No gym? No problem. Today I’m giving you a quick and effective circuit workout that will work your entire body, and all you need is a set of dumbbells. As a certified personal trainer (https://www.instagram.com/sydneycummings_/?hl=en) in the digital media world, my daily mission is to make fitness accessible for everyone, everywhere, no matter what. I believe that there should be no barriers between you and a fantastic workout to keep you feeling great. Gym memberships and trips to the gym are not possible for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an incredible fitness lifestyle.
I have included four of my favorite full-body compound exercises to give you a workout at home with minimal equipment to target your upper body, lower body, and abs. I wanted to include a good variety of pushing, pulling, frontal plane, sagittal plane, and kneeling positions to make sure your whole body is effectively worked. These exercises will challenge your strength, balance, coordination, and core as
you work your upper and lower body in every move.
The Routine:
1. Squat and Press
2. Reverse Lunge and Bicep Curl
3. Single-Leg Deadlift and Row
4. Tricep Kickback and Glute Kickback
Four rounds of 20 reps per exercise with 30 seconds of rest in between exercises. Complete one round of each exercise and then take two minutes of rest. Repeat for a total of four rounds.
The Move: Squat and Press
How to: This exercise is my favorite for a full-body strength move. It also makes me feel powerful, and who doesn’t love that feeling when working out? Start with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, or in a comfortable squat stance for you. Bring your dumbbells to your chest and engage your core before you sit into a squat. Shift your weight back into your heels and sit your butt back and down while keeping your chest up and your core engaged. Press into the floor with your feet, and as you stand up from your squat, press your dumbbells overhead into a full press. Return your dumbbells back to your shoulders before starting the movement again.
To modify this movement, sit down onto a chair, a bench, or a coffee table for your squat and then start your shoulder press when you are standing fully upright again. To advance this move, make your squat to press fluid by starting your press on the way up from the bottom of your squat. Increase your weights when you can.
The Move: Tricep Kickback and Glute Kickback
How to: This exercise is great for strengthening the back of your arms, isolating your glutes, and really challenging your core as you stabilize your body during each part of this exercise. Bring your dumbbells down to the floor and lower your body to start on your hands and knees, holding your dumbbells right under your shoulders and placing your knees right under your hips. Engage your core as you lift your left elbow to your side and extend your arm straight back toward your hip. As you are extending your left arm straight backward, lift your right leg from the floor and extend your heel straight back from your hip to flex your glute. Bend your elbow and bring your dumbbell back under your shoulder and your knee back down to the mat. Repeat this combination on the opposite side of your body, remembering to always keep your core strong and neutral. The most important part of this move is the squeeze in the tricep as you straighten your arm and the squeeze in your glute as you straighten your leg and lift your heel to the sky.
You can modify this movement by performing the tricep extension and the glute kickback separately and performing all 20 reps on one arm and leg combo before switching to the other side. You can advance this movement by adding a glute resistance band to your thighs to make the glute kickback more of a challenge.
These exercises are a great way to make sure you get a full-body workout in a short amount of time no matter where you are. My mission is to provide fitness to everyone regardless of their circumstances, and I use these exercises frequently so that I can assure you are learning how to control your body in motion as you get stronger. The four exercises are also incredibly efficient and perfect for anyone with limited time and goals to get a lot out of their workout. As always, pick the dumbbell weights that allow you to perform the movement safely and in control.
As you learn to really crush the exercise, increase the resistance to keep challenging yourself. This may seem like a workout full of strength exercises, but I promise if you put these exercises in a circuit style and limit your rest between rounds, you will work up a great sweet as you gain confidence and increase the intensity in your full-body workout! Now you have no excuse to not get in a great workout in the comfort of your own home.