Help w/workout schedule

Ok I have a set of 15 pound dumbells and im trying to figure out what would be the most effective schedule. I was thinking maybe biceps/chest abs monday, triceps/shoulders/back tuesday, legs/abs on wed. then start over on thursday. But I was hoping someone with a little more experience could give me a better setup with specific exercies that I can do with my dumbells. All I know to do really is on monday and thatd be:

10 curls,10 presses,10 flys,then abs and do 3 sets of each??? Is this enough or should I add in more or less...

So basically does anyone have a workout schedule that I could do with only dumbells, at the moment I can do sets of 10 with the last 2 really hard to get up so im thinking thats fine for a set number as of now. Any help would be amazing..thank you in advance.

Curls are isolation exercises, and therefore not worth it.

There are different variations of flys, but many of them are isolation.

I don't know if "presses" means bench press or military press, or both (or something else). But both of those are good.

Abs are not an exercise but a muscle, and if you are doing exercises that only target the abs, then they too are isolation. See above. There are plenty of exercises (deadlifts, eg) that work the abs as well as other muscles.

Find a program online or get New Rules of Lifting. New Rules has 'at home' variations for people who don't have access to a gym or cable machines. Almost any exercise that is listed as needing a barbell can be done with dumbbells.

You will, however, need other weights. There are some exercises that 15 lbs could be too much, and others that it won't be enough. Deadlifts, for instance - you'll be able to lift more than 30lbs. I recommend getting some adjustable dumbbells - they have some at Dick's Sporting Goods - 2 dumbbells, each go up to 20lbs, and you can get more plates later. But you'll need to be able to increase the amount of weight you use as you get stronger.

Ok and I have a set of 20 and my right arm can do 5 to 6 but left arm can only handle about 2 to 3 and thats doing bench presses. Left arm is def. weak and needs some work.   So if I stuck with bench presses and military should I do it every other day or every 3 days? Ive heard alot of diff people say whats the best so im just trying to get some advice from someone who does it and see what works for them. And long with presses, would you recommend doing db rows to work the other muscles in my arm on the days i dont do biceps?

If you can only do 2-3 reps, use a lower weight (for both arms) - let your left arm catch up to your right.

I really suggest New Rules of Lifting. First of all, it gives a lot of excellent information about how to train your body for best effects. Second of all, it gives you balanced routines that are a lot better than you can figure out on your own. It's $11 on Amazon.

Essentially, you need to stop looking at exercises as working a 'muscle group' - your body doesn't understand 'muscle groups' - it gets movements.  Muscles are arbitrarily grouped by their location, not their function.  You can push, you can pull, you can squat, etc, all of which use a wide array of muscles in proportion to how they're meant to be worked.

And New Rules will tell you how to split it up - most likely you'll be doing 3 workouts a week: Week 1 will be ABA, Week 2 will be BAB. How it gets split up depends on where you are in the book.

Hi Fender,

In regards to a program its a good idea to work opposing muscle groups on the same day ie if you work your biceps work your triceps after.

If you do abs do back extentions after. Its a more balance workout less chance of injury.

20lbs is pretty heavy so try compound exercises if you are going to use these weights. This is where you work more than 1 mucle in an exerice.

eg :

Bench press 2X10(chest and triceps)

upright row2X10(upper back and biceps)

working arms one day and legs the next is a good idea sarting off cause it allows rest time. As for abs you can work them every day,try and vary the crunches. If you have a stablility ball all the better.

Hope this helps,

Claire