Finding the time for a workout is challenging, even for fitness pros like me. Fortunately, it doesn’t take hours a day to get stronger and build muscle — if you’ve got some dumbbells and a half hour, you can make major strides in your health and wellness goals.
I was just cleared to resume exercise after having a baby, but fitting the gym into my schedule has been impossible. I scrolled through Instagram to find an at-home workout to do instead, and stumbled on Lauren Jayne Lawler’s recent 24-minute full-body workout. Here’s what I thought of her routine.
Working out at home is great, but I always recommend meeting with a certified personal trainer first to learn proper exercise form and technique. If you’re recently postpartum like me, always follow the recommendations of your medical team.
How to do Lauren Jayne Lawler’s full-body dumbbell workout
In addition to a set of dumbbells, you’ll also want to roll out a yoga mat for some cushioning. All of the exercises can be done with just two light dumbbells, but it’s best to have a moderately-heavy and a heavy pair available as well.
There are six exercises in this program, each done for 45 seconds in three circuits. You’ll rest for 15 seconds in between each move, and rest for 30 seconds at the end of each circuit. The exercises are:
- Supine grip Romanian deadlift to curl squat
- Gorilla row
- Static bridge chest press
- Squat knee to elbow crunch (both sides)
- Front delt raise squats
- Overhead reverse lunge knee drive
When Lawler said this workout was “full body,” she wasn’t kidding. Here’s what I noticed:
1. It works most of the major muscle groups…
All of the exercises in Lawler’s workout are compound moves that target multiple areas at once, so you’ll be working almost all of the major muscles in your body (more on the “almost” part below).
Compound exercises are a great option when you’re limited on time. Movements like the static bridge to chest press require effort from your hamstrings, glutes, deep core, and pecs all at once — in 45 seconds, you’ll have effectively worked your upper body, lower body, and core.
By the time I finished my third circuit, my entire body felt fatigued. That’s a pretty impressive feat given the workout’s relatively short duration. I was sore the next day, but it didn’t impact my normal routine, so I knew I had worked at an appropriate level.
2. …but there weren’t a lot of tricep-focused moves
The triceps didn’t get much attention in Lawler’s program, at least not in the same way that the quads, glutes, biceps, and shoulders do. It’s not that these muscles weren’t working at all, but it was in a more supportive or stabilizing manner.
I wanted to bring my triceps into action, so I altered one of Lawler’s exercises a bit. During the second circuit, I added an overhead tricep extension to the overhead reverse lunge knee drive. This felt like a natural place to insert the exercise, and it didn’t interrupt my flow at all.
This routine is pretty comprehensive on its own, so you certainly don’t have to throw in anything extra. However, you can add a tricep move and still keep the workout under half an hour.
3. It can be a cardio workout too
This workout’s structure is similar to HIIT (or high-intensity interval training), with short exercise bursts followed by even shorter rest periods. The beauty of timed intervals is that you can go at your own pace — if you’re a beginner or you want to focus on building strength, you can perform the movements more slowly. If you want a cardiovascular challenge, you can move quickly.
Since I hadn’t exercised in a while, I chose to do Lawler’s routine at a moderate tempo. My heart rate stayed elevated the entire time, but it never got into a “high intensity” range. This allowed me to get the best of both worlds — I was able to use heavier weights on moves like the supine grip RDL and overhead reverse lunge knee drive, while also breaking a sweat and getting a little breathless.
4. There’s time to add a quick warm-up and cool down
I finished all three circuits in a little over 23 minutes, which is close to what Lawler estimates. I’d given myself a full half hour for my workout, so I got to squeeze in some stretches and mobility work at the end.
Most “30-minute workouts” tend to be closer to 35 minutes in length, so I appreciated Lawler’s accuracy. That being said, what usually makes these programs longer than advertised is the inclusion of a warm-up and cool-down. You can fit both into those extra six minutes.
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