Everyone’s obsessed with full-body workouts, and there’s a good reason as to why. Not only can they save you workout time by utilising multi-joint movements, hitting multiple muscle groups all at once, but studies have shown that two full-body workouts a week can deliver the same muscle and strength gains as four upper-lower-split workouts. You don’t need fancy gym machines for them either, as this workout shows. All that’s required is a pair of dumbbells and 30 minutes of commitment and hard graft.
As well as giving your cardiovascular system a run for its money—as multi-joint exercises require your body to deliver more oxygen to the muscles, thus raising your heart rate, giving it a good ol’ workout—they’re also excellent for working your core too. This is because exercises that engage multiple muscles at once, like a squat or deadlift, require engagement from the core muscles to help stabilise your spine. So, although you may not be doing a crunch or plank, you’re still strengthening your core in a functional way so you have better balance and can move more efficiently.
If you don't have dumbbells, you can always substitute them for two kettlebells. Perform each exercise for 6-8 reps with 30 seconds of rest in between. After completing all exercises, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat the workout 2-3 more times. If using heavy weights, feel free to extend rest periods (e.g. 30 to 60-90 seconds or 60 seconds to 2 minutes). Here's the workout:
- Bent over row
- Squat with a two second eccentric
- Single leg Romanian deadlift
- Kneeling shoulder press
- Lateral squat
- Floor press
If you’re a fan of full-body workouts, then we’ve got plenty more that you can try. This full-body dumbbell circuit from Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t just good for muscle growth, but those days you’re pushed for time, as it’ll only take you 20 minutes to blast through. More time to spare? Here’s a 40 minute workout you can try—FYI DOMS is highly likely the following day.
