Despite his bodybuilding heyday almost being half a century ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger is still an icon for fitness enthusiasts today. And if you wanted to get a body even remotely like his, you’d instantly think it’d require endless hours spent in a gym with lots of fancy-looking equipment. Well, wrong. In one of his recent newsletters, the retired bodybuilder shared a dumbbell-only workout that you can do from home, which takes no more than 15 minutes.
“All you need is one pair of dumbbells for a great workout,” Arnold says in his newsletter, and he’s not wrong. Dumbbells are a brilliant piece of equipment for a full-body workout — they can be used to build strength, muscle and lose fat. Plus, they don’t take up a lot of room, which makes them a convenient piece of equipment, although if you really lack space, we’d advise getting a pair of adjustable dumbbells.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 15-minute full-body dumbbell workout
This workout will get your heart rate up, and afterwards, you’ll have a serious pump (but we expected nothing less from Arnie). You’ll set a timer for 15 minutes and perform seven exercises for 10 reps, all of which target your abs, legs, arms and glutes. Once you’ve completed the seven exercises, catch your breath, and then it’s time to go again. The aim is to try and complete as many workout sets as possible.
Here are the exercises:
- Dumbbell row
- Dumbbell lunge
- Dumbbell overhead press
- Dumbbell Romanian deadlift
- Dumbbell overhead farmer’s walk (hold the dumbbells over your head and walk with them)
- Dumbbell squat
- Push-ups
Opt for a medium-weight dumbbell so that you’re able to perform a decent number of sets rather than going for something too heavy that will just tire you out early on. Alternatively, you can also use kettlebells for this workout if you don't own a pair of dumbbells. If you also want to eat like Arnie, he's also shared exactly what he eats in a day (cheat meal included).
