By Thomas King, MSc, CSCS, CEP
It’s only Day 2 off work from the COVID-19 related measures and I’m already starting to go a bit stir-crazy. Food is flying off supermarket shelves and your children may be driving you nuts at this point. If you would like a 30-minute distraction from the chaos that has become everyday life this last week, give the following workout a try.
To minimize the amount of equipment you’ll need, it will be a five-exercise “complex” workout. This means you do all five exercises with the same two dumbbells without putting them down. For the workout, try starting with 8 reps per exercise. Do 8 reps per exercise and transition to the next one. When you get to the end, rest about 2 minutes and repeat again for 3 to 5 rounds.
For added benefit, add our “5 At-Home Stretches for Total Body Flexibility” in your warm prior to doing this workout.
1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
- Hold one dumbbell in each hand.
- Stand tall and soften the knees.
- Push the hips directly backwards while reaching towards the floor with your hands stopping just below the knee.
- Contract the hamstrings to pull yourself back up while squeezing the glutes hard. Repeat for 8 repetitions.
2. Dumbbell Bent Over Row
- Stand tall, soften the knees and bend down to a position similar to the bottom of your Romanian deadlift.
- Hold this position and row the weights up until you feel a good squeeze in the shoulder blades. Be mindful that you are not shrugging your shoulders while doing this.
- Lower the weights to the starting position and repeat for 8 repetitions.
3. Dumbbell Squat to Press
- Hold the dumbbells in the front rack position.
- Squat down to your full squat depth.
- Explode upwards pushing the weights overhead as you do.
- Seamlessly begin the next rep. Repeat for 8 repetitions.
4. Dumbbell Push-Up
- Place the dumbbells on the floor about 1.5 times shoulder width apart.
- Perform full range push-ups touching your chest to the floor each time.
- Repeat for 8 repetitions.
5. Dumbbell Plank Row
- Place dumbbells about two inches apart.
- Assume a push-up position on the dumbbells with your hands narrow and your feet about 2 times hip width wide.
- Row one dumbbell up, return to the ground and row the other one up. Ensure your hips do not rotate while doing this to properly engage the core.
- Repeat for 8 repetitions per arm.
There you have it. Complex workouts are a great way to squeeze a high quality workout into a short amount of time. If your dumbbells are heavier, try for 4-6 reps/exercise. If they are lighter, aim for 10-12 reps/exercise.
Only have a resistance band? Check out our “One Band Full Body At-Home Workout“
~Thomas 🏋️♀️
Do you have weights at home, but not sure what to do? We offer Online Strength Coaching. Receive a custom workout based on what equipment you have, your goals, needs, and current ability. Only 1-week commitment required.
