Home dumbbell workouts can be one of the most efficient ways to stay fit, because with the right set of exercises on your plan you can build functional strength through short, effective sessions you can fit into even the busiest schedules.
This 20-minute dumbbell workout from fitness trainer Kat Boley is a great session to add to your routine. It contains just five moves, using a combination of movements to make sure you’re working as many muscles as possible. The fast pace to the session means you will also raise your heart rate and boost your cardio fitness, making it the perfect quick workout to slip into a lunch break when you have a chance.
For the workout you need a set of heavy dumbbells — Boley is using 15lb weights for reference — and you can use a small looped resistance band for two of the moves to increase the challenge, but this is optional if you don’t have one to hand. If you have a set of the best adjustable dumbbells you can change the weight quickly between moves to have the right amount for each specific exercise.
Watch Kat Boley’s dumbbell workout
The workout contains five exercises in a circuit that you do three times in total (or more, if you have time and fancy another round or two). Take a 10-second break between each exercise and a minute between circuits.
For each move you’re doing 10 reps, or 10 on each side if it’s an exercise where you work each side in turn. It’s worth watching Boley’s demonstrations of each move closely before you start the workout, because most of the exercises involve combining a couple of movements into one to target more muscle groups.
As an example, you start by doing lunge pulses combined with alternating dumbbell overhead presses, and later in the workout do squats into rows. It’s a great way to train for those keen to get as much done as possible in a short space of time, but you need to have the moves clear in your head before beginning.
Here are the five moves in the workout:
- Lunge pulse with alternating overhead dumbbell press
- Side lunge to dumbbell clean and press
- Squat to row
- Glute kickback to mountain climber
- Dumbbell curtsey lunge
For the last two exercises Boley has wrapped a mini resistance band around her thighs to increase the difficulty. You can do the workout without the band though, and maybe look at adding one in after a few weeks as a good way to progress the session so it continues to challenge you.
You can also progress or vary your training by trying other workouts, like this 20-minute dumbbell session that uses an EMOM (every minute on the minute) format, or this 20-minute standing abs and arms workout.
