You only need 2 dumbbells and 6 moves to build full-body muscle and boost your metabolism

Features
By published

Work your whole body, strengthen your core and raise your heart rate

Woman performing dumbbell biceps curls at home
(Image credit: Getty Images)

You're busy — there's work to do, chores to finish, social events to attend and families to look after. That's why you're looking for a short but very effective routine you can do at home to build muscle all over and raise your heart rate with just a set of dumbbells.

So, grab a set of the best adjustable dumbbells (these are expensive, but flexible and make a great home workout companion) and roll out a yoga mat, then you're ready to take on this session from YouTube fitness duo Juice & Toya.

Watch Juice & Toya's 30-minute dumbbell workout

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

I always love Juice & Toya's workouts because they're effective, easy to follow and the pair demonstration different versions of the same move (standard and with modifications). However, for this one, there are no modifications.

Instead, as Toya explains at the start, if you need to adjust the intensity of the exercise, either lower the load you're lifting or switch to using your body weight alone. There's a common myth that dropping weights is a 'failure', but it definitely isn't.

As someone that's trained with weights for years, the worst mistake I made when first starting out was to lift too heavy. This meant I arched my lower back (hello, back pain) and I didn't focus on my form enough, so I wasn't getting much from the moves either.

So, don't do what I did; if you need to drop the weight that's absolutely okay. You want to stick to the correct form to get the muscle-building effects of the routine. Plus, as it's arranged as a high-intensity resistance training workout, there are other benefits too.

Working your muscles hard in quick bursts and keep breaks to a minimum increases your heart rate, so you burn more energy than during an equivalent steady-paced routine. And, over time, this can increase your metabolism as well.

So, you end up with a muscle-building, core-strengthening, fat-burning, metabolism-boosting workout you can do in less time than it takes to watch an episode of your favorite TV show — and you only need two dumbbells to get started.

More from Tom's Guide

James Frew
James Frew
Buying Guide Editor

James is Tom's Guide's Buying Guide Editor, overseeing the site's buying advice. He was previously Fitness Editor, covering strength training workouts, cardio exercise, and accessible ways to improve your health and wellbeing.

His first job at as a sales assistant in a department store, and this is where James learned how important it is to help people make purchasing decisions that are right for their needs, whether that's a fountain pen to give as a gift or a new fridge for their kitchen.

James is an advocate for sustainability and reparability, and focuses his reviews and advice through that lens to offer objective insights as to whether a specific product or service will be right for your needs.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.