track the things that matter: body weight, steps, workouts, weight lifted, reps, calories, protein, sleep, and recovery.
Then look at the trend.
Don't freak out because the scale went up two pounds one morning, and don't think you're getting nowhere because you had one bad workout. Fitness is built over weeks, months, and years.
Training is only half of it. You also have to eat right.
I'm not going to put one random calorie number on this page because everybody is different. Your calorie needs depend on your age, height, weight, sex, activity level, training, and goal.
Your three basic goals are:
Eat in a sustainable calorie deficit. A common starting point is around 300–500 calories below maintenance.
Eat around your maintenance calories and keep training.
Eat in a modest calorie surplus while continuing to train hard.
Don't overcomplicate it. You don't need some ridiculous diet. You need to know how much you're eating and what you're trying to accomplish.
Protein matters, especially if you're lifting. Build your meals around actual protein sources like chicken, beef, turkey, eggs, fish, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, beans, and other protein-rich foods.
Your exact protein target should be based on your body size and goals. The important thing is getting enough consistently.
Don't ego lift, skip warm-ups, or ignore recovery. Don't starve yourself trying to get lean, expect results overnight, or compare your progress to somebody else's.
And don't quit because you missed a day.
Keep showing up, keep getting stronger, and keep moving.
This isn't just about looking good.
Being an electrician can mean being on your feet all day, climbing, carrying material, lifting equipment, kneeling, reaching, crawling into tight spaces, working overhead, and dealing with physically demanding conditions.
Your fitness should help you handle that.
Build your strength, legs, back, shoulders, grip, core, conditioning, mobility, and work capacity.
I want the goal to be more than looking strong.
I want you to actually be strong.
You don't need a perfect gym, a perfect diet, or a perfect schedule. You need to keep working.
Some days you'll crush the workout. Some days you'll barely get it done. Some weeks you'll make huge progress, and other weeks you'll feel like you're going nowhere.
That's normal.
The important part is that you keep going. Don't let one bad day turn into a bad week, and don't let a bad week turn into quitting.
Train hard. Eat right. Get your steps. Recover. Come back tomorrow.
Build the body. Build the mind. Build the trade. Stay ready.
