Can I realistically reach my glute/toning goals at home with dumbbells up to 15kg?

reemhaqqi6467

I’m a 27 y/o woman, 157cm tall, currently 51kg. My main goal is glute growth — aiming for a 7–12cm increase (from ~93cm hips to around 100–105cm), plus overall toning and some upper body definition.

I haven’t trained in years, but I plan to work out consistently 3–4x/week. I already have a diet and workout plan in place.

Currently I have 2kg, 3kg, and 5kg dumbbells, and am about to buy 8kg, 12kg, and 15kg pairs. I also have resistance bands, a yoga mat, and a plastic stool I use instead of a bench.

I know a gym would be ideal, but for now I’d rather stay home. So — if I stick with this setup, would it be enough to help me actually reach my goals over the next 7–12 months? Or am I likely to plateau without going heavier?

If you do think I’ll eventually need more than 15kg, what would I need to add to keep progressing and finally reach my goal? I couldn’t find any good-quality adjustable dumbbells where I live, so that’s not an option unfortunately.

Would really appreciate any insight 🙏🏼

claireychn074

I train for specific strength for my sport rather than aesthetics, and there are people on here with a lot more experience in your kind of training.

For what it’s worth though, I think you will need a lot more than 15kg. I’m a lot older than you so my muscle growth is likely to be slower, but I need to do heavy squats and glute bridges to build my glutes (think 120kg on glute bridges for reps). With only 15kg you’re going to have to focus on tempo to get those muscles working hard, ie Bulgarian split squats going down for three then up for three.
The reality is that glutes are a big old muscle and need a lot of resistance training to grow. Those fitness influencers who say they built their bum with bands? Yeah they’re lying. They probably deadlift heavy, they squat heavy, they glute bridge heavy.

There are some heavy bands you can get which are useful - but growing your glutes that much is going to require effort, dedication and hard work. And a calorie excess.

Retroguy2000

I know you said it's hard to find adjustable db's but I'd strongly advise looking more, including the used market. You might also be able to find a pre-made set of loadable db's, e.g. in my last visit to the UK a friend loaned me a pair like this at the link. As a pair, they're 20kg, but a single db can be quickly loaded to 14kg. Or look to buy a pair of sleeves, Titan and others sell these, and buy the weight plates separately at any fitness store. Ultimately this will be cheaper and more flexible than repeatedly buying heavier and heavier db's as you progress, all of which also means more storage space needed.

https://amzn.eu/d/dS2Vekz

Assuming your max is a pair of 15kg, I think that will be challenging enough for you with single leg movements while holding both db's, e.g. Bulgarians, lunges, step-ups. They'll hit your glutes some. But it's not going to be enough for key exercises like regular squats or Romanians, or glute bridges.

There's no such thing as toning. You can build muscle and lose muscle, and gain fat and lose fat, potentially at the same time with the right circumstances.

csplatt

I’m happy with my fitness level at home and I don’t use anything over 35 lb. I typically only use the 35 one at a time for squats.

nossmf

I put together this thread to discuss options to continue making strides in strength training, and only one of them required going heavier. Changing angles, adding reps, slowing down, and a whole lot more are ways we can make the weights we have seem so much heavier and continue to improve. Yes, eventually you may need to continue to get heavier weights, but that's not our only option:

30-tips-to-increase-strength-training-intensity