Building strength and muscle doesn’t need to be complicated with upper-lower splits or require a gym. Research shows that free weights, like dumbbells, can offer the same strength gains as machines, and full-body workouts can be just as effective as split routines. All you need is a solid workout to get you started, like this full-body dumbbell workout from Sweat Founder, Kayla Itsines.
What’s great about this workout is that it includes a mixture of compound exercises (to target multiple muscle groups at a time), as well as isolation exercises to hone in on singular muscle groups, so you’ll be targeting your body from head to toe. These compound exercises consist of the fundamental movement patterns: a squat, hinge, push and pull— that we use every day, to help you build functional strength, so you can move more efficiently, reducing the likelihood of injuries.
