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Do you have a pair of dumbbells and 20 minutes? Then you have everything you need to build serious muscle and strength, without any complication. You can get a solid, basic full-body dumbbell workout does everything your body needs, but doesnt take an eternity. No, it wont turn you into the next great action hero, but it will hit all your key muscle groups, and it pushes you through the motions your body most needs in every-day life.
It also doesnt take long to pull off: Youre doing a pair of supersets and once youre warmed up, you can rip through them in 15 to 20 minutes if youre efficient.
The Beauty of Supersets
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Man exercising with kettlebells in the gym
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This workout from Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. , has you blasting through two supersets one for your upper body and one for your lower body. Each superset aims to focus on opposing muscle groups and opposing body functions. For example, the first superset for your upper body has you doing a pull move (a row) and a push move (the hollow-body press).
The pull move attacks the back strength and muscle your body needs most, and it also efficiently gets your body ready to push. The push move rocks your chest and triceps.
Youll do a similar superset for your lower body. Lower-body moves generally break down into hip-dominant moves (moves that have you hinging at your hips, generally stressing glutes and hamstrings above all) and knee-dominant moves (which challenge the knee joint more). Youll do one of each.
The pace of these supersets has an added benefit too: Itll ratchet up your heart rate. Youre moving for 90 to 120 seconds at a time here, with tight rest periods, and that has cardiovascular benefit too.
The Workout
Do this workout at least three times a week or as often as you want to do it. Before you do the workout, run through a brief warmup: Do 20 jumping jacks, 10 bodyweight reverse lunges, and a 30-second plank. Repeat that twice. Then you're ready to go.
Superset 1: Lower Body
Lead off with this lower-body superset. Do your reps of the Romanian deadlift, then go right into your reps of the goblet squat. Do 3 rounds. Rest 60 seconds between each round.
Romanian Deadlift: Do 8 to 10 reps. Focus on tempo, taking your time on every rep. Think of taking two seconds to lower the weights, then exploding up and squeezing your glutes. The video below shows the move with a barbell; you should use dumbbells instead.