A Single-Dumbbell Workout to Hit Every Muscle in Your
Body
You can achieve a lot with
just one weight.
Don’t have a ton
of strength-training
equipment at your disposal? No
worries. We have a great single-dumbbell workout that will fire up your entire
body with just a single weight. It’s a solid routine to have in your arsenal of at-home strength workouts since it
requires minimal equipment, hits pretty much all your major muscle groups, and can be
easily scaled up or down to different fitness levels.
Before we get
into the workout, though, let’s talk about what makes a quality full-body routine and how you can get an appropriately challenging workout with
just one dumbbell—no matter its weight.
A good full-body
workout incorporates exercises that hit major movement patterns, including
squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, planking, and rotating.
“Making sure
that you’re moving your body through all of the major movement patterns can
help make sure all of the major muscle groups are covered,” ACSM-certified
personal trainer Asher
Freeman, creator of the Nonnormative
Body Club in Philadelphia, tells SELF.
By focusing on
movement patterns, you’re also more likely to include moves that have you
working through multiple planes of motion, rather than just one. Lots of us
tend to live in the sagittal plane of motion, which involves forward and
backward movement, or the flexing or extending of joints, like in a squat. But by
remembering to get rotation in there (a transverse plane motion), you can
better improve your functional movement. This is important because it can help
you ensure you’re not creating strength imbalance or furthering imbalances you
already have.
If you only have
one dumbbell, there are lots
of ways to increase the intensity so the
move challenges you, even if the weight’s lighter than what you’d normally use
for certain exercises. Since you don’t have the option of adding more weight to
increase the difficulty, one simple trick is to increase the volume by adding
more reps or sets, Freeman says. You can also make things feel harder by
decreasing the speed at which you perform reps, or pausing at the hardest point
of the exercise (like at the bottom of a squat, for instance) to increase the
time that your muscles are under tension.
On the flip
side, you can scale down the intensity of a single-dumbbell workout by doing
fewer reps or sets, swapping out challenging moves for more beginner-friendly
options, ditching your dumbbell and doing moves with just your bodyweight, or
decreasing the balance challenge of a movement.
The following
single-dumbbell workout, which Freeman created for SELF, targets your entire
body and includes lots of options for both modifications and progressions. You
can do this five-move routine as frequently as every other day, Freeman
says—just make sure to take a rest day in between. If you are doing other
strength training in addition to this routine, make sure you space out your
workouts so they’re not on back-to-back days.
Also important:
If this workout is part of a new or ramped-up fitness routine, you may feel
sore for the following 72 hours. That’s totally OK, Freeman says. If, however,
your delayed onset muscle
soreness (DOMS) lasts more than 72 hours or is so severe that you
are unable to go about your daily life, then that’s a sign you went a little
too hard, in which case you should dial back the intensity of this workout
going forward until your body adjusts.
Last thing.
Before you jump into this workout, make sure to warm up your body first so you
don’t start with cold muscles or joints, which can increase your risk of
injury. Here’s a five-move routine that can
get the job done.
Ready to seriously
challenge your entire body with a single-dumbbell workout? Keep scrolling for
everything you need to know about this simple-yet-super-effective routine.
The Workout
What you
need: A moderate-weight dumbbell. The correct
weight for you will depend on your fitness level and other factors, but as a
starting point Freeman recommends between 10–15 pounds. (Of course, you can use
whatever dumbbell you have—you just need to tweak the reps accordingly!)
Exercises
- Single-Arm Chest Press
- Goblet Squat
- Bench-Supported Single-Arm Row
- Single-Leg Deadlift
- Russian Twist
Directions
- Complete each move for the designated
number of reps, resting as needed between exercises. Once you’ve done all
five moves, rest for at least 60 seconds. Complete two to three rounds
total.
- Quick heads-up: Since this workout
involves just one dumbbell, the rep range is going to vary exercise to
exercise. Be ready to do more reps of moves that work larger muscle groups
(like the squat) and fewer reps of moves that work smaller muscle groups
(like the chest press).
- Lie faceup with your knees bent and feet
flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand with your palm
facing your body and your elbow on the floor bent at 90 degrees so that
the weight is in the air. Your left arm should be resting on the ground by
your side. This is the starting position.
- Press the weight toward the ceiling,
straightening your elbow completely and keeping your palm facing your
body. Pause here for a second.
- Slowly bend your elbow and lower the
weight back down to the floor and out so that it is perpendicular to your
torso. Make sure you just tap your arm on the floor instead of putting the
full weight of your am and dumbbell on the floor. This is 1 rep.
- Complete 8-12 reps. Switch sides and
repeat.
Make it easier
by doing incline push-ups on a wall or a countertop, says Freeman—this will
also work your pectoral muscles like a chest press does.
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width
apart, toes slightly turned out. Hold a dumbbell at your chest, with both
hands gripping one end. This is the starting position.
- Bend your knees and push your hips back as
you lower into a squat. Think about keeping the majority of your weight in
your heels to better activate your glutes and hamstrings.
- Drive through your heels to return to
standing and squeeze your glutes at the top. That's 1 rep.
- Do 15-20 reps.
Make it easier
by dropping the weight and doing squats with just your bodyweight, says
Freeman. Make it harder by slowing your tempo, especially as you lower down.
- Stand in front of a bench (or chair,
trunk, or other sturdy elevated surface) with your feet hip-width apart in
a staggered stance. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand with your arm at
your side.
- With your core engaged, hinge forward at
the hips, push your butt back, and keep a soft bend in both knees, making
sure you don’t round your shoulders. (Your hip mobility and hamstring flexibility
will dictate how far you can bend over.) Place your left palm on the
bench, arm straight.
- Gaze at the ground a few inches in front
of your feet to keep your neck in a comfortable position. This is the
starting position.
- Pull the weight up toward your chest,
keeping your elbow hugged close to your body to activate your back
muscles, and squeeze your shoulder blade at the top of the movement.
- Slowly lower the weight by extending your
arm toward the floor to return to the starting position. As you lower the
weight, make sure your non-working shoulder stays level. That’s 1 rep.
- Do 8-12 reps, then switch sides and
repeat.
Make it harder
by slowing your tempo as you lower the weight or pausing for longer at the top
of the movement. Really focus on squeezing your shoulder blade as you pull.
Make it easier by doing fewer reps, or by doing pull-aparts with a resistance band or towel, says Freeman.
Make sure to engage your core, glutes, and hamstrings throughout
so that you don’t stress your low back. If balance is a challenge, do kickstand deadlifts instead: Set your back foot
down on the ground, but keep most of your weight on your front leg, says
Freeman. You can also hold onto a wall or sturdy object with your other hand
while you do a single-leg deadlift. Make it harder by decreasing your tempo as
you lower down.
- Sit with your knees bent out in front of
you, feet flexed, and heels on the floor.
- Hold your hands in front of your chest, and
lean your torso back until you feel your abdominal muscles engage.
- Slowly twist your torso from right to
left. Remember to keep your core tight (and breathe!) throughout.
- Continue for 30-45 seconds.
Make it harder
by lifting your heels off the ground or holding your dumbbell as you twist,
says Freeman. If you lift your heels, just make sure you feel it in your abs
and not your hip flexors and thighs.
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