If you’re short on time but want to target every major muscle group this 20-minute workout is perfect.
I'm a personal trainer and I've selected five of my favorite movements—many of them compound exercises—to work your entire body. All you need is a pair of dumbbells at a weight that’s challenging for you. That may mean choosing a different weight for each exercise, which is why adjustable dumbbells are worth buying. Fit&Well's top three adjustable dumbbells are at the bottom of this article.
Don’t forget to spend five to 10 minutes warming up and cooling down.
How to do this workout
1. Weighted dumbbell march
Sets: 3 Reps: 10 each side
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding one dumbbell in both hands close to your chest.
- Slowly lift your left leg until your knee is at hip height.
- Pause, then lower it back down.
- Repeat on the other side, alternating for eight to 10 reps on each side.
2. Weighted tap jack
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding dumbbells by your shoulders.
- Extend your arms to push the weights overhead then lower them back to your shoulders.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat, extending your arms to lower the dumbbells.
- Tap your dumbbells on the floor.
- Raise the dumbbells back to your shoulders and push through your heels to stand up.
3. Reverse lunge and biceps curl
Sets: 3 Reps: 10 each side
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing away from you.
- Step back with one foot and bend both knees to lower until your rear knee is just above the floor.
- Bend your elbows to raise the dumbbells to your shoulders.
- Lower the dumbbells then drive through your front foot to return to standing.
- Repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.
4. Front to side raise
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Stand with feet hip-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing you.
- With a braced core, raise the dumbbells up to shoulder height.
- Keeping them raised, open your arms out to the sides into a T-shape.
- Lower the weights down to your thighs and repeat.
5. Plank jack and cross mountain climber
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Starting in a high plank position, with your hands and feet on the floor, hands directly under your shoulders, arms extended and your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your heels.
- Jump your feet out to the sides then back to the starting position.
- Bring your right knee to your left elbow, then your left knee to your right elbow.
Why you should do full-body workouts
Full-body workouts are a great way to make sure you are training all the major muscles and building strength evenly. You'll also burn more energy in your workout than following a split routine where you focus on a single body part in a workout, since more muscle mass is used during full-body workouts.
If weight loss is a goal, focusing on full-body workouts is a great way to increase calorie burn. Plus, doing compound moves has been shown to trigger a greater metabolic response compared with isolation exercises like biceps curls or triceps extensions.
Whether you’re looking to build muscle or burn body fat, a full-body workout with compound moves is one of the most time-efficient and effective ways to achieve this. For a longer session once you've mastered this routine, try this full-body dumbbell workout.
Shop adjustable dumbbells
Adjustable dumbbells are a great addition to a home gym because you can quickly adjust the weight for each exercise. To build muscle the last few reps of each set should feel challenging—that's impossible to achieve for every exercise if you only have one pair of fixed-weight dumbbells. Fit&Well has been testing the best adjustable dumbbells since 2020, here are our current favorites.
