You don't need to train like an Olympic athlete to build muscle and improve your entire body strength. However, this strength training workout only takes 20 minutes and all you need is one of the best adjustable dumbbells to try it out and target your lower body, upper body, and core muscles.
Not only is this routine quick, but it is also possible to do it at the gym or at home. If you are working out at home, we recommend using an adjustable dumbbell, as it is possible to adjust the weight to your liking during the workout.
But in reality, it doesn't really matter as long as you own a dumbbell or set of dumbbells that you feel comfortable lifting during a variety of exercises.
The 20-minute routine comes from trainer Britany Williams and is perfect for targeting a wide range of muscle groups including shoulders, biceps, triceps, chest, back, core, glutes, quads, and hamstrings.
Out of a total of 10 exercises, you can choose five or six to form your routine. You may want to adapt your choices to the areas of the body that you want to work more on today.
What is the 20-Minute Dumbbell Full Body Workout?
Williams' demonstrations of each exercise can be seen in the Instagram post below and will help you decide which moves you want to include in your workout and also show you what the correct form looks like for each move.
You can lift as much weight as you want and perform as many reps as you want, but if you don't have proper form, your results will suffer and you're more likely to get injured. So, stay slow and controlled as you master the proper form for each exercise.
The goal is to perform 10 reps, or eight on each side, for each move and complete four rounds in total.
What's so great about a dumbbell workout? Well, this one from Williams incorporates both compound and isolation exercises to target specific muscles throughout your body. Dumbbells provide a form of resistance to encourage growth and strength.
If you're looking to build muscle with your dumbbell workouts, try gradually challenging your muscles with a technique called progressive overload, which involves increasing repetitions or weight size to promote hypertrophy and improve overall muscle development.
Resistance training is also a great way to improve your metabolism. A study published in the Journal of Sport Sciences shows that building muscle boosts your metabolism. That's because muscle burns more calories at rest than fat, helping you increase your overall calorie burn throughout the day.
Additionally, strength training can lead to what's called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), where your body continues to burn extra calories even after your workout while it recovers and rebuilds muscle.
This all sounds great, right? But know that a 20-minute workout won't be the only solution to getting a Thor physique overnight. If strength and muscle gains are your goal, you'll need to commit to a consistent training program.
You'll want to try to do regular resistance training that challenges your muscles and vary your sessions with compound and isolation exercises. It's also helpful to include different types of workouts in your routine, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or circuit training to improve your endurance.
Finally, focus on maintaining a nutritious diet to fuel your body and combine it with adequate rest to promote muscle repair and growth.