No gym necessary – this 30-minute dumbbell workout builds muscle fast from home

A man performing a dumbbell goblet squat in his living room.

The gym may be seen as the ‘church of fitness’ but you don’t need to go there. Got a pair of dumbbells? That’s all you need to pack on some muscle and build serious strength. It doesn’t have to take hours either. This full-body workout contains multiple supersets, an effective training tool for building muscle, and you’ll be able to blast through it in 30 minutes, if you’re efficient.

The beauty of supersets is that they allow you to get more done in less time. This is because, instead of resting after your working set, you immediately move on to an exercise that works an opposing muscle group— known as an antagonist superset. Not only does this maximise training time, but it also encourages hypertrophy, as your muscles are placed under more tension. Antagonist supersets can also ensure you build a balanced physique, which can prevent muscle imbalances and injuries long term.

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For this workout you have three different supersets to work through to fire up your upper and lower body muscles. Complete three rounds of each pair of exercises below with a 60-second rest in between each round. Once you’ve completed three rounds, move on to the next superset. Adjustable dumbbells work particularly well as they’ll enable you to switch weights quickly with minimal rest, however, regular dumbbells are perfectly fine. If you don’t have those, kettlebells will also work. Just make sure you’re using a challenging weight. Here’s the workout:

Superset 1

• Romanian deadlifts — 10 reps
• Goblet squats — 8 reps

Superset 2

• Single arm row — 10 reps
• Waiter curls — 8 reps

Superset 3

• Arnold press — 10 reps
• Overhead tricep extension — 8 reps

While supersets are effective, make sure you give yourself a day's rest in between sessions, to allow your muscles to fully recover. Looking for a similar superset workout to schedule later in your week? Try this six-move full-body workout session from Arnold Schwarzenegger (don't panic it's suitable for beginners). Alternatively, here's another full-body workout that you only need a pair of dumbbells for.