If you’re looking for a no-fuss, minimal-kit approach to getting strong and packing on some muscle, then investing in a pair of dumbbells is the way forward. This dumbbell-only workout from Sweat App Founder, Kayla Itsines, hits four of the biggest movement patterns – squat, push, pull and hinge – so, not only will it build a well-rounded physique but improve functional strength too.
As well as being able to deliver the same muscle-strength benefits you’d get from doing a workout at the gym with machines (studies back this up), training with dumbbells also offers a few additional benefits. A major one is that they allow more freedom of movement, which helps to engage smaller stabilizer muscles. Strengthening these can often go amiss with machines, but it's incredibly important for maintaining joint stability, reducing the likelihood of injury, and enhancing movement performance.
This workout features seven exercises and you're going to complete each set of exercises three times before moving on to the next movement. Rest for one to two minutes between each round, to make sure you're fully recovered to give the next set your all again. Here's your workout:
- Reverse lunge – 20 reps (10 each side)
- Goblet squat – 12 reps
- Romanian deadlift – 12 reps
- Shoulder press – 12 reps
- Overhead tricep extension –12 reps
- Bent over row –12 reps
- Russian twist – 20 reps (10 each side)
Want more full-body workouts like this one using only dumbbells? Check out this 25-minute workout – ideal for those days you don’t have a ton of free time, but still want to put your body through its paces (in a good way). Alternatively, if you do have time to spare, then this 30-minute dumbbell workout will meet you somewhere in the middle.
