Forget burpees – this 20-minute workout boosts your metabolism with no jumping

A woman doing dumbbell squats.

You may think the only way to burn calories is by throwing yourself around the gym with high-intensity exercises like burpees, or lacing up your running shoes and hitting the treadmill – it’s not! In fact, you don’t need to bounce around at all. This five-move workout uses low-impact exercises and weights to ramp up your heart rate to help turbocharge your metabolism. No jumping required, just a pair of light dumbbells.

This workout prioritises compound exercises – exercises that hit lots of muscle groups at once. The more muscles your body uses, the harder it has to work to pump more blood around the body to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. This results in your heart rate rising and burning lots of calories. However, by also keeping rest periods short, and adding a pair of weights into the equation, will force your muscles to work even harder, meaning you burn even more calories, so it’s a win, win! Not to mention you'll build up strength too.

A post shared by Britany Williams (@britanywilliams)

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If you don’t have access to any weights, just grab some household items instead. You can keep the weights lights or if you want more of a challenge, grab some heavier ones. Perform each exercise below for 40 seconds, followed by a 20-second rest. We know, it’s not a long rest, but it’ll keep the heart rate high. Once you’ve performed all five exercises, Brittany says to rest for 30 seconds (if you need 60 or 90 seconds, please take it) and then do it all again three more times. Make sure you have a towel and water bottle nearby, we think you’ll be needing it… Here’s the workout:

• Step out squat pulse
• Goblet squat to calf raise
• Lateral knee drive
• Lateral lunge pick ups
• Kneeling bicep curl swing

If you enjoyed this workout and fancy doing something similar, then here’s a three-move workout you can try that requires zero equipment, will get your heart pumping and build strength – it's very simple, but highly effective. Alternatively, if you are looking for another workout with weights, this 25-minute dumbbell workout will leave you feeling strong and burn plenty of calories.