Say hello to your next favorite functional training routine.
I am a big fan of dumbbell workouts, I can do them in under 60 minutes and with minimal equipment. They allow more people to get moving without sacrificing a whole lunch break or needing to head to the gym. That means time-efficient training without losing out on quality.
The session involves decreasing your rep count of three exercises every round you complete, until you hit the 15-minute cut-off. It’s fun, competitive, and a great one to do with your mates or training partner.
Be warned, it’ll leave you spent, crumpling into a sweaty pile on your mat, but feeling euphoric. It builds power, strengthens, and hones a strong, fit body using just two medium-heavy or adjustable dumbbells.
Watch my 3-move dumbbell workout:
Take a quick look over the moves using my demo videos below, then check out the full workout to follow.
1. Dumbbell suitcase deadlift
Back in the day, suitcases didn't have wheels; you had to bend down, pick them up, and carry them along. That's where the name comes from.
The suitcase deadlift gets the core muscles, grip strength, and legs working and should be performed at speed, but without losing form. Try to tap the ends of the dumbbells to the floor with every rep, then drive to stand with power.
Keep your chest proud, back straight, and focus on your hip hinge. A little squeeze of those glutes goes a long way to keeping them active and protects your lower back.
2. Dumbbell devil press
The name of the move tells you everything you need to know — it’s tough. The devil press combines several moves into one, including a burpee, a slight swing, and a snatch. The exercise develops power and full-body strength, but also tests your ability to control heavy weights and endure.
If you pick the right weights, you can find a nice rhythm with these, but it's going to require you to lock in and not stop too often.
We’ve got a lot of reps to get through, so I encourage you to choose your weights carefully. You don’t want to keep stopping every 5 reps — Ideally, you’d only need one short reset between reps each round. For example, splitting your 20 reps into two sets of 10.
3. Dumbbell squat clean
Squat cleans develop core and leg power, muscle and strength, and train your body to drive weights to your shoulders and squat under load. This requires balance and stability, which means both sides of your body must communicate with each other for you to perform the move effectively with dumbbells.
Focus on a powerful drive from floor to shoulders, then pull your elbows forward to shelf the weights in position, ready to move straight into the squat as soon as the weights land. These should be clean and fast, but remember: find depth at the bottom of your squat — no quarter or half reps. Sit low, drive up with power, and reset quickly.
The workout:
Descending ladder: 20/18/16/14….
- Suitcase deadlift
- Devil press
- Squat clean
Start by performing 20 reps of each exercise with very little rest, moving from one move to the next. You could choose to alternate arms and use one dumbbell (dividing the reps per arm) or increase the time cap if you need more buffer.
On the next round, reduce by two reps, then repeat, descending the ladder as far as you can, stopping at your time cap. I recommend shooting for 15 minutes and checking your progress as you get fitter and stronger, using the same weights over time. Of course, you can modify the time cap or starting number of reps to begin with.
Remember, you need to work with some speed, so don't go super heavy on the weight choices. Ideally, complete the reps per move per round with no more than one short rest. When you reach 10-12 reps per exercise, try to complete these without stopping at all.
Good luck, and may the devil press gods be on your side.
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