The Ultimate 30 Minute Full Body Dumbbell Workout
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This week, we’re back with the ultimate at-home dumbbell workout routine. This dumbbell workout plan features exercises to create an intense full body burn during your weight lifting circuit. We’ll be targeting our favorite areas—arms, abs, and glutes—with dumbbells and/or resistance bands to strengthen your muscles and energize your body in just 30 minutes.
Are Dumbbells Effective?
Absolutely! The benefit of doing dumbbell exercises at home is that you can get in a quality workout with weights without having to leave the comfort of your home and spend money on expensive and bulky garage gym equipment. In fact, we love mixing up our locations and heading into the backyard for an outdoor workout with dumbbells.
If you’re looking for a beginner-friendly workout routine, dumbbells can absolutely be your best friend. In fact, focusing on full range of motion and correct form is often more important for beginners than the heaviness of the weight. Even by using 2lb dumbbells, you can get results from your workout. Challenge your body by slowly increasing the weight that you use when you’ve mastered the technique of each movement.
This workout is easily modified, which makes it a perfect at-home core workout for beginners or advanced athletes. If you need a shorter, 15-minute workout, simply do 10 reps of each exercise or make sure to check out our YouTube channel.
See our full workout series here.
We Recommend: Neoprene Dumbbell Set
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30 Minute Full body Dumbbell Workout
Suggested:
5-10 Minute Warmup + Cool Down of your choice.
Optional:
Increase the difficulty of the glute exercises by adding in a mini band above the knees!
Increase the difficulty!
Increase the weight of the dumbbells on your second set!
Need a modification?
Any of these movements can be done without weights.
Exercise List:
25 reps of each exercise
Arm Dumbbell Circuit:
Forward to Side Shoulder Raise
How-to: Start in a standing position, with hands at your sides, palms facing inward. Lift your arms to the side, laterally, and lower back down. Lift your arms forward, palms facing the ground, and lower. Continue to alternate.
Form tip: This exercise helps to build strength and stability in the muscles of the shoulder. Prevent swinging the arms as you raise and lower and squeeze through the core to prevent arching in your back.
Challenge: Add a heavier weight or dumbbell in either hand to add in a weighted challenge.
Bent Over Straight Arm Chest Fly
How-to: Start in a standing position, feet directly underneath the hips. Hinge at the waist. Arms hang in front of your quads, palms facing inward, thumbs together. Lift your arms to the side, laterally, pinkies towards the ceiling. Slowly lower down with control.
Form tip: Keep your arms as straight as possible to fully engage your back muscles and shoulders throughout this exercise. Avoid swinging and arching your back by engaging the muscles of the core and keeping a slight bend in your knees. Only lift the arms parallel to the ground and keep your palms faced towards you at all times.
Challenge: Flip your palms away from your body and lift your arms, thumbs facing the ceiling for a slightly different variation.
Tricep Extensions
How-to: Take the weights in either hand, behind your head. Elbows should be close to your ears, squeezing inward. Extend the arms overhead, straightening the elbows. Slowly lower down with control.
Form tip: To fully engage the tricep muscles and get the full benefit of this exercise, the only movement should be coming from the elbow as you extend and lower. Don’t lock your elbows out at the top to prevent injury.
Shoulder Press to Lat Pulldown
How-to: Start in a standing position with triceps parallel to the ground and elbows out to your sides at 90 degrees, palms facing away. Extend the arms overhead in a press and bring the elbows down and back, as though you were trying to pinch them behind you.
Form tip: This shoulder press to lat pulldown focuses on the muscles of the back. To get the most from this exercise, really squeeze your back as you bring the weights down.
Challenge: As in an isometric hold with one arm (keeping it at 90 degrees), while you perform the press and pulldown. Then switch sides.
Bent Over Row
How-to: In a standing position, hinge at the hips, making sure to keep the back straight. Both arms extend in front of your quads, palms facing together. Alternate pulling one arm up and back, keeping the elbow close to the side, squeezing the back and bicep muscles at the top. Alternate arms.
Form tip: Squeeze the abs as you row, making sure to not arch your back.
Glute Circuit:
Donkey Kick
How-to: Start in a table top position, shoulders over wrists, hips over knees. Add the weight behind the knee, engaging the hamstrings as you squeeze the weight. Tuck the toes of the working leg and flex the foot as you press the heel up towards the sky, keeping the knee at 90 degrees. Perform all reps on one leg before switching to the other side.
Form tip: Avoid arching your back by squeezing the glutes through the entire movement. This is a challenging exercise for the muscles of your butt and should not be felt in the back.
Challenge: Add a mini band over the knees for this circuit for an added resistance challenge.
Modification: Drop to your forearms for sensitive wrists.
Glute Bridge
How-to: Lying on your mat, hands pressed into the ground at your sides, knees bent, feet on the ground. Squeeze the glutes and lift the hips. Slowly lower down.
Form tip: Make sure to squeeze the glutes at the top to get the full booty work.
Challenge: Lift your leg for a single leg variation.
Surrender Squats
How-to: Start in a kneeling position, pelvis tipped forward, shoulders, hips and knees stacked in one line. Step up into a low squat, staying as low as possible. Bring the knees back down to kneeling. Alternate which foot leads each time you stand into a squat.
Form tip: When you return to kneeling, make sure to squeeze the butt muscles and tilt the pelvis forward so that you do not hinge forward at the waist.
Surfer Get-Ups
How-to: Start on your stomach, legs and arms outstretched. Pull your opposite arm and leg up from the mat, using the muscles of your lower back. Perform four repetitions (two on each side), then jump one foot forward between the hands into a low lunge. Bring the hands to the chest to balance for two seconds before jumping back into the swimmer position. Perform four more swimming reps and jump the opposite foot forward to the low lunge.
Form tip: Make sure to keep the knee from overextending the ankle and injuring the knee
Challenge: Speed it up for a high intensity interval training cardio burst.
Modification: If you’re unable to jump the foot forward, step the foot in between the hands into a low lunge, before lifting the chest from the mat.
Ab Circuit:
Oblique Crunch
How-to: Lying on your side on your forearm, shoulder directly over elbow, hips and knees stacked. Press up into a side forearm plank. Take the top knee and bring it forward into a side crunch by touching the top elbow and knee together. Perform all reps on the same side before switching.
Form tip: Don’t let your hips rock backwards as you lift into the side plank. Rotate the pelvis forward.
Modification: If you have difficulty in the lifted side plank, drop the bottom knee to the mat and perform the side crunch.
Leg Extension Sit Up
How-to: On your back, legs extended long, hands behind the head, elbows wide. Crunch your upper abs, keeping the chin lifted towards the sky to prevent strain on the knee.
Challenge: Extend the legs out at a 45 degree angle for a hollow body hold.
Russian Twist Leg Lower
How-to: Start by sitting on your mat, knees bent, feet into the mat in front of you. Holding your weights together at your chest, lift your heels from the mat and scoop the tailbone. Twist to one side, touching your opposite elbow and opposite knee. Lift and lower the leg that you are not twisted towards. Perform all reps and then switch sides.
Form tip: Keep the scoop in the tailbone with the C-curve for maximum ab and oblique work.
Modification: Drop the opposite foot to the ground for greater stability.
Alternating Scissor Leg Lifts
How-to: On your back on your mat, hands by your side for support, legs long and toes pointed. Alternate lifting and lowering the legs for the ultimate lower ab exercise.
Form tip: Keep the lower back and core engaged by pressing the lower back into the ground. Only lower the legs as low as you can control and keep the back on the mat.
Modification: Bend the knees slightly and externally rotate the legs to take the pressure off the hip flexors.