This 20-minute dumbbell workout builds full-body strength in just 5 moves

I’ve been trying to do more strength workouts at home lately, and one thing that has helped me is having dumbbells in sight at all times. Even if they’re tucked away under a TV stand, seeing the end of the weights acts as a handy reminder to train if I have a bit of spare time.

Of course, along with a set of the best dumbbells, you also need a good routine to follow, and I’m a big fan of the way fitness trainer Kat Boley sets up her dumbbell workouts. They’re short, effective and make good use of combo moves to hit the upper and lower body at the same time.

This 20-minute full-body workout is a classic example. Using just two weights — or three if you want a heavier one for some exercises — you can strengthen muscles all over the body while also getting your heart pumping.

Boley herself uses 15lb weights for dual dumbbell exercises and a 25lb weight for the moves with only one, but you can use any weight with the session, so tailor it to your fitness level as required.

Watch Kat Boley’s 5-move dumbbell workout

The workout is a circuit of five exercises, taking minimal rest in between them. You do three full rounds of the five moves, taking a longer break in between each round as required.

Boley demonstrates each move in the workout in her Instagram post, so it’s worth looking through them to see what you’ll be doing, as you can move seamlessly from exercise to exercise.

The five moves are:

• Side squat with dumbbell clean and jerk — 10 reps
• Spiderman plank — 10 reps each side
• Side lunge to reverse lunge — 10 reps each side
• Side plank with rotation — 10 reps each side
• Dumbbell thruster with alternating knee raise — 12 reps

With each exercise, there is an element where you work one side of your body at a time, which is a great way to identify and then even out any strength imbalances you might notice.

Most of the exercises in the workout are combination moves, where you merge two exercises to engage more muscles throughout the body. For example, when you do lunges, you’ll be lowering and lifting a dumbbell at the same time.

This gives you more bang for your buck in terms of the effectiveness of a short session like this, but also means that you need to take your time with each move and make sure that you’re doing each part correctly.

If you can find time to do this workout twice a week, or do it in rotation with another full-body session, like this five-move resistance band routine, then you’ll be laying a great foundation for your strength and fitness.

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