Hibiki Sakura is a second-year high school girl who has a voracious appetite; this habit leads to her gaining weight. Once this is brought to her attention, she reluctantly thinks about joining the Silverman Gym. At the gym, Hibiki finds out that Akemi Soryuin, a schoolmate of hers, is also thinking about joining. Upon meeting Naruzo Machio, one of the trainers, she falls heads over heels in love with him and joins the gym. Motivated, Hibiki vows to lose weight.

Dumbbell started in 2016 as a web manga before getting its anime. The manga continued after the 2019 Doga Kobo anime and currently has 19 print volumes.

Most chapters include locations around Tokyo, but semi-frequently there’s a chapter or two where characters go on a trip domestically (to Kyoto) or overseas, usually for some kind of absurd athletic competition. Many of the series’ more outlandish buildings are fictional.

The interior of Gold’s Gym Harajuku looks like this.